Why do I feel guilty all the time

/Why do I feel guilty all the time? I have not done anything wrong. I don't understand.?!!??!!

Probably thoughts imposed on you as a young child.
My parents used to say stuff like 'If it wasn't for you we'd be OK'
I was convinced all their problems were MY fault.
Toxic shame.

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A friend of mine constantly jokes and asks if I have confessed to the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy. If I get any hints on how to deal with it I will let you know.

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I often feel guilty, but for me it would is because I was always made to be wrong and to be guilty as a child.

I sometimes feel guilty after having a good time, like I did something wrong or did not deserve it.

I did not make myself learn this response, but it was learned. I will unlearn it.

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I don't feel guilty that often, but when I do, it's excruciating. The worst feeling in the entire world. Being a victim is so easy in comparison.

I feel this way too and I'm not entirely sure what causes it (or where it stems from, for that matter).

My family life has gone well the majority of the time, though I'm an only child --- so even from a young age I was more independent/mature/stoic.

It may stem from the fact that I'm a taller/larger person, always have been. It was tough when I was a kid, especially since I was emotionally sensitive. Because I'm bigger, people have seemingly found me threatening even while carrying on a friendly conversation. That impression wears off when people get to know me, of course, but it's something I've struggled with accepting.

Sensitivity in itself caused an entirely different set of problems, because as soon as they saw me cry? Bam. I got crap from all sides. Maybe that's why I don't trust people these days...even friendships back when I was a kid changed once I "got emotional". So I became more reserved and insular as I got older, showing emotion only when I truly needed to. Even the school bus driver once called me out on a "guilty conscience". I forgot nothing.

I don't know why I'm so quick to jump to being at fault even though it may not be mine. It's also that same way at work, as I'm such a stickler for detail that I go back and say "I should've done that before it became a problem". So in some respect I bear some share of the responsibility, even though rationally I know I am not entirely to blame.

Anyway to tie this all up, I'm really not sure where it comes from. It could be a different cause for different people, or maybe even be equally learned and inherent. It's something I've tried to answer for a long time now. And when it happens, it's almost instinctive.

When I get this way, I remember a line from "Town Called Malice" by The Jam: "stop apologizing for the things you've never done". But for me, it's not that easy. It's almost as if apologizing is instinctive for me. Best I can do is shift that impulse from the emotional to the rational side of my brain.

I know how you feel. I think I was born feeling guilty. I can't explain why I've always felt this way but it has caused me quite a bit of pain through the years. I feel guilty about stuff that was definitely not my fault in fact, wasn't anybody's fault. I consider it to be a character flaw that I was born with. And I've never been able to overcome it.

I hope you have better luck than I have.

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I know for me that it comes from my father making me feel that I was wrong and in trouble (to put it lightly) from a very young age. Of my first 4 memories, 3 of them are being criticized.

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OP, just a question:

Is it a general, nameless, or existential guilt, or are there certain things in particular you feel guilty about? Could you name any source if asked, even with a little thought?

I know I experience an easily triggered, formless kind of guilt, but after some self-analysis it seems to be, for me, a kind of personality quirk: my guilt mostly stems from feeling like I had an amazing, fortunate life that I don't at all deserve. Where it came from, I don't know.

Do you have a depression or bipolar diagnosis? I have constant, crippling, overwhelming feelings of shame and guilt when I'm depressed, but I don't seem to hear that voice when I'm not depressed. While the rest of my brain fades from the depakote and the bong, a subsystem remains active and incredibly agile, picking out memories of failures and transgressions to torture myself with. If I could harness the power of the part of my mind determined to torment me I could do all kinds of constructive things.