Historically, guilt has been used as a tool of control. Religion has instilled for centuries that desires are sinful. Want more than you’re allowed? Guilty. Deviate from the rules? Guilty. This turned a person into someone dependent on "forgiveness" and "cleansing." Only the religious institution could remove the guilt it imposed. Guilt strengthened power by suppressing people and making them obedient.
Modern culture has perfected this mechanism. Now you’re not told outright that you’re "bad." Instead, ideals are created that you must conform to. Social networks, advertising, media show "ideal" people with "ideal" bodies and "ideal" lives. You look at this and feel you’ll never measure up. You feel ashamed of your body, your desires, that you’re not what you "should" be. And you start trying: work more, buy more, adjust more to standards. But these standards are an illusion. They’re specifically designed so that you always feel not good enough.
Research confirms that chronic guilt destroys a person. According to the Journal of Neuroscience (2020), people who experience constant guilt have a 40% higher level of anxiety and are 30% more likely to suffer from depression. The amygdala in such people operates in a state of heightened activity, and cortisol levels remain consistently high. This makes them vulnerable to external influence and unable to critically assess their condition.
Guilt is not an emotion that helps you become better. It destroys your individuality, forcing you to suppress your desires and doubt your thoughts. You start living not your life but the life prescribed by society. You’re afraid to be yourself because you’ve been taught that being yourself is bad. And the more you try to conform, the more you feel guilty for not being able to achieve it.
But the truth is, guilt is not your nature. It is artificially created to make you easier to control. This mechanism benefits the system because a person who constantly feels something is wrong with them becomes obedient. They will work, buy, conform, but never ask: "Why should I live this way?"
Recognizing this scheme is the first step to liberation. It’s important to ask yourself questions: "Who said my desires are wrong?" "Why should I feel guilty for being who I am?" These questions break imposed boundaries. You begin to see that your desires are not wrong. What’s wrong is the system that made your natural state a source of shame. You are not made to fix yourself. You are made to be yourself. And you have the right to break these chains.