Guilt is something I feel because I have done something bad. Shame is something I feel because I am bad. In fact, when in its grip, it is quite difficult for us to separate our self from the shame that we are feeling. Guilt, on the other hand, only emerges when a child’s brain is mature enough [around three to six years] to be aware that his or her behavior negatively affects the emotional state of another. Furthermore, a necessary element of the emotion we call guilt includes empathy, if even in primitive form. In order for me to feel guilt, I must in some way simultaneously feel the pain I
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