Guilt is different from shame. Shame is about who you are. Guilt is about what you did. The distinction matters, but it doesn't make guilt easier to carry. If anything, it's harder — because guilt is specific. It has a date, a situation, a person it concerns.

You can manage guilt in private indefinitely. People do it for years. What you can't do easily is say the true version of what happened — the one where you made the choice you made for the reasons you actually made it.

This is where that version goes. Anonymous thoughts about guilt posted here are the ones that couldn't be said anywhere else.