All daily inspirations can be found in the book Sex and Porn Addiction Healing and Recovery. Used here with permission of the author. Click the book cover image to purchase the book on Amazon.
Shame, the inherent belief that we are flawed and unworthy, is a soul-eating emotion.
Guilt is the feeling that we’ve done something bad that goes against our values and beliefs. Shame is the inherent belief that we are inherently defective or bad. Guilt implies: I did something that I regret, and I feel badly about that. Shame implies: I am a horrible person and there is nothing I can do about that. For recovering sex and porn addicts, guilt is a useful emotion to feel – a powerful motivator for being a better person today than yesterday – while shame just a cesspool that keeps us mired in our active addiction.
Task for Today
Try to differentiate between feelings of guilt and feelings of shame.