Brene Brown Quote

Guilt and shame are both emotions of self-evaluation; however, that is where the similarities end. The majority of shame researchers agree that the difference between shame and guilt is best understood as the differences between I am bad (shame) and I did something bad (guilt). Shame is about who we are and guilt is about our behaviors. If I feel guilty for cheating on a test, my self-talk might sound something like I should not have done that. That was really stupid. Cheating is not something I believe in or want to do. If I feel shame about cheating on a test, my self-talk is more likely to sound like I’m a liar and a cheat. I’m so stupid. I’m a bad person.

Brene Brown

Guilt and shame are both emotions of self-evaluation; however, that is where the similarities end. The majority of shame researchers agree that the difference between shame and guilt is best understood as the differences between I am bad (shame) and I did something bad (guilt). Shame is about who we are and guilt is about our behaviors. If I feel guilty for cheating on a test, my self-talk might sound something like I should not have done that. That was really stupid. Cheating is not something I believe in or want to do. If I feel shame about cheating on a test, my self-talk is more likely to sound like I’m a liar and a cheat. I’m so stupid. I’m a bad person.

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