Toxic guilt is the unreasonable guilt we feel for things that are beyond our control. Where does it come from? It is usually the legacy of a traumatic childhood. Because of what psychologists call self-referencing, children blame themselves when something goes wrong in their home. There is no logic to this, it is just a fact. Children with undeveloped egos see themselves as the center of the universe and take responsibility for everything. They think, “If mother is angry, then it is my fault. I am a bad person.” This leads to feelings of shame and toxic guilt. This phase of childhood development has a lasting impact on our adult lives. The feelings of guilt lives on in our unconscious mind and floats to the surface now and then when we least expect them. This gets in the way of being a better Christian because it weighs us down. Like depression and shame, toxic guilt saps our energy and keeps us in survival mode. We have to spend all of our time fighting off the feelings of shame...
