Self-punishment Mechanism

from JoeUser Forums
"There is a factor in the matter of inner peace which must be stated because of its importance. Frequently I find that people who are lacking in inner peace are victims of a self-punishment mechanism. At some time in their experience they have committed a sin and the sense of giult haunts them. They have sincerely sought Divine forgiveness, and the good Lord will always forgive anyone who asks Him and who means it. However, there is a curious quirk within the human mind whereby sometimes an individual will not forgive himself.
He feels that he deserves punishment and therefore is constantly anticipating that punishment. As a result he lives in a constant apprehension that something is going to happen. In order to find peace under these circumstances he must increse the intensity of his activity. He feels that hard work will give him some release from his sense of guilt. A physician told me that in his practice a number of cases of nervous breakdown were traceable to a sense of guilt for which the patient had unconsciously attempted to compensate by hectic overwork. The patient attributed his breakdown not to the sense of guilt, but to his overworked condition. "But," said the physician, "these men need not have broken down from overwork if first the sense of guilt had been fully released." Peace of mind under such circumstances is available by yielding the guilt as well as the tension it produces to the healing therapy of Christ."

-- The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale"
1,988 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I like the fact that you made a distinction between the Christian mechanism of sin, guilt and forgiveness, and the mechanism by which we punish ourselves through misplaced guilt.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh, it's entirely a quote, man. I'm still trying to make the distinction for myself... Many people would place my guilt on my Catholic upbringing, but I'm seeking a possible deeper source.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Many people would place my guilt on my Catholic upbringing, but I'm seeking a possible deeper source.


Isn't it funny & aggravating that if a person has "issues" people are quick to blame the person's religion. GRRR.

He feels that he deserves punishment and therefore is constantly anticipating that punishment. As a result he lives in a constant apprehension that something is going to happen. In order to find peace under these circumstances he must increase the intensity of his activity.


I think I go through a lot of this too. Although rather than increasining the intensity of my activities, I cower & hide and wait for the world to collapse on me. Sick, I know. But it's hard to change the inner workings of a screwed-up mind. Gotta give it to Christ. *Sigh*

Thanks for sharing the quote.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
The way I understand Christianity, the guilt is there already, on account of we know the difference between right and wrong, but sometimes do the wrong thing anyway. All the Christian "religion" does is claim to offer the only effective method for forgiveness of that guilt.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top

Many people would place my guilt on my Catholic upbringing, but I'm seeking a possible deeper source.

Isn't it funny & aggravating that if a person has "issues" people are quick to blame the person's religion. GRRR.

That was me, and it was a joke.  I also said that I was glad he reconnected with his faith, because I can see how much comfort and even peace he was getting from it.  Put the claws away, Angela.

It's a very slippery slope, Pseudo.  I know I stand at the top of it a lot.....I guilt myself over a lot of stuff (and sometimes other people do the guilting for me) and then I feel like I have to make up for whatever it is that I think I've done, but I never can forgive myself for it....and so the cycle goes on and on and on.

I think that in addition to forgiveness from an outside source, you have to be able to forgive yourself - and I mean really forgive yourself, not justify what you did.  It's a hard thing to do, I know.  I have a different view of faith and life; I believe that we all have the divine within us, and that somehow makes it a little easier for me to forgive myself.  I have, y'know.  I've forgiven myself for a lot of things that I did.  Having said that, however....there are still things that I cannot forgive myself of, no matter how hard I try.  So, I'll keep on beating myself up over them.

Maybe one day I'll be able to forgive and forget, but right now that day seems really very far away.

 

Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
That was me, and it was a joke.


Oh, no, I know you wouldn't mean it any other way, dharma. Please note that I did say "many". I was a bit tongue-in-cheek about it when I posted it, although that didn't come through... but there's a serious part to it, too. Both of the psychologists and the psychiatrist that I've seen in the past few months have expressed concern over my "Catholic guilt", so I get sensitive about it, too.


Self-forgiveness is a very big step, yes. There are things that I haven't forgiven myself for. I haven't addressed all of the issues... I'm working towards it, though. Just another similarity, I guess.