Feeling extreme guilt

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I have this problem with feeling extreme guilt when I do something wrong, even if it was a mistake.

Today I saw a dog running around outside my apartment, unleashed. I took a picture of it. Then this girl in a wheelchair comEs up to me saying "it's a service dog and it's illegal to take pictures of it" so I apologise and delete the pic off my phone... But then I looked it up and there is no such law... If she didn't want me to take a pic of her dog just tell me, don't tell me I did something illegal...

But now I fell such horrible guilt I can't shake it and I'm about to cry... I react like this when I think I did something wrong but to the extreme... What is this?

Your feeling of guilt is out of proportion , because most precious lil "people" don't act like they are so guilty for things like that

Your feeling of guilt is out of context.

However if everyone acted like that, that would be different







Numerous lil dips**ts take Fido off leash

Leash Law

They don't know or don't care

In the Diagnosic statistical manual, "feelings of guilt" are a symptom of depression


"Most people" act like they have never done anything wrong before. They act like they are innocent


"Innocent" is not a verdict

Verdicts are "guilty" and "not guilty"

The woman might have been worried that she was going to get in trouble for letting her dog off the leash and so she didn’t want you to take a picture as evidence.

Anyway, I often feel guilty for things that I shouldn’t, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.

I think that, as kids, many of us were blamed for things that we couldn’t help and that weren’t our fault and that type of thinking can carry over into adulthood, so when there’s conflict, we automatically assume we were in the wrong even though we weren’t. It’s a conditioned response.

Just because that neighbor is in a wheelchair doesn't mean that she really has a "service dog". People lie so much about their service/emotional support animals now, I count them as scammers until proven otherwise.

And she's full of s**t too. Michigan has no such law about photographing service animals.

In Michigan, ALL dogs have to he under control of their owners pets/service dogs whatever. She's in violation of that law. You can let your service animal play in your fenced in backyard off leash. They can't just run off leash just because. If the neighbor is outside with the dog, it needs to be on leash, and preferably with some identification. Michigan doesn't require service animals have ID.

Because I'm a petty b***h, I might fire up a passive aggressive note asking the leasing office what are the rules again for dogs, because I see them off leash. Also, I'd take another picture, and if Ms.LawBreaker whines, I'd ask which Michigan/Federal statue am I breaking.

We both know: NONE.

She's actually breaking her leasing agreement having the dog off leash. She figures you won't challenge her on it because she's in a chair. Having an image of her service animal not under her control is in violation of the lease agreement.

People with disabilities can be a**holes too.

I'm more mad for you that you are upset about breaking some non existent law, and got buffalo-ed by a person who thinks she can do what she wants because of an obvious disability. f**k her.

Dry your tears. You did NOTHING wrong.

Well I've seen this dog on numerous occasions, it runs wildly around outside and goes up to people and growls/barks at them and it doesn't wear any type of service dog vest. Also if it wasn't a service dog, it would violate the lease because it is over 25lbs.

It isn't illegal to photograph anyone or any animal in an a public area (service or otherwise), so don't worry about that. Photographs only become illegal when there is a reasonible expectation or privacy, or in an area not open to the public.

And even service animals must be under the control of their owners at all times. That doesn't mean leashed, because service animals can be trained to summon help, but they still have to be under control.

Guilt can be useful for identifying who needs to participate in the correction of a problem. It can also be useful as a reminder to do something differently next time.

However, it can be useful to establish a mental buffer between guilt and accusation. Just because someone accuses you of something does not mean it is true. Even if it is true, there is a limit to what guilt can accomplish before it becomes a negative dynamic.

A person who has had abusive experiences might be inclined to have reflexive guilt. Also someone with extra sensitivity (like Aspergers) might develop reflex guilt.

If you find yourself with excessive guilt, you may want to mentally apply the following list of questions to your situation to see if you can allow yourself to let go of the guilt.

1. Was there any validity to the accusation?
2. Has your part of the problem been corrected?
3. Is there anything that needs to be learned to avoid future instances?
4. Are any apologies needed?
5. If there is nothing left to do, guilt has served its purpose.

For the person inclined to reflex guilt, it can be helpful to insert a mental step to analyze an accusation prior to feeling guilt. In the example of the dog picture, the first response could be, "I am not sure why anyone would pass legislation to make dog picture taking illegal. Secondly, I am not sure I understand how anyone might attempt to enforce such a law. Let me look into this and see if your assertion is accurate."

If we have unhealthy emotional responses to situations, we may be able to better resolve these by both better protecting our reactions (up front protection) and getting rid of unwarranted reactions (down stream management). The ability of the mind to protect and manage emotions can be cultivated through the clarity of seeing truth.

Okay the girl in the chair is ticking me off... I overheard her the other day responding to a complaint her dog was barking at them, she told qpeople that the person hit her dog...

And now today she has the dog outside and I just observed HER smack her dog! OMG...

Based on your description, maybe you should report her to the authority

I don't think there is any need to feel guilt over this incident. As all the other posters have said, she is to blame. And on top of it all, SHE LIED TO YOU.

In that incident in your original post...she probably thought that you were gathering evidence against her ("here landlord...the girl's dog has gotten bigger than 25 pounds. And its running around without a leash"). And she got paranoid.

If someone's dog is overly aggressive, hit it. If the owner complains, hit them harder. The dog is a dog, it might not know better. The owner doesn't have that excuse, so knock 'em hard enough they learn their lesson.

Oh boy do I ever. I might remember some event from years ago where I made a moderate to serious mistake and I can't get it out of my head for years. I hate that. It seems to be tied in somehow with my enhanced long term memory.

I remember an event from 20 years ago when my friend and I got into a physical fight. He grabbed my hair. I broke free and basically kicked his butt. He admitted he was drunk and stupid later. So was I, but I still think of that event and feel guilty for hitting back. I know it's stupid, but I still can't clear the guilt sometimes.