Love & Relationships
Guilt-Tripping: What Is It? And How to Free Yourself From Its Complex Web
Consequences of inducing guilt to get what you want may lead to the opposite of what you want
Have you ever made someone feel guilty to get them to do something or change their behavior?
Have someone else done that to you?
Well, that’s a guilt trip. Though not all guilt-trip are the same.
Some are done with clear self-interest, while some are done with the interest of the other. Sometimes we guilt-trip with conscious intention and sometimes we do it unwittingly.
What do you think of the following examples?
a) Her boyfriend wants to give her ‘a surprise visit’ when he knows she’s to meet with her (male) friend. Then she’s reproved for not instantly having answered his calls, and given culpability for not meeting with him. He says he’s worried about her and that it is for her concern (this other person is unreliable). She feels guilty, even if she knows she’s done nothing wrong and that her friend is not dangerous.
b) Your partner repeatedly gets a headache whenever you have an argument. You feel guilty because you critiqued her and feel like you…
