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10 Strategies To Cope With Regret

I wish I could say that I don't have any regrets, but I'd be lying. The truth is that I've made many mistakes. But life goes on and I have to find a way to cope with regret or it'll crush me. Below are 10 ideas for dealing with regret.

Source: https://www.choosingtherapy.com/deal-with-regret/

    1. Acknowledge Your Feelings

    Acknowledge and accept the feelings associated with your regret. This helps prompt you to think about strategies you could use to minimize the pain of similar future experiences.

    Specifically identifying or acknowledging which emotion you’re feeling (“I feel regret”) rather than just thinking (“I feel bad”) will help make you tolerate the emotions you’re experiencing.

    2. Avoid Obsessing About Past Regrets

    I've found this to be very difficult, especially when dealing with major regret.

    Try to learn from a past decision that you perceive has gone wrong. If you continue to chastise yourself with past regrets, it will compromise your ability to make better decisions in the present and the future. Obsessing about regrets will only make you feel worse. Use this as an opportunity to learn and even inspire yourself to make new and better choices in the future.

    3. Assess How You Cope With Your Regrets

    Take time to evaluate the choice that ended in regret. Did you blame others, minimize your feelings, or ignore them altogether? These techniques tend to amplify feelings of regret and make them harder to cope with. Take a deep breath and remember, that choice you made is in the past.

    4. Show Yourself Some Kindness

    Having made a bad choice in the past does not mean you are forever doomed to repeat this mistake over and over again. Give yourself permission to tackle a similar situation again with the benefit of experience and hopefully a better understanding about how to react in a more positive fashion.

    5. Give Yourself Time to Heal From a Past Regret

    If your regret is related to a major past decision, you need to give yourself time to heal from the consequences of that choice. Constantly thinking about it and ruminating will keep the negative thoughts and feelings ever-present. Focus on things that will relax, nourish, and energize you in positive ways. In time, the negative emotions will begin to subside.

    6. Distract Yourself

    Focus your mind and energy on a project with an outcome that will make you feel good. Spend time with people you feel comfortable with and who you can candidly talk with. If you are focused on a current positive distraction, you are less apt to ruminate about past regrets.

    7. Create a New Set of Goals

    Use the knowledge and experience you gained to make new, realistic goals. Ask yourself if there is anything you can do to repair the old damage, respond to future situations, and create more positive outcomes. Celebrate when you meet a goal. If you learn that a goal you set is not realistic, set a new one within the realm of more realistic possibilities.

    8. Consider Counseling

    If you find yourself stuck in a repeating cycle of self-blame and negative thinking, you may need outside professional help to stop this harmful behavioral pattern. Consider getting help from a therapist.

    9. Ask Yourself Hard Questions About the Situation

    Psychologist Suma Chand, PhD recommends asking yourself a series of questions as a way to move forward from regret and create healthier behavioral patterns. The questions are:3

    • Have you noticed how excessive regret affects what you do and say?
    • Could you have acted any differently considering the particular stage in your life and the information and experiences you had until this point in your life?
    • Was it only you or did anything else contribute to your mistake?
    • Was there anything specific in the situation that you particularly regret?
    • As a result of this regretful experience, have you changed the way you behave and respond in similar situations?
    • Is there anything you can do now that will make a difference in how you think and feel about a future situation that you may regret?

    10. Recognize the Physical & Emotional Toll Regret Can Cause

    Repeated regretful feelings can negatively affect your mental health, causing depression, diminished focus, low self-esteem, and feelings of helplessness. They can also cause lack of sleep, loss of appetite, and headaches. Research on continual regret and the associated medical consequences in older adults reveals that it can cause vulnerability to physical symptoms like chest or joint pain, headaches, or shortness of breath, as well as the potential for worsening chronic illnesses like heart disease.

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