About this episode
Have you ever found yourself holding onto feelings of guilt or shame long after a difficult experience or mistake? In this episode, Jill sits down with Dr. Carolyn Allard, a leading voice in trauma-focused psychology and research. Together, they unpack the complex nature of guilt and shame, especially when these emotions become non-adaptive in the face of trauma or hardship. Carolyn, who is also the author of Transform Your Guilt and Shame: Evidence-Based Strategies to Heal from Trauma and Adversity, shares how to recognize the difference between guilt and shame and introduces the idea of “non-adaptive guilt and shame” (NAGS). You’ll gain insight into how these emotions link to moral injury and other trauma responses, and walk away with actionable tools such as hindsight bias and justification analysis to better understand, challenge, and manage them.Listen and Learn: How guilt and shame differ lies in focus, as guilt is about actions and shame is about identity, and why they matterHow moral injury can emerge from situations where individuals face impossible choices that conflict with their values, leading to lasting feelings of guilt and shameWhy we feel non-adaptive guilt and shame often comes down to distorted beliefs about responsibility, justification, and values, and how understanding these patterns helps us break free from self-blame and move toward self-compassionHow hindsight bias can trick us into unfair self-judgment, and by reflecting on our choices and context at the time, we can gain a clearer, kinder perspectiveUnderstanding the difference between accountability (being answerable) and responsibility (having control or intention) and how this helps us untangle guilt and shame, process mistakes effectively, and break the self-reinforcing cycles of trauma that impair our ability to act according to our valuesResources: Transform Your Guilt and Shame: Evidence-Based Strategies to Heal from Trauma and Adversity: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781433843419 Carolyn’s Website: https://www.carolynallardphd.com/Connect with Carolyn on Social Media: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/carolynallardphd.bsky.social Facebook:
