Guilt is a common and often overpowering feeling for survivors. There is a difference between guilt and regret
Our friend Patricia often shares her insightful distinction between the word “guilt” survivors mistakenly place on themselves and “regret” which more accurately expresses what they are feeling. Here is an article on that important distinction for survivors.
From Litsa Williams at What’s My Grief
I was running a grief group and someone in the group expressed some things that she was feeling guilty about and another woman responded saying, “I think what you are feeling is regret and not guilt”. This led to a lengthy discussion about guilt vs regret, which proved surprisingly helpful to a number of group members.