SCIENCE –
April 10, 2025 – Investigators found that maladaptive guilt and shame were influenced more by individual characteristics than by specific disorders. They suggested incorporating guilt and shame dimensions into psychotherapy. Guilt and shame shape social interactions and are linked to depressive disorder (DD) or alcohol addiction (AA). Oxytocin may influence these emotions. Guilt and shame are important and universal social emotions that fundamentally shape the way people interact with each other. Mental illness such as depressive disorder (DD) or alcohol addiction (AA) is therefore often related to pronounced dysfunctional feelings of shame and guilt. Oxytocin has been suggested to play an important role in socially and morally associated emotions such as shame and guilt.
