The Article, "Why shame and guilt are functional for mental health" by Joaquin Selva, a psychologist, reveals how guilt is important and should be expressed. Selva brings up multiple points on how guilt should be embraced. He compares guilt and shame and shows that guilt should be seen as a positive emotion.

Feeling guilt is a positive thing, It gives an individual a chance to see what they have done and the mistakes that they have made. The article states that "guilt [is considered to be a] 'self-blaming' emotion” emotions like this are good for development and maintnance in interpersonal relationships. They, “act as social regulators by encouraging a balance between an individual's urges and the rights and needs of others." Then, the guilt doesn’t just reflect on the person himself but also makes him focus on others. The individual starts to think of others and becomes closer with others within the community.

Feelings of guilt can lead to people paying more attention to key words such as "apologize" "Help" and "fix". Research has found that guilt leads participants to feel more positive about such words and use them more of often. Using such language while communicating to others releases how they feel and could lead to confession. Then, the individual is able to start to let go of such guilt and self forgive. Unlike shame, in serious situations, guilt is able to make a person feel bad and motivates them to fix the damage they have done. Guilt pushes people to act in a more moral way to assuage their guilt. Surprisingly, guilt sets a person free from sin. In the Scarlet Letter, Reverend Dimmesdale is able to let go of his sin after confessing in front of a crowd. His guilt built up and made him feel bad, therefore, he fixed the damage he had caused.

Feeling guilt is very important. With such guilt, an individual is able to realize what they have done and forgive themselves. Self forgiveness is very important to getting rid of guilt and cleaning oneself from sin.