“Guilt Makes a Heavy Burden. Don’t Let It Drag You Down,” is an article by Crystal Raypole that describes the ways that guilt and shame can be very harmful to the mind and one’s life. This article is from the website called Healthline. The website was founded in the year 1999 and publishes information on health and wellness to the internet. Raypole uses this article to share what types of guilt there are, how those types of guilt weigh on one’s life, and how to cope with guilt and overcome its control on your life.

Types of Guilt:
Guilt can be extremely harmful to the body and mind but an important part of addressing guilt is understanding what type of guilt is affecting you.
Natural guilt makes you feel guilty for doing wrong and not acting the way you felt you should have. Chronic guilt comes from stress and not being open with those around you. This can lead to strains in relationships. Collective guilt comes from “a sense of group or shared responsibility” (Raypole). When a group feels they have not done enough. Lastly is survivor guilt, which comes from a survivor feeling guilty that they survived a traumatic event and that others didn’t.

In The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale feels a natural guilt from feeling that he did something wrong and making him want to confess his guilt but being to afraid to do so.

How guilt effects life:
Guilt is natural part of life because all humans make mistakes, but “guilt has a lot of power” (Raypole). Guilt can cause one to feel like they are trapped and unable to be truthful. According to Raypole, guilt can cause great amounts of shame and can make “you feel worse over time,” when it is hidden. Eventually guilt must be addressed to have a chance at forgiveness and acceptance.

In “The Scarlet Letter,” Arthur becomes more and more overcome by his guilt and shame and is trapped by his silence but Hester has been able to accept her sin and live her life while acknowledging her past.

How to cope with Guilt:
Throughout the article, Raypole provides many strategies for coping with guilt. Some of the most important strategies she takes about is admitting your guilt, finding the source, and making amends. Sharing and admitting your guilt is the most vital part of accepting what you have done wrong. If you fail to acknowledge your guilt and what you have done wrong you can never address the problem you are facing. Once you can recognize your guilt and wrongs you can find the source and try to fix the problems and make amends.

Through “The Scarlet Letter,” we see that Arthur is not able to admit his own guilt and sin while Hester is. Even though Hester goes through harsh criticism, she is able to live her life and move on from her past. Arthur is always trapped in the sin he had committed and the secret he has kept.

Conclusion/relation:
Admitting your guilt is a crucial step in being able to accept your past and come to peace with yourself. “The Scarlet Letter” shows that being open and honest can help you to forgive yourself and gain acceptance from others, even in your wrongs. Without being open and honest we have no way of receiving support from others or being able to be shown love and forgiveness. We cannot fix a problem that we are unable to recognize in ourselves.