The Guilt Of Gifts

It's common for many people to feel guilty afterward when they receive a gift, but why? Why do we feel bad for something that's meant to be good? 

Well, for starters, let's dissect the guilt. Guilt often comes from feeling bad that someone spent money on you, feeling the need to repay them somehow, and even feeling bad that someone had to take time out of their day to buy you something. How can we stop these feelings and prevent them in the future? Well, we need to make sure that we understand why someone got you the gift, because they care about you. They care enough to spend their time and money buying you something or even making it by hand, and they chose to do that. Instead of feeling guilt for that, you should feel good. That someone cares and thinks about you, and by replacing the thoughts of "im not worthy" or "they spent too much" with more positive things like "it feels really good to have someone invested in me" or "wow, they worked really hard to buy this for me im so happy they value me". Will this make the guilt go away forever? No, but you can start the process of allowing yourself to receive things without it. 

There are other things you can do to help feel less shame for not doing something back. An easy and cheap thing to do is write a thank-you note, and if you write it by hand, it usually makes it even better. Mailing someone a letter of appreciation can really make their day and ease the weight on yourself as well. Other things you can do are buying them a coffee or sitting and listening to them if they need to vent; not everything needs to be a grand gesture or even equal to the price of the original gift. Small acts mean a lot to people, and again, even if they are small, they can really help with the guilt of gifts. 

But the main thing to remember throughout all of this is you are worthy of receiving things. You deserve nice things in life and shouldn't feel bad about it. If the anxiety and shame around gifts still seem too hard to bear on your own. It's always okay to reach out for help. Reach out to us today to get the support that you need.