Guilt is an emotional or cognitive experience that occurs when a person feels responsible for or believes they have violated a moral standard. Its purpose is to let one know when they have done something wrong, to help develop a better sense of behaviour. The resulting guilt brought upon by mere interpretation of events does influence individuals, both physiologically and emotionally.
Healthy levels of guilt help to keep humanity from making mistakes. However, unhealthy guilt hinders fruitfulness in well-functioning relationships. Guilt is common in five areas according to Arlene F Harder; essential, deserved, self-generated, borrowed and hindsight guilt.