Remorse may convey a sense of sorrow, while self-condemnation suggests the kind of loathing and desire for punishment that characterizes interpersonal grudges.
Or the years of self-reproach over the vast amounts of money swimming around his bank account, or even the guilty self-condemnation he felt swimming around his own swimming pool.
When trying to convince people to forgive themselves, it is crucial not to erase the potentially adaptive feelings of remorse along with the more destructive self-condemnation.
But we can ease up on our self-condemnation and self-flagellation because there's a reason why we slide backward and it isn't laziness or lack of will power.
