Guilt is one of the most unpleasant emotions that exists, in my opinion. I hate, hate, hate the thought of my presence or actions harming anybody. I like to think that overall the world is a better place for my having been in it. I try to avoid having to feel guilt as much as possible by trying to be as good a person as I can be. That makes my actions sound a lot more selfish than altruistic, huh?
Physically, it affects me by making my stomach feel like it weighs about 100 pounds. Old guilt fades, but I can still feel it strongly if I think too much about past events. I can absolve it a lot more by acting to correct my mistake, or at least doing some nice things for the person I have wronged. I always want to have helped any given person more than I have harmed them, in my life.
I guess I define guilt as a negative emotion resulting from having brought harm to another entity. Goes hand-in-hand with regret.

It’s best to avoid it.

No, seriously.

There is healthy guilt and neurotic guilt.
The first is an internal barometer of conscience, unless you are a sociopath. haha

The second is useless and of a paranoid nature.

Live with integrity and you won’t have any guilt.

On the rare occasions you say or do something slightly out of character, apologize immedietley if you have hurt another, then… forgive yourself and move on, lesson learned. :-)

Guilt: a bad conscience from something you have done.

Shame: a bad conscience from who you are

I have more problems with shame than guilt.

I feel guilty when I have hurt someone I did not mean to hurt. I feel guilty when there are unintended consequences to an action I took.

In these situations I feel like I want to make up for the harm I caused. I want to make it right. If I don’t make it right, then I think people will think poorly of me. They won’t like me any more. They will talk behind my back about me.

I have just hurt someone (I think) in my own pain and hurt. I have apologized, but the damage is done. I am feeling absolutely miserable about it right now…

Can you describe your misery?

I’m sorry, @ninjacolin, were you asking me, or the person who asked the question?

I was asking you, @yankeetooter :)
please?

Well, yesterday, I was so unable to deal with stuff that they sent me home from work…not in a mean, puntative way, but in a kind, concerned way. I spent the day alternately crying and sleeping and trying to wrap my mind around what had happened…at one point I wrote a poem about the situation (which more and more seems to be a way of expressing my feelings and getting the hurt out, somewhat). Last night I went out for a bit of a drive, and was actually able to listen to music for the first time in 24 hours, although every song that came on the radio cut through me like a knife…

I’m still really hurting today, but feel able to function…I have no choice, life goes on. I think if I were to run into the person who has broken my heart I would burst into tears on the spot, so hopefully that is not going to happen any time soon, although I miss him terribly…

Lol! I just noticed, @ninjacolin, that you asked the question at the top…