Dear Priyanka:

The purpose of a guilty feeling is to examine our behaviors and determine: did we do something that was wrong? The answer may be a Yes or a No. If it is a Yes, then you correct the behavior, determine to do something different next time, the right thing.

If you believe you were wrong to cheat, and you want to correct this behavior, you can determine that next time, when you don’t have enough time to study, or you don’t understand the subject matter, that you … maybe ask for help in understanding, or re-schedule an exam for a later date, if possible, so to have more time to study and then not cheat when taking the next exam.

You can also choose to issue an apology to the teacher and other students.

Once you correct your behavior the guilt has served its purpose and should not continue. It needs to be temporary, not long term.

anita