Coming to terms with our regrets

J Relig Health. 2009 Jun;48(2):224-39. doi: 10.1007/s10943-009-9238-x. Epub 2009 Feb 28.

Abstract

This article focuses on the personal experience of regret and the importance of coming to terms with our regrets. It begins with a sermon preached by the first author in which the issue of regret is explored by means of a summary of the film The Big Kahuna, continues with a discussion of recent articles (Tomer and Eliason, Existential and spiritual issues in death attitudes, 2008; Mannarino et al., Existential and spiritual issues in death attitudes, 2008) on the concept of regret formulated by Landman (Landman, Regret: A theoretical and conceptual analysis, 1987; Regret: The persistence of the possible, 1993), and on regret therapy, and concludes with a pastoral care case in which a dying woman expresses both future-related and past-related regrets. The case is interpreted in light of regret therapy's emphasis on parabolic experiences and reframing techniques.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Attitude to Death
  • Emotions*
  • Humans
  • Psychoanalytic Interpretation
  • Religion and Psychology
  • Trust