Shame is a major fuel of irrational, unnecessary anxiety. Shame is not the same as guilt. The emotion of guilt applies (rightly or wrongly) to remorse over one’s actions; shame refers to remorse over one’s thoughts or even emotions (in addition to actions). A guilt-ridden person did something wrong — or at least thinks he did. A shame-ridden person also believes he did something wrong — not necessarily because of what he did, but because of what he thought and felt.