Regrets can often be a bad thing, but not in all cases. Most people deal with regrets differently.
Some regrets can be minor such as being forgetful, or some can be major such as, never finishing college or marrying the wrong guy/girl.
Shekeena Rosier, a social worker for the Manatee County School Board, has said she experiences regrets from parents more so than from children.
“Some parents blame their past on why their child is behaving in such manner such as truancy, and “acting out,” Rosier said.
She believes the best way to deal with regrets are to acknowledge them, learn from them, and then let them go.
“If it’s becoming a problem and interfering with your daily activities, you should talk to someone because you don’t want that hanging over your head,” Rosier said.
She also believes that minor regrets are not to be dwelled on
“Reanalyze the situation and move on,” she said. “That’s how you deal with regrets.”
Alexandria Bryant, a senior sociology student from Pensacola, looks at regrets as a learning experience.
“I don’t have any regrets, I have learned a lot from them,” Bryant said.
Bryant’s steps for dealing with regrets are to look at other possible ways it could have been handled.
“A portion of letting go of regrets can include forgiving yourself for what happened,” Bryant said. “You can’t forgive other people if you have not learned to forgive yourself first.”
Bryant also believes that regrets can eventually cause depression and lead to bigger problems.
“When people perceive that an opportunity has been missed, they hold on to what could’ve been,” Bryant said. “They don’t see other opportunities they could take advantage of, they have no positive outlook on the future.”
Alexis Simmons, a junior psychology student from Lakeland, deals with her regrets in a way that is both therapeutic and time effective.
When dealing with the stresses of what was, she says she lives by a simple motto: “You can never go back in time, you have no clock to turn back the hands of time, just learn from your past.”