--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Guilt is like a sore, endlessly…" description: "\"“Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the guilty party feels compelled to examine it and pick at it, so that it never really heals.”\" — Ste..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg" --- # Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the… ![“Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the guilty party feels compelled to examine it and pick at it, so that it never really heals.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg) > ““Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the guilty party feels compelled to examine it and pick at it, so that it never really heals.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Guilt persists as a lingering wound that the guilty cannot heal because they obsess over it. **In simple terms:** Guilt never heals. Key Takeaway Release guilt. Themes guilt healing psychology self‑reflection Mood somber introspective Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - confession - personal growth - addiction recovery Key Concepts pain compulsion self‑scrutiny Questions to Reflect On - What steps can break the cycle of rumination? - Can forgiveness heal guilt? A Different Perspective Healing may require acceptance, not endless analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) ## Related quotes > [“Guilt is like tarnish on a piece of silver. It effectively obscures beauty and radiance, but can never lessen its true value. 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Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [“You may have done spiritual work before this but this is the beginning of the path of Divine Love, for your soul drives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-aon-prakasha/you-may-have-done-spiritual-work-before-this-but-this-is-the/) [Padma Aon Prakasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-aon-prakasha/) > [A thinking man feels compelled to approach all life with the same reverence he has for his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/a-thinking-man-feels-compelled-to-approach-all-life-with-the-same/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“Beetles never stop. They gnaw silently and relentlessly. Guilt is like that too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-olsen/beetles-never-stop-they-gnaw-silently-and-relentlessly-guilt-is-like/) [Gregg Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-olsen/) > [You know, I suffer kind of from survivor's guilt. It's like you suffer from success because you feel like - why me? Why am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldlink/you-know-i-suffer-kind-of-from-survivor-s-guilt-it-s-like-you-suffer/) [Goldlink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldlink/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... 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No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Guilt quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/when-the-lord-jesus-christ-became-my-surety-he-went-to-calvary-s/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [“Even in the miserable guilt we feel over our beastlike insensitivity, the glory of God shines. If God were not gloriously desirable, why would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/even-in-the-miserable-guilt-we-feel-over-our-beastlike-insensitivity/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Regrets are just a way for the foolish and the guilty to pass the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gensoumaden-saiyuki/regrets-are-just-a-way-for-the-foolish-and-the-guilty-to-pass-the-time/) Gensoumaden Saiyuki > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money should not be in the hands of individuals; otherwise it will create this problem of being burdened with guilt. And money can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/money-should-not-be-in-the-hands-of-individuals-otherwise-it-will/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Food ... love ... mother ... career ... Live every day to the fullest. Partake of the four basic guilt groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/food-love-mother-career-live-every-day-to-the-fullest-partake-of-the/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [Anger was better than tears, better than grief, better than guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anger-was-better-than-tears-better-than-grief-better-than-guilt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Phil and Hannah had decided that Christian guilt was better than bad math”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-janzen/phil-and-hannah-had-decided-that-christian-guilt-was-better-than-bad/) [rhoda janzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-janzen/) > [No amount of guilt can solve the past & No amount of anxiety can change the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananymous/no-amount-of-guilt-can-solve-the-past-no-amount-of-anxiety-can-change/) [Ananymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananymous/) > [The essence of having fun is enjoying without guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-essence-of-having-fun-is-enjoying-without-guilt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) [Browse all 2,943 Guilt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the guilty party feels compelled to examine it and pick at it, so that it never really heals.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinating-and-the-guilty-party-feels/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guilt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinating-and-the-guilty-party-feels/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/stephen-king-13_regret_guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinati_1246842.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the guilty party feels compelled to examine it and pick at…” — Stephen King", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Guilt is like a sore, endlessly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinating-and-the-guilty-party-feels/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinating-and-the-guilty-party-feels/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```