We often regret what we did once and did not do, without taking advantage of the opportunities. The feeling of regret appears immediately after the event or, conversely, many years later, when the understanding of lost profits comes. The strength of emotions when a person regrets the past may not be as strong as shame, fear, or guilt, but it also carries a negative connotation. Why does a person regret? On the one hand, the feeling of regret is associated with failure, because the event of the past, regardless , whether it happened or not, led the person to the wrong place. On the other hand, you can only regret when you understand what opportunities were missed. The feeling of regret, like insight, comes suddenly and a person can go into depression. When we regret something, we experience sadness, resentment, a desire to go back and fix everything, change it, make the right choice. But we can’t live in the past, because only in the present can we be happy, so we need to fight the feeling of regret. What to do if a feeling of regret comes over you. 1. First of all, it is important to understand that whatever choice you make in life, it is yours. And this must be accepted and realized. At the time of making the decision in that period of time, you were different, with different knowledge and experience, and this does not mean you could not have acted differently. 2. Think carefully, was there any benefit for you? What did you miss when you did or didn't do something in the past? After all, no one can predict which path of fate you would have taken then. Perhaps it was there that something worse awaited you than what you have now. For example. The woman regrets that she gave up her sports career, but when assessing the present moment, it turns out that instead of competitions and grueling training, she chose the smiles of her children, a caring and loving husband, family evenings in front of the fireplace and country picnics.3. Regretting the past, we waste precious time and our resources. It is better to direct your efforts to not miss present and future opportunities, and not to useless experiences. Many people regret impulsive, unreasonable actions, overly emotional reactions that led to irreparable changes. No matter how your life changes after this, regret will only add negativity to the present. The right thing to do in this case is to gain experience, realize that sometimes you cannot cope with emotions, and work on yourself, taking into account past experiences. When we realize why we acted the way we did in the past, we can change so that our subsequent choices become different. For example. Get rid of the triggers that provoke affective behavior, work through psychotrauma, fears and other internal barriers that cause you to regret today. If you don’t stop regretting. When the feeling of regret is too strong, depression cannot be avoided. A psychologist will help you cope with this if you cannot get out of this state on your own. Whatever happens in life, you should not regret it. You won’t be able to change anything except one thing – your future. This means draw conclusions from past experiences and move forward. There will be many more forks on your path where you will need to make a single choice. And whether this choice is right or not depends only on you. Live in joy and do not regret the past!