If you had one week where you couldn't experience guilt, how would that change your friendships? Would you end relationships? Would you set boundaries? Would you ask for help? Would you pull away from your family to spend more time with friends without feeling bad about it?

These questions were sparked by the book I'm reading, "The Guilt Pill" by Saumya Dave. In it, the main character, Maya, takes a new pill that numbs the part of her brain that feels guilt and... well, it's quite a ride.

So I read four studies about women's guilt and in this episode I'll unpack what I discovered. Then we'll look at ways that our perpetual "interpersonal guilt" shapes the decisions we make in our friendships... and the surprising dangers and benefits that come of it.

Here are the 4 studies we review in the episode:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9373443/

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/80-women-recognize-value-self-nurture-yet-few-care-selves-they-care-others

https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjso.12575

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/spanish-journal-of-psychology/article/abs/intensity-of-habitual-guilt-in-men-and-women-differences-in-interpersonal-sensitivity-and-the-tendency-towards-anxiousaggressive-guilt/8646A546F01B6ABF51C9C6F1EF0620A1

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