How good are you at forgiving yourself when you make a mistake?

I was reading this article about Catholic priests and psychiatry and I ran across these two sentences:

“At the heart of confession is forgiveness: by telling the truth and showing contrition, the sinner is absolved and, presumably, goes forth determined to resist further wrongdoing. So it is with psychiatry—or so it was hoped.”

To me this is about being nonjudgmental about moral mistakes. In my adventures through life the last few years, I have discovered that it is important to have a nonjudgmental listener if you are to be able to talk about some things. Both Catholic priests and psychologists can serve this role.

However, Catholic priests can absolve you of the sin. Psychologists can’t. Perhaps most importantly, though, is whether an individual forgives his or herself.

Can you forgive yourself for your mistakes? Or do they haunt you for a long time? Does confession help? Does making amends help? Do you confess or make amends? Do you hold onto your guilt and let it ride inside you for a long time, if not forever?