There is a difference between the two.  There are two questions to assess real guilt:  did I break the law; did I do something to better myself at the expense of another person’s well being.  If the answer is yes to either of these questions, then the feeling of guilt is very healthy because it tells us we are doing something that isn’t okay.  False-guilt is driven by the tyranny of should and it is a consequence of self-accusations that are demoralizing.  The experience of guilt in this case is very real—no doubt about it—but the source of the guilt is not based in reality but in our self-berating thoughts that have as much substance as dust bunnies.A friend and colleague of mine,  Karen Stevensen, MSW, had said that one of the purposes of guilt is to give us a sensation, a tap on the shoulder so to speak, that whispers to us we  need to correct the behavior.  Once we acknowledge that, then we can let go of the guilt because it has served its purpose.  The purpose of this guilty feeling is corrective in nature and once we change our behavior guilt must be released.