SBS On Demand Mark Davidson is a former police detective sergeant with a 24-year career in the NSW Police Force. Eleven of those years were as a senior sniper and tactical team leader with the force's Tactical Operations Unit, which responds to high-risk domestic and counter-terrorism situations. He spent his entire adult life in and around the police and military. It was what he loved, it was what he knew, and it was what he was good at.
"Guilt is a very complicated emotion. On the one hand, it can cause untold suffering, and it can possess us really unfairly. But on the other hand, that can be a compass to our inner goodness," David told Insight. Guilt differs from shame, however, although they are often confused. At a very basic level, David differentiates the two as: "Guilt is 'I did something bad' whereas shame is 'I am bad'," David said.