Remorse
Repentance is the feeling - in special cases an affect - the discontent, disgust, pain and regret over one's own erroneous actions and omissions, combined with the awareness ( or perception ) of its worthlessness and wrong, and with the will of intent for possible satisfaction and improvement.
Individual aspects
The term reliability has in many areas ( psychological, legal, philosophical, theological, etc. ) is of particular importance.
Right
In the jurisprudence of the moral concept of repentance has been found in the so-called active repentance feeder. The active repentance can be omitted in the German criminal offenses of certain deeds. Withdrawal from the attempt to commit a crime or the prevention of its own planned action causes according to § 24 of the Criminal Code impunity.
The admission of remorse because of incorrect application of the law is the judicial remorse.
The term is also an important aspect in so-called truth commissions, as they were established in the 1990s in many countries to educate political crimes and partly to amnesty.
Psychology
Repentance is also the sustainable regret one 's own guilt for an act or omission which assessed their author in retrospect as reprehensible and accuses himself. To regret something is not to be confused with the fact that one is ashamed because of an action.
The first reaction to this feeling is usually a withdrawal from contact with others. If one withdraws due to feelings of guilt, you lose the contact with others. If this is allowed to fully perceive the consequences of one's act, gives an opening for repentance.
Some people with personality disorders, among others, sociopathy or antisocial personality disorder are not or hardly able to repentance.
Religions
Many religions offer penance as a way to make amends by doing a deed repented. In the Catholic Church, the repentance is the most important act of the penitent. It is " sorrow of the soul and the abhorrence of the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin " ( Council of Trent ).