Never even thought about it. To me. Saying I'm Sorry is what I mean.
Sure wouldn't help me get out of unpleasant situation. Never learned how
to do that. Would have saved a lot of stress, frustration, etc. if I knew how
to get away from unpleasant situations.

I usually say "I'm sorry" if I have said or did something wrong to someone. That's just my take of the meaning of being sorry.

I’m not so much confused by it but I’m know I use the meaning of sorry in different ways: I’m sorry when I’ve done something hurtful or regretful. If someone expresses a loss or something upsetting, I am sorry for their loss or what they are going through.

And sometimes I use it flippantly like, well sorry but that’s just how it is. Or sorry?? As in, “Sorry what did you just say to me??!”

I think a lot of words
become filler or expressions. As I think about it, I feel like there are words and expressions, and then there is intention and then there is communication. And sometimes they are married or coalesce, but sometimes they are completely independent of each other.

And now I’m not sure if I’m making sense haha!

No confusion here. I take it at face value.

yea, i think my confusion is mostly my childhood conditioning. it were a sorry state of affairs.

I’m sorry… but for what? If I don’t change my behavior I’m just manipulating you. I’m sorry for my existence. My negativity. I’m sorry I’m so apologetic. But then ofcourse everything is my fault.

There is a great book called, "Why
Won’t you apologize?" The author says "I’m sorry" is almost meaningless but "I apologize" carries real weight.
EDIT: I was typing this in a fast moving car on a long road trip so I came back to fix all my typos. Sorry for the almost illegible original style.

Sorries can be confusing depending on the context. Sometimes it’s ok to be sorry. Maybe more for simple things without depth. But if it’s in regards to something complex then perhaps there is other ways to speak. Without using sorry.

the only place i use the phrase is immediate acknowledgement of a minor wrong. "oopsie. didn't mean to step on your foot. my bad."

for the genuine sorrow, such as the death of a loved one, i most often say, "ouch. sometimes words are not enough."

I'm with you. Sometimes words are not enough. And I'm not in the best head space right now, so I prefer most people to not say anything or do anything with me if they are going feel sorry for it....just don't do the hurtful act in the first place!

amen, mel. i'm swimming in sorrow already. please don't add to the deluge.

the best place to find sympathy is in the dictionary between shit and syphilis.

Interesting discussion.

I'm not perfect and I make mistakes. If I do something wrong to someone, I say that I'm sorry to acknowledge my error and to let the person know that I realized I made a mistake and that I care about them. Sometimes, saying I'm sorry is all the validation the other person needs.

I try to change my behavior after saying I'm sorry so as not to repeat the wrong. However, being imperfect, I sometimes repeat the error.

I wish I knew what to do and say in all situations so as not to hurt people's feelings, but I'm human. I try hard to read situations and do what is appropriate.

Saying your sorry to someone that has just experienced a big loss is acceptable to me. The person may not know what to say in a difficult situation.

There are people that just say I'm sorry to brush things aside, I guess we're all different.