Forgiveness can benefit our mental health and lower stress.
What Is the True Meaning of Forgiveness?
A common misunderstanding of forgiveness is that it is associated with reconciliation.
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For instance, you are estranged from your parent due to a history of child abuse andneglect.
Forgiving them does not necessarily mean you should probably rebuild a relationship or even be in contact with them.
It can be done by yourself.
What Are the Three Aspects of Forgiveness?
It involves interpersonal forgiveness between two or more people.
Forgiving yourself for your own wrongdoing requires the most effort.
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These situations make people angry; they may blame God, and feel helpless, powerless, andhopeless.
If a person is unable to forgive, they may develop a negative view of the world.
Ways Forgiveness Affects Mental Health
There are several ways that forgiveness positively impacts our mental health.
Improves Mental Health Outcomes
Forgiveness can help reduce depression, anxiety, and major psychiatric disorders.
A longitudinal study on female nurses looked at the forgiveness of others and health and well-being in mid-life.
It concluded that forgiveness may have population mental health implications in promoting psychosocial well-being.
Self-compassionmay be a factor that explains this effect.
A study looked at the effect of self-compassion on the relationship between a lack of forgiveness and depressive symptoms.
Results showed that self-compassion moderated the relationship between lack of forgiveness and depression.
Forgiveness can help create peace in our lives andheal emotional wounds.
A study examined the relationship between forgiveness, stress, and changes in mental and physical health.
The results showed that increased forgiveness was significantly associated with decreases in stress and mental health symptoms.
The researchers suggest there may be a reciprocal effect between stress and forgiveness.
On the other hand, improved mental health is associated with decreased stress which increases forgiveness.
Feeling angry occasionally is completely normal and healthy.
Teaching forgiveness to younger populations may help create a less angry future.
It showed that teaching forgiveness education interventions to children and adolescents had a positive effect on forgiveness and anger.
This effect was evident regardless of whether the school was located in an economically disadvantaged or advantaged area.
Rebuilds Self-Esteem
Lastly, forgiveness can have an impact on your self-esteem.
Forgiving someone who hurt you by offering empathy and compassion can transform the way you see yourself.
However, there are ways to help you reap the mental health benefits of forgiveness.
It requires time, effort, and self-work to consciously let go of a painful experience.
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