The Healing Benefits of Forgiveness
Forgiving someone who has caused you pain and suffering is not that simple, but when you decide to forgive, you’ll benefit from the healing powers forgiveness can give. When you can release the pent-up pain, you can prevent it from growing and turning into huge resentment.
You can avoid the emotional poison that can spread to other areas of your life.
If you’ve been hurting, it can make you bitter, and that can pass on from not just the person who has upset you, but to others as well.
Be assured though, that forgiving someone you dislike doesn’t mean you’re okay with what they did. It doesn’t wipe out the consequences of their actions. They are still there. It’s just that you are being forgiving for your sake, not theirs.
Let’s take a look at the healing benefits you’ll receive when you can forgive.
Stress Levels Will Ease and Physical Health Improve
Holding a grudge day after day, year after year, can make you feel stressed. Just thinking about the issue can bring a frown to your face. It can contribute to feeling depressed and anxious and make your life so much more complicated than it needs to be.
Think about the last time you argued with someone close to you. The lingering tension and unresolved feelings between you both can cause your stress levels to spike, making you feel emotionally uneasy and drained. Some days, you may even think you’ve gotten over it and moved on, but then other days, there it is, back to haunt you.
If you can forgive, you will feel the heaviness in your heart lift. Instead of feeling stressed, you will feel more at peace. Plus, if you reduce your stress levels you become physically healthier!
Negative emotions can cause all sorts of physical health issues, such as increasing your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and your brain health can suffer too.
Think about a time when you were extremely stressed. You may have noticed that you were getting headaches or had muscle tension in the back of the neck and shoulders or even had trouble sleeping. These are physical problems caused by emotional distress.
However, when you finally forgive, your blood pressure will normalize and you won’t be so anxious, so the headaches and muscle pain will ease, and you will feel a whole lot better. You’ll be able to sleep easier too.
Boosts Your Happiness and Self-Esteem
Releasing your negative emotions can help you become more grateful for what you have. You’ll have space in your heart to notice the things that truly matter to you, and this makes you happier with your life. Plus, if someone hurts you or treats you badly, you might start to doubt yourself. This can make you feel unworthy and damage your self-esteem.
Whereas, if you can forgive and be happy in your life, your self-esteem improves and everything, including yourself, feels good! So, forgiving others is important as it can boost your self-esteem and happiness and allow you to let go of the past.
Builds Your Trust In Others
If anyone wrongs you it is easy to want to turn your back on the world. How can you trust anyone again? What if they do what others have done to you?
This lack of trust may be justified, but all it does it hurt you and your chances at future loving and trusting relationships. Resentment and anger can stop you from trusting others.
They may have put fear in your heart, and so you don’t get hurt again, you may have built a wall up to protect you. There’s no way you will allow anyone is going to get in and hurt you again. Unfortunately, this protection you have built is harmful to you only.
Forgiveness, on the other hand, will set you free! Your forgiveness will erode your doubts and fears and help you build better connections with friends and family. It can even help mend damaged relationships, as you begin to trust again.
In Summary
As you can see forgiving someone, although hard to do, can provide you with healing benefits! Each day you decide to forgive is a step towards reclaiming your peace and happiness. Your past will always be there, that won’t change, but your attitude can. So be patient with yourself. You can’t just sit down and say I forgive. It’s a slow healing process but it’s there if you want it.