Forgiveness & Well-Being
Well-Being & Forgiveness
Forgiveness demands that you dig deep in to your reserves and ask some fundamental questions of yourself. Questions such as, what benefit is there in holding on to feelings that deplete my energy? They take up space in your mind that could be put to better use. Whoever the transgressor is, they may not even be aware that you are harbouring these unpleasant negative thoughts and feelings, however, you still carry the burden, the heavy slothful stench in your everydayness.
Everywhere you turn you see forgiveness quotes, books about forgiveness, poems about forgiveness, individuals discussing the power of forgiveness, you cannot get away from it.
You may ask how is forgiving connected to my overall well-being? Research tells us that those individuals who tend to forgive their transgressors score lower on measures of anxiety, depression and hostility, Thompson et al., 2005.
It seems that letting go of those unhealthy thoughts and feelings have a self-soothing mechanism. Forgiveness in my opinion is a very misunderstood concept, forgiveness is not just saying “I forgive you” without any genuineness behind the words. Genuine forgiveness is visible to the any on-looker and any pretence of forgiveness is just bad faith.
Several studies have demonstrated that true genuine forgiveness aids beneficial emotion regulation processes, promoting compassion and the maintenance of merciful thoughts and feelings which are linked to a harmonious balance of health and well-being.
