It’s pretty easy to hold grudges when you’ve been hurt or betrayed, but how does carrying that anger around with you affect your health? Not surprisingly, holding onto the bad stuff someone has done to you is super bad for your health and overall well-being. If you have a hard time forgiving, there are a few tips you can try to help you let go of that negative energy. Being a forgiving person isn’t always easy, but it is really good for your health.
Grudges and Poor Health
Holding a grudge can be really hard to do and take up a whole heck of a lot of energy. I mean, you feel awful a lot of the time and your health gets messed up because of it. For example, it can increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels. These symptoms may lead to cardiovascular and heart disease down the line. Being unable to shake the hate also increases your chances of developing depression or anxiety and messes with your immune system. If you have trouble with forgiveness, you may be setting yourself up for a lot of unhappiness. Luckily, you can learn to forgive without compromising your pride or your morals.
Tips for Learning How to Forgive
Some people are better at singing “Let It Go” than others, but everyone has the ability to learn to be a forgiving person. Always remember that you’re forgiving for your own sake, not for anyone else’s. Remember why you love or loved the person who hurt you — even just as a fellow human being. You might even send them thoughts of love. This requires being a bigger person, but it’s worth it to feel the release from anger and pain.Try focusing on the future, not the past. Also, it’s important to never go to sleep angry. Your sleep is precious — and in the end, this is all about you feeling better.
Perhaps most importantly, allow yourself to feel the hurt. Give yourself time to experience your emotions. Then, move on. Being able to forgive will bring you peace of mind and a lot of health benefits. See — all that anger and all that pain? It isn’t hurting them. It is hurting you.
Forgiveness and Good Health
Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting. It doesn’t mean letting toxic people back into your life. What it does mean is that you’re giving yourself a gift. A weight is lifted from you when you let go of a grudge. Forgiveness is letting go of resentment and vengeful thoughts, and there are a lot of benefits to forgiveness.
Your anxiety and stress levels will decrease, your blood pressure will lower, plus you’ll have a strengthened immune system and improved heart health. Not to mention your relationships will be better off and your mental health will benefit. Forgiveness won’t always end in reconciliation, and sometimes that’s okay. In fact, depending on the situation, that might even sometimes be for the best. However, your other relationships and future ones will benefit from your freed state.
Grudges are easy to hold onto, but all that negativity really only hurts you. It damages your health and your happiness. More than that, holding a grudge helps the person you’re upset with hold sway over your emotional state. You deserve better than that. Try out a few ways to practice forgiveness, and your health will benefit from it. It won’t necessarily be easy, but it will be worth it.
