{"id":14121,"date":"2025-11-06T13:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/for-your-health\/?p=14121"},"modified":"2025-11-06T13:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:20:15","slug":"forgiveness-courtesy-dr-andy-mclean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/for-your-health\/2025\/11\/06\/forgiveness-courtesy-dr-andy-mclean\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgiveness (courtesy Dr. Andy McLean)"},"content":{"rendered":"

We know that chronic stress is not good for our physical and mental health.<\/p>\n

But if you take a moment to think of things that might contribute to your ongoing sense of stress, it\u2019s not likely that \u201cholding a grudge\u201d makes your list.<\/p>\n

As Mark Twain allegedly put it, \u201cAnger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.\u201d<\/p>\n

When someone has wronged you, it is typically you who carries the burden. Holding onto anger and resentment increases that burden (physically and emotionally) exponentially.<\/p>\n

Forgiving someone does not mean forgetting or excusing the transgression. Rather, it is an intentional act or process that allows a person to free up emotional energy towards something more productive and healthy. For some, the idea of forgiveness falls under the umbrella of spirituality. However, there are significant physical and mental benefits that can occur when one decides to stop holding a grudge.<\/p>\n

One Harvard study<\/a><\/strong> found that the act of forgiveness reduces anxiety and depression and increases hope. Other studies have noted cardiovascular, immune system, and sleep benefits of dropping a grudge. And self-forgiveness provides similar results. Some of us are able to forgive relatively quickly. For others, the process takes years or might never occur.<\/p>\n

Forgiveness researchers Enright and Fitzgibbons<\/a><\/strong> note four stages of forgiveness:<\/p>\n