How practicing forgiveness can help us live better and longer

While some people are naturally forgiving, most of us struggle to forget when we’ve been hurt, harmed, or offended by people in our lives. However, recent research has shown that forgiveness is about more than just kindness and compassion. There may be a surprising number of health benefits to forgiveness that can help us live longer and better!

The scientific evidence supporting forgiveness
A recent study titled “Forgive to Live,” by Luther College psychologist Loren Toussaint, found a compelling link between forgiveness, health, and mortality. In the study, 1500 older adults were questioned on their attitudes towards forgiving others. At a 3-year follow up, researchers were able to determine whether forgiveness predicted later mortality and health problems. Toussaint’s research team found that there was one component of forgiveness that predicted mortality: conditional forgiveness.

Forgoing conditional forgiveness
Conditional forgiveness, or waiting from an apology from the other party, can impair your lifelong vitality; people high on the scale of conditional forgiveness died before those who scored lower in this area. This kind of forgiveness can be difficult to find, especially if the other party has already passed on or if you are no longer in contact. Unfortunately, nursing negative feelings can cause stress levels to remain continually high. Instead, by forgiving the other person without an apology, you can begin the healing process at any time.

Forgiveness is not always easy; sometimes it can take years to make amends with the wrongdoer in a relationship. However, by starting the process in your own mind – without conditional forgiveness from others – you can reap the benefits of forgiveness and enjoy a happier, healthier, and longer life.