Author Claims Forgiveness Is Good For Your Health
BOSTON (CBS) - In many cultures and religions, forgiveness plays a role in the healing of the soul.
Doctors say in a stressful world, it's more important than ever because carrying anger or resentment just adds to anxiety.
What's more, retention of negative emotions of anger and hatred undermine our physical health or mental health, and not surprisingly, our spiritual well-being.
WBZ-TV's Paula Ebben reports
That's the theory behind the book "The Forgiveness Project" by Rev. Michael Barry.
Rev. Barry actually considers the "inability to forgive" a disease which can affect our health, especially if you're fighting a long-term illness.
"We know chronic anxiety and distress causes your digestive system to under-function, we know it effects our cardiovascular system, but it also affects our immune system."
On the streets of Boston, people agree that holding on to anger has consequences.
Some young women we spoke with compared it to "poison" and even said they believe it endangers heart health.
Rev. Barry says there are no magic steps to forgiving, but he does say we can find forgiveness by understanding our desire to forgive, our humility, our spirituality and admitting when we are angry.
"Knowing forgiveness," says Barry "is at least teaching people some coping skills when we know we eventually are going to find wounds and bumps and grinds along the way."
He says once you forgive, you release the burden of hatred and only then can your healing begin.
