MamasHealth.com Home Mental Health Information ADHD ADHD Treatments Addicted to bad relationships Antisocial Personality Anxiety Anxiety Help Autism Bipolar Disorder Body Dysmorphic Childhood Depression Borderline Depression Depression in teens Fragile X Syndrome Grief Inpatient Hospitalization Marriage Counseling Medications Memory Obsessive Panic Disorder Peer Pressure Pervasive Developmental Disorder Postpartum Depression Post Traumatic Stress Psychology of Impotence Rett Syndrome Psychotherapy SAD Schizoaffective Disorder Schizophrenia Self-Esteem Separation Anxiety Social Phobia St. John's Wort Teen suicide Treatment options Treatment strategies Trust after an affair Mental Health Medicine Email Mama Finding a psychiatrist Finding a psychologist Psychiatrist vs psychologist Coping with having a Special Ed child How to deal with a Special Ed child Mentally Challenged Child Seriouslly Ill Child Importance of forgiving	Forgiveness Why you should forgive Forgiveness is the experience of finding inner peace. One of the most difficult things we have to do during the course of our lives is to forgive those who wrong us. When we are hurt, our first reaction is usually to seek revenge and strike back. Revenge may provide temporary satisfaction, but usually the satisfaction is replaced by guilt, sadness, and remorse. Forgiveness lightens your heart and your spirit in a way that no amount of satisfaction from revenge possibly can. Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is about letting go of resentment and anger caused by the person you are forgiving. How long does it take to forgive? The process of forgiveness cannot be rushed. Depending on the person, it may take days, many months or years to totally forgive someone. Forgiveness can neither be compelled nor stopped by another. What happens if you don't forgive? If you don't forgive someone who has wronged you, you run the risk of holding on to the anger, resentment and a sense of betrayal. If you hold on to the anger, resentment and sense of betrayal, you can make your own life miserable. A vindictive, angry mind-set creates bitterness, increases stress levels, and can diminish overall health. Why is it difficult to forgive? One of the biggest challenges to forgiveness is the belief that forgiving the offense, such as an affair, means that you condone it. This is not true. Forgiveness does not mean that you have to reconcile with the person who has wronged you.	Sponsor a contest on MamasHealth.com Sign up for our Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust
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