5 Reasons Letting Go Of Grudges Is Good For You

The great Gandhi once said, “Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.”

To forgive and let go of painful wounds inflicted by someone else takes a lot of courage. Our self-preserving human nature will guard that anger until we are able to pay them back for the hurt they did us.

While your reasons behind the grudge may be valid, cuddling those negative emotions may jeopardize your own health.

Letting go of grudges will benefit you in more ways than one.

Here are 5 reasons letting go of grudges is good for you:

1. A short episode of anger can already deal significant health risks.

Long-time grudges slowly eat away at your well-being, but even short episodes of anger can impact your health in the same way. In a study done by The Harvard School of Public Health, they found that subjects were five times more at risk of heart attack and three times more prone to develop stroke within two hours after an outburst of anger.

2. Holding on to anger could hurt your heart.

Keeping anger simmering constantly below the surface can take a serious toll on your health. The American Heart Association conducted studies that found high levels of anger may put you more at risk of developing coronary heart disease. Repressing those emotions may also cause an increase in blood pressure according to a study by Men’s Health done in 2013.

3. It harms your mental health.

Painful and upsetting situations have their way of putting up roots in the mind that almost always lead to negative effects on mental health. Holding grudges only makes existing anxiety and stress worse and holding on to these hostile feelings can morph into something more dangerous.

4. Your children might identify with your rage.

Behaviors of small children are shaped by their environment, and this is most especially evident concerning anger and hostility. Cognitive Development journal published a study showing that babies can not only sense anger, but they also adjust their behavior around it.

5. Letting go of grudges will improve your overall outlook.

Holding on to hostile emotions weigh you down. A science journal once conducted an experiment among 160 undergraduate students where they made them recall a time of conflict before they were asked to engage in a physical jumping exercise. They found that those who considered exercising forgiveness jumped highest, implying that grudges burden you beyond just the mind.

Read the full article by Huffpost here to see more reasons why letting go of grudges is good for you.

Is there a grudge you are struggling to let go of right now? What steps might you take to be able to forgive? Share your thoughts in the comments below!