FORGIVENESS HEALS

It is reported that the most searched song on the cjmmusic.com website every Lent is the song Father I Have Sinned (The Prodigal Son) by Eugene O’Reilly.

“Father I have sinned, help me find my way. Remember not my sins, just let me hear you say: I forgive you, I love you. You are mine, take my hand. Go in peace, sin no more, beloved one.” This song — as well as Come To The Cross by Michael Smith, Come Back To Me by Gregory Norbert, and Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin — always makes it to the top Christian songs of forgiveness.

“My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace.”

It is almost impossible to reflect on the meaning of Lent without dwelling on forgiveness, both asking for forgiveness and granting it. Since this is a health column, let me just remind you that forgiveness is as good for your body as it is for your soul.

Dr. Karen Swartz, director of the Mood Disorders Adult Consultation Clinic at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, said that letting go of grudges is good for one’s health. She warned through publications in hopkinsmedicine.org that holding a grudge is an enormous physical burden.

“Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response. Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions. Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health,” Dr. Swartz explained.

When someone dwells on hatred, the person is always in a tense physical state every day and each time the hurt and disappointment is remembered.

“If someone is stuck in an angry state, what they’re essentially doing is being in a state of adrenaline. And some of the negative health consequences of not forgiving or being stuck there are high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, not having a good immune response. You’re constantly putting your energy somewhere else,” Dr. Swartz explained about the physical effects of anger.

When asked about the physical benefits of forgiveness, she said, “There has been excellent work that looks at what gets better after forgiveness training. Blood pressure is lower. People report needing fewer medicines. They report having better sleep. They report physically feeling better and having fewer physical complaints.”

Forgiving someone is, of course, easier said than done. Dr. Swartz reminded us that it is a process but we have the free will to choose to forgive and to move on.

“If you think of the steps of relaxation training, they’re often a part of forgiveness training. When you go into fight-or-flight mode, what you’re trying to say to your body is, “We don’t need to be in this mode. Let’s relax. Let’s do some deep breathing, let’s do muscle relaxation.” You focus on something else. And you actively work on relaxing your body; that’s often the first step. Let’s physically get you feeling differently, because then maybe you can think about things differently and not be in such a tense and geared-up state that you can’t really process information.”

“Certainly the healthiest thing is to forgive. There are many studies now demonstrating that you’ll have lower blood pressure and better blood flow. I think it would be better if people could view forgiveness as something they’re doing for themselves. Again, it’s not absolution. I think they get hung up on, ‘if I forgive you it gets forgotten,’ or ‘you’re not in trouble,’ or something else. Forgiveness is something different, which is to say, ‘I am not going to have these negative emotions consume me.’ That’s how I view it. And so forgiveness isn’t so much about the other person as your own process of saying, ‘I’m moving forward.’”

Only you can choose to free yourself from the bondage of hate and un-forgiveness. It’s time to let go and let God.

* * *

Forgiveness is as good for your body as it is for your soul. When someone dwells on hatred, the person is always in a tense physical state.