Holding grudges can have impacts on your health, study shows

Do you hold onto grudges? It may actually do you more harm than good. In fact, it may have a negative impact on your health.

Holding a grudge may increase your chances of experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions, according to a study done by psychologist Everett Worthington. Grudges can also increase your stress levels, which can then contribute to high blood pressure, and even heart problems.

Psychologist Everett Worthington, who spent decades studying the science of forgiveness, developed method to let things go. It’s called reach, and it stands for:

• Recall- Recall the hurt. Look at the incident in an objective way, and don’t try to push aside your feelings.
• Empathize- Empathize with the offender without excusing the action or invalidating your own feelings.
• Altruistic gift- Give the altruistic gift of forgiveness.
• Commit- Make a decision to forgive. You can write a letter that you don’t send to help yourself make the commitment.
• Hold- Hold on to forgiveness.

While the forgiveness study showed that people benefited from the intervention, it also revealed that the effects can fade over time, emphasizing the need to keep practicing.