Forgiving Others Can Protect You From Depression

The study examined aging adults in particular and wanted to see how forgiveness affected their mental health and depression particularly if the participants felt unforgiven by others.

They used data from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, which includes information about 1,000 adults who are older than 67.

The researchers found that older women in particular benefited from forgiving others; they were less likely to be depressed if they indulged in forgiveness, whether or not they felt unforgiven by others.

Forgiving a friend or partner for little flaws and pet peeves is one thing, but it’s often harder to let go of bigger wrongdoings like someone breaking your trust.

But allowing yourself to forgive others might help protect you from depression, according to a new study out of the University of Missouri.

However, the same results didn’t apply to men. In fact, men still reported high levels of depression if they felt unforgiven by others even if they tried to forgive others.

While it’s only one small study, it points to the notion that men and women cope differently with depression, and perhaps women are more likely to feel relief or happiness when they nourish social ties a part of which involves forgiveness and empathy.

“It doesn’t feel good when we perceive that others haven’t forgiven us for something,” Christine Proulx, an author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri, said in the press release.

 “When we think about forgiveness and characteristics of people who are forgiving altruistic, compassionate, empathetic these people forgive others and seem to compensate for the fact that others aren’t forgiving them.”

The researchers point out that as people get older, they tend to reflect more about their lives and characteristics and they're more likely to forgive others. It turns out that, for women at least, this reflection and forgiveness benefits mental health.

“It sounds like moral superiority,” Proulx continued, “but it’s not about being a better person. It’s ‘I know that this hurts because it’s hurting me,’ and those people are more likely to forgive others, which appears to help decrease levels of depression, particularly for women.” CONTINUE READING

MEDICAL DAILY