Forgiveness
is like an
apple a day…
By Lori Rubenstein
T
raditional Western medicine treats
symptoms. If we are
depressed, we take a
pill. If we are having
panic attacks, we take another pill.
If we have aches and pains, we get
pain relievers or muscle relaxants.
The truth is that stress causes many
of our health problems. At the
same time, we have to remember
that when we talk about stress as a
negative symptom, short bursts of
stress can be extremely helpful and
useful as a motivator to get things
done, and therefore can be regarded
as positive.
So what causes the negative stress that is not good for our
health? Some obvious examples are
feeling threatened, fearful, or being
under pressure. However, a significant cause of long-term stress is
living with persistent thoughts and
feelings of frustration, anger, guilt,
hurt, or resentment. These feelings
may be so pervasive that we regard
them as a normal and immutable
part of our lives. But holding onto
these feelings, not being able to let
go, release, or feel compassion for
ourselves or another, may create
adverse reactions in our bodies that
can result in dis-ease. So, yes, it’s
true: long-term lack of forgiveness
causes long-term stress which can
turn into chronic illness.
There are many studies over
the past 10 years that support this
conclusion. For example, Stanford
University Center for Research
in Disease Prevention found the
following: “when you hold onto bitterness for years, it stops you from
living life fully. As it turns out, it
wears out your immune system and
hurts your heart.”
What happens when we are
negatively stressed out is that the
brain tells the adrenals to release the
hormone cortisol. Cortisol is a natural pain reliever. It reduces inflammation so it feels good, at first. This
is often referred to as the “fight or
flight” hormone. When your body
releases cortisol, you are in a state
of heightened alert, which is helpful
when you are in trouble. However,
it is harmful when it is released over
a prolonged period of time. When
your body is in “fight or flight”
mode, your immune system literally
shuts down!
For example, Don Colbert, in
his book, Deadly Emotions, says
that when chronic anger is present,
the body has a steady drip of the
hormone cortisol. This excessive
presence of cortisol can cause the
immune system to