✍️ Write a letter to forgive | Happy Habit #5

In this week's happy habit, I share an external behavior that you can do anytime you realize you're harboring negative emotions against someone else as a result of feeling hurt. The research on this one has some massive insights, I definitely recommend checking it out.
Forgiveness is one of the key skills to build lasting happiness in light of emotional pain and rejection. If you feel pain by remembering someone who has hurt you, chances are you can get a lasting happiness boost by going through the process of forgiveness.
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RESEARCH OVERVIEW
When we harbor resentment and anger, it negatively affects our physical and mental health [. Working through a process to forgive someone who has hurt us can have a lasting positive affect on our sense of well-being [2]. This can be especially powerful alongside a counselor or in a group setting.
Studies show that social pain occurs in the same parts of the brain as physical pain, yet most people aren't taught how to heal the emotional pains inflicted by difficult relationships [4]. Many people find it hard to forgive and hold onto the transgressions of others. Unfortunately, holding a grudge may have lasting impact on our health in the form of
cardiovascular problems and reduced immune system performance [5].
CITATIONS
1. Shields, Grant S, Loren Toussaint, Gabriel Dorn, and George M Slavich. “Effects of Lifetime Stress Exposure on Mental and Physical Health in Young Adulthood: How Stress Degrades and Forgiveness Protects Health" SAGE Journals, August 19, 2014.
2. Thomas W. Baskin, Robert D. Enright, Intervention Studies on Forgiveness: A Meta-Analysis
3. Cohen, Adam. “Research on the Science of Forgiveness: An Annotated Bibliography.” Greater Good Magazine. Greater Good Science Center, October 1, 2004.
4. Eisenberger et. al., An experimental study of shared sensitivity to physical pain and social rejection 2003 Science Direct
5. Witvliet, C.V.O., Ludwig, T. E., & Vander Laan, K. L. (2001). Granting forgiveness of harboring grudges: Implications for emotion, physiology, and health. Psychological Science, 12, 117-123.

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