Part 4: Mental Health - The Healing Power of Forgiveness

This is our fourth article in the series on mental health, and today we will focus on a major opportunity for growth and impediment to growth and closeness to God when we don’t practice it—forgiveness.

Let’s begin the conversation with what unforgiveness looks like. Few things weigh on the mind and spirit like unforgiveness. Bitterness, resentment, and replaying past hurts can occupy our thoughts, disrupt our sleep, and poison our relationships. Psychologists note that harboring unforgiveness increases stress, anxiety, and even physical symptoms like high blood pressure. Spiritually, Jesus warns that unforgiveness blocks the flow of God’s grace in our own lives (Matthew 6:14–15).

But forgiveness is not denial. It does not erase the wrong or pretend it didn’t hurt. Forgiveness is for-giving. It is for the act of giving away—giving the offense back to God, giving freedom to the offender, and most importantly, giving yourself the gift of release. As Lewis Smedes once wrote, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.”

Wayne Dyer described forgiveness as a spiritual reset: “Forgiving others is essential for spiritual growth. It means letting go of the past so you can live fully in the present.” He also emphasized that forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning—it means choosing to stop carrying the poison. For Dyer, forgiveness is one of the highest forms of self-love, because by giving mercy, you reclaim your own peace.

The healing power of forgiveness works on two levels. First, it restores mental health by loosening the grip of intrusive thoughts, anger, and shame. Second, it renews spiritual vitality by reconnecting us with the flow of God’s mercy. Forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconciliation, but it always means freedom.

Jesus on the cross modeled the ultimate forgiveness, praying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). To walk in His footsteps is to choose the harder but freer path. When we forgive, we don’t erase the past—we redeem it. Forgiveness is truly for-giving—and it is a gift both to others and to ourselves.

Reflection Questions:

1. Who in your life do you still carry the weight of unforgiveness?

2. How might unforgiveness be affecting your mental clarity and spiritual joy?

3. What would it look like to release that person into God’s hands today, even if reconciliation is not possible?