I feel a lot of disgust with the people who have harmed me. How does this relation to contempt and unforgiveness
Contempt is a common reaction we have toward those who have hurt us deeply. Please remember that living with contempt hurts you more than it hurts the person who is the target of that contempt. As you start a forgiveness process, please be gentle with yourself. The process takes time. In essence, you will work on seeing the humanity in the one who hurt you—-and in yourself. Sometimes when we live with contempt we end up not liking ourselves. You deserve to love yourself, given the pain that you have had to endure. So, as you forgive another person and see his or her inherent (built-in) worth, you will find that you will begin to see that you, too, have such inherent worth. I urge you to start on the forgiveness journey when you are ready.