Tagged: “hurtful event”
Is Forgiveness Good for Your Health?
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A new article on forgiveness (How to let go of grudges — and why it could be good for your health) was published online by the Washington Post on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The article is behind a paywall ($2 for a one-time purchase of this one article) and can be found at this link!
What Does Forgiveness Entail?
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On January 26, 2026, Richard Balkin, a professor at the University of Mississippi, published an article on the website The Conversation discussing forgiveness. In two places on the site, he defines forgiveness this way:
- “At its core, forgiveness is internal: a way of laying down ill will and our emotional burden……”
- “……forgiveness comes when we relinquish feelings of ill will toward another.”
Is this philosophically correct? We would say no because it is reductionistic, focusing on only half of the equation when it comes to the moral virtue of forgiveness. If forgiveness is a moral virtue, then, as a moral virtue, it concerns goodness toward others. More specifically, when it comes to forgiveness, the person is exercising goodness toward the one who behaved unjustly. This would involve not only the free-will attempt to reduce or eliminate “ill will” but also, to be more complete, its essence needs to include the struggle to offer positive feelings, thoughts, and behaviors toward the other person as well, even if the other is no longer in the forgiver’s life. In other words, even without reconciliation, a forgiver can speak well of the offending person to others. Reducing ill will and offering goodness captures the essence of forgiveness more accurately than the appropriation of either one alone.
The article can be read here:
Protecting Yourself if You Want to Forgive
Dr. Robert Enright
Given the recent criticism of forgiveness, Robert Enright recently published an essay on the Psychology Today website titled “Protecting Yourself if You Want to Forgive.”
It can be found here:
Protecting Yourself if You Want to Forgive, February 19, 2026
Enright Forgiveness Motivation Inventory Available Soon!
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A new forgiveness measure has been validated and soon will be on this website, free of charge for those who ask for a copy of it. The scale is called the Enright Forgiveness Motivation Inventory (EFMI). It assesses people’s reasons for forgiving. As examples, is the person primarily forgiving to heal from emotional challenges? Is the person forgiving to help the one who was unfair to improve behavior? The reference to the journal article on the validation of this scale is this:
Li, Y., Kim, J., Song, J., & Enright, R.D. (in press). Validating the Enright Forgiveness Motivation Inventory (EFMI). Current Psychology
Insights on Forgiveness & Childhood Trauma
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In a comprehensive literature review, a group of researchers found that forgiving others for adverse childhood experiences can be difficult. Yet, they conclude in their Abstract, “…..forgiveness of specific perpetrators was associated with better outcomes across studies, though survivors with severe abuse histories typically reported greater difficulty with forgiving. Studies revealed harmful effects when survivors felt pressured to forgive, or not to forgive.”
The reference to this work is:
Kanter, R. L., & Wortham, J. S. (2026). Forgiveness and Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Scoping Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380251410088
