Updated July 6, 2026 

Whether it’s a simple spat with a colleague or long-held resentment toward a family member or friend, unresolved conflict can go deeper than you may realize — it may be affecting your physical health. The good news: Studies have found that the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health.

Karen Swartz, M.D., director of the Mood Disorders Adult Consultation Clinic at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, explains the health benefits of practicing forgiveness.

What are the health benefits tied to forgiving others?

• Lower risk of heart attack
• Improved cholesterol levels
• Boosted sleep
• Reduced pain
• Lower blood pressure
• Reduced anxiety, depression and stress

As you age, research points to an increase in the forgiveness-health connection, so it’s even more beneficial to forgive others as you get older.

What are the negative effects if you don’t practice forgiveness?

“There is an enormous physical burden to being hurt and disappointed,” says Swartz. Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response. Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions. “Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health,” explains Swartz.

Can you learn to be more forgiving?

Forgiveness is not just about saying the words. “It is an active process in which you make a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings whether the person deserves it or not,” Swartz says. As you release the anger, resentment and hostility, you begin to feel empathy, compassion and sometimes even affection for the person who wronged you.

Studies have found that some people are just naturally more forgiving. Consequently, they tend to be more satisfied with their lives and to have less depression, anxiety, stress, anger and hostility. People who hang on to grudges, however, are more likely to experience severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other health conditions. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t train themselves to act in healthier ways. In fact, 62% of American adults say they need more forgiveness in their personal lives, according to a survey by the nonprofit Fetzer Institute.

How to Become More Forgiving

Forgiveness is a choice, Swartz says. “You are choosing to offer compassion and empathy to the person who wronged you.” The following steps can help you develop a more forgiving attitude — and benefit from better emotional and physical health.

• Reflect and remember. That includes the events themselves, and also how you reacted, how you felt and how the anger and hurt have affected you since.
• Empathize with the other person. For instance, if your spouse grew up in an alcoholic family, then anger when you have too many glasses of wine might be more understandable, says Swartz.
• Forgive deeply. Simply forgiving someone because you think you have no other alternative or because you think your religion requires it may be enough to bring some healing. But one study found that people whose forgiveness came in part from understanding that no one is perfect were able to resume a normal relationship with the other person, even if that person never apologized. Those who only forgave in an effort to salvage the relationship wound up with a worse relationship.
• Let go of expectations. An apology may not change your relationship with the other person or elicit an apology from them. If you don’t expect either, you won’t be disappointed.
• Decide to forgive. Once you make that choice, seal it with an action. If you don’t feel you can talk to the person who wronged you, write about your forgiveness in a journal or even talk about it to someone else in your life whom you trust.
• Forgive yourself. The act of forgiving includes forgiving yourself. For instance, if your spouse had an affair, recognize that the affair is not a reflection of your worth, says Swartz.

Medically reviewed by Karen Swartz, M.D.