5 Benefits Of Forgiving When The Person Doesn't Apologize

Forgiving someone who has wronged you is never an easy task. Many of us decide to hold onto the hurt and pain that we feel towards that individual or situation. Some things are easy to forgive and let go of, but there are times when the person who has wronged you isn't remorseful, making the wound too deep to heal. Even when you think it is too much to forgive, remember that forgiveness is not for the other person but more for yourself.

Letting go of the pain, tension, bitterness, and hurt is like removing a heavyweight that you have been caring around blocking you from enjoying the fullness of life. The process of forgiving when the person isn't sorry takes time, but in the end, it will help you to become a better person. We've all been there before where the memory was too much to bear, and forgiving was not an option.

Forgiveness can be a huge struggle, especially when pride and egos get in the way. We have to come to a point within our lives to live a prosperous life; we have to let go of the situations and people blocking us. Forgiveness is the key to helping you move on from your past and step into the future that belongs to you. 

         Here are five benefits of forgiving a person without an apology:

       1.  You feel free and will have freedom                        

  When you decide to forgive, there is a release that happens in the process of your forgiveness. You finally let go of all of the feelings of the situation and those you have towards the person who hurt you. Letting go of the pain, bitterness, and hurt allows you to be free. Release yourself from the bondage of grief that you feel from the pain of unforgiveness. It is time for you to take back your power and live. Each time you decide not to forgive, you give power to someone who has hurt and offended you.

Have you ever experience your mood changing as soon as someone who wronged you enters the room? This happens because you repeatedly let that hurt and pain take up space in your life through unforgiveness. It is time for you to break off each chain that you have been carrying around for years from unforgiveness and rewrite your future. You will no longer let the effects of what this person has done to you be a burden or an attachment to your life.

 So many times, we blame ourselves for what has happened and live with that shame and guilt inside of us. These feelings then grow into angrier, especially when the other person sees no wrong in what they have said or done to you. Forgiveness is the antidote to your freedom of finally healing your wounds to be free.

       2. Strength Will Come When You Do It

It takes much strength to come to the point to address the emotions and fully process the situation to heal. Through the process, when you decide to forgive, you have to be strong to unbind yourself and let go. Removing the venom is an emotional process, but it must be done to move on with your life. You don't forget the situation, but you release yourself from the venom of pain to heal. 

Once you get to the place of addressing everything, you will find that you have the strength to move on. It is through your strength that you can help someone else who experienced what you have endured. At this point, you will also grow in forgiving yourself about any regrets, shame, guilt, and self-blaming that have been attached to you. Once it is all said and done, you will realize that you are an overcomer and that from choosing to forgive, you now have the strength to reconcile with who you are.

        3. You Finally Will Have Closure

So many times, we are waiting to fully heal from a situation with an apology from the other person. When we don't get the "I'm sorry," we continue to hold onto all of the negative emotions that leave us attached. Through forgiving with or without an apology, you finally emotionally detach yourself and terminate anything that keeps the situation showing up in your life. What has been done or said is no longer an open case in your life. This hurt, pain, and bitterness can no longer control the areas of who you are. It is through forgiveness that the verdict is said and the case is closed. You have dealt with all emotions and the situation as a hole to finally release and let go.

Having closure sets you free from holding a grudge and harboring resentment. The release helps you to rebuild trust and improve relationships in your life. Distrust always starts with someone who did or said something that causes us to fully not trust people. So many times, our wounds pour out onto other people because we haven't dealt with what created the wound in us in the first place. Rebuilding our trust with people creates a boundary of openness where you no longer close people off, but you decide to let them in. Through the strength of forgiveness, you communicate within your relationships now from a place of safety.

        4. Increases Your Mental Health

Unforgiveness can take effect not only on your physical health but mental health as well. According to The John Hopkins Hospital research, chronic anger puts you at risk for heart disease, depression, and other health conditions. When your angry all the time, this can also result in high blood pressure and headaches. Your body is in fight or flight mode, where the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline are triggered, resulting in increased anxiety and heart rate. Over time having the stress hormones always active will start to affect your body and mental health.

When you're easily angered, it's like your always in fight or flight mode, and the smallest thing that triggers you will set you off. Being hostile all the time will keep you stressed out and drain your energy. Removing hostility will help lower your body's cortisol level resulting in lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, depression, and you will sleep better.  It is when you forgive that your stress levels are lowered, and you are much calmer. Through forgiveness, you bring yourself out of fight or flight mode, and now you have the peace of mind to restore your life. 

      5. You will be made hold

You are no longer broken into pieces by the situation at this stage of forgiveness, but you are made hold. It is through healing that you can release past hurts to shift your future from a different perspective. When you choose to forgive, you have made the impossible possible. To be fully made hold, you have to take control of your life and disengage unforgiveness. By disengaging any and every aspect of the situation, you can rebuild your life and live in the present.

In conclusion, forgiving even without an apology is the key to restoration and being free from the past. The greatest gift that you can ever give yourself is not a fancy car or an expensive pair of shoes, but it is the power of forgiveness. Deciding to access this power doesn't mean that you forget what has been done; it is a decision not to let unforgiveness take away the fuel and energy needed to succeed and be the best person that you can be. Take the control and power back to your life; no longer let unforgiveness spread to the different areas of who you are. I hope you will think about the benefits that I have listed above and embark on your journey of forgiveness.