What is Forgiveness Practice?

Promising, but not yet proven. The strongest signals so far are associational: people who forgive more readily tend to report less pain, and higher forgiveness has been linked with greater self-reported wellness (O’Beirne et al., 2020), (Brown-Smythe et al., 2023). One small randomized trial of an eight-week program that included forgiveness reported reduced depression and anxiety, though forgiveness was not isolated as the active ingredient (Leung & Li, 2024). Findings on pain are mixed rather than settled, and very few controlled trials test the reflective practice on its own, so the honest read is that it is a reason to explore rather than proof it works or treats any condition (O’Beirne et al., 2020), (Smallen, 2019).

Possibly, though the support is early and mostly indirect. The clearest signal comes from a small randomized trial of 57 adults with mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms, where an eight-week faith-based program that included forgiveness reported reduced depression and anxiety, but forgiveness was one ingredient among several and was not isolated (Leung & Li, 2024). Higher forgiveness has also been linked with greater self-reported wellness, though that is an association rather than proof (Brown-Smythe et al., 2023). With few trials of the reflective practice alone, it is best seen as possible relief from resentment-related distress and not a treatment for diagnosed anxiety or depression, where care alongside a therapist is advised (Smallen, 2019).

Writing appears to work through a few linked shifts, though these are likely mechanisms rather than proven cause. People describe cognitive reappraisal, a reframing of what the hurt means; they step back and watch resentment as a passing mental event rather than the whole truth about themselves, a move researchers call decentering; and they turn attention onto their own grip on the grievance and who they might be without it, a process of self-inquiry (Meiden et al., 2024). Personal, relational, and spiritual motivations can also sustain the process, which is why many describe forgiving as a deliberate choice rather than a feeling that simply arrives (Hendricks et al., 2022). These are mechanism-level hypotheses from small and mostly qualitative studies, not a claim that the practice treats any condition.

Because the practice asks you to revisit a grievance and the feelings around it, distress can climb before it settles. The likely reason is affective release, held emotions such as resentment or grief becoming accessible and being expressed, which can feel like heightened bodily arousal at first. This is a mechanism-inferred, practitioner-reported pattern rather than something instruments have recorded, and forgiveness tends to loosen gradually across repeated sittings rather than in a single moment. If distress climbs faster than it eases, it is fine to pause, ground, and return another day.

Use care. This guidance is practice-informed and mechanism-inferred rather than measured: no study of this reflective practice has tracked harms, so it is not proven safe for trauma or abuse (Smallen, 2019). Because the practice deliberately turns toward held emotions, revisiting a painful memory can raise emotional and physical arousal, so anyone facing abuse, ongoing danger, trauma, or depression is best supported by a therapist or counselor, using this as a complement to professional care and never a replacement for it (Leung & Li, 2024), (Leung & Li, 2024). Let forgiveness be a choice you move toward at your own pace.

Start small and steady. Set aside a private, unhurried window when you are reasonably rested, begin with a moderate grievance so you can learn how the practice feels, and name what surfaces on the page, including any anger, grief, or bodily tension. Treat forgiving as a choice you move toward at your own pace, close each session with a few slow breaths or a grounding step, and if the hurt involves abuse, ongoing harm, trauma, or depression, work alongside a therapist rather than solo, since this is a supportive reflection and not a treatment (Smallen, 2019), (Leung & Li, 2024), (Leung & Li, 2024). These are practice-informed and mechanism-inferred setup steps, not proof of a clinical effect.

Gradually, over repeated sittings rather than in a single moment. People often describe early sessions as effortful or unfinished, with relief loosening the grievance's grip over time rather than resolving it at once. The clearest available reference point is a small randomized trial of an eight-week program that included forgiveness, but forgiveness was bundled with other elements, so it cannot establish how long the reflective practice alone takes to help (Leung & Li, 2024), (Leung & Li, 2024). The evidence here is early rather than conclusive, so treat any timeline as a rough expectation, not a promise of relief by a set date (Smallen, 2019).

The main difference is the route, not the goal. Forgiveness Practice names a grievance and the emotions around it in words, examining your own grip on the resentment, whereas Forgiveness Visualization uses mental imagery of the person and a felt release (Smallen, 2019). Both share the same intention and overlapping mechanisms, so the choice is mostly about whether words or imagery come more naturally to you. No head-to-head trial has compared the two, so this is a difference in form rather than evidence that one works better than the other.