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The number one thing I see people bring into the new year year – and it’s usually not on any resolution list – is the whole thing of unforgiveness, of others or maybe even of yourself.
One in four adults are diagnosed with depression and anxiety. And I think we’re onto something when we see people come in and they’re depressed and they’re anxious and don’t know the real source of it. It’s buried in their history, and the roots of bitterness have taken a strong hold. And they don’t realize it’s this area of unforgiveness that needs attention. Well, its time to talk about setting yourself free.
There are three things that can destroy us: 1) anger and hurt (untreated), 2) pride – and pride takes many different forms, 3) and unforgivness. That’s coming from me, a counselor who has been working with people for 27 years.
Through forgiveness, I’ve seen lives change and people have been set free.
I think of a gal who, for 40 years, suffered with an eating disorder. She was in and out of treatment facilities, struggling with anorexia one month, bulimia the next. And after four decades of living this way it was at The Center where she had a revelation.
She said her father told her, since she was a little girl, that she was never going to amount to much. That she was a chubby little baby and would always live that way. She identified that root, that seed, that poison in her life, and by understanding that root – and coming from a place of forgiveness of a father who is long deceased – she was able to let that go.
Are you struggling with forgiveness, of yourself or others? If so, please share your story and/or question in the comments section of this post.
The above is an edited transcript of Dr. Gregory Jantz’s podcast on Unforgiveness (1-13-12), as heard on his Monday radio show, Overcoming. It airs every Monday at 1pm (PT) on www.kcisradio.com. Click here to subscribe.