National Forgiveness & Happiness Day: Why Forgiveness Is Good for Your Heart (Literally) 

Every year, on October 7, the world observes National Forgiveness and Happiness Day. It’s a yearly reminder that holding on to pain doesn’t just weigh on your mind; it can literally affect your heart.

We talk a lot about love, success, and mental health, but forgiveness rarely makes the list. Yet, research continues to show that people who learn to forgive and let go are happier, healthier, and often live longer.

What forgiveness really means (and what it doesn’t)

Forgiveness is often misunderstood as weakness or pretending everything is okay. But in reality, forgiveness is about freedom; freeing yourself from anger, resentment, or bitterness that keeps you stuck.

It doesn’t mean forgetting or allowing someone to hurt you again. It means choosing peace over pain, and deciding that what happened won’t define you anymore.

Forgiveness is not for the other person; it’s for your own emotional and physical healing.

How forgiveness is linked to happiness

Think of forgiveness as emotional decluttering. When you hold on to grudges, anger, or resentment, you’re basically renting space in your head to people or situations that don’t deserve it. It eats away at your peace, your mood, and even your ability to connect with others.

Letting go, on the other hand, helps release built-up stress and tension. You stop replaying painful memories in your head. You begin to breathe again mentally and emotionally. That calmness often translates into a more positive outlook on life, better sleep, and genuine happiness.

Dr Karen Swartz, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said,

In short, forgiving isn’t just spiritual talk. It’s science.

The scientific link between forgiveness and your heart

Several studies have found that forgiveness can lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate, and even help regulate cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. When you forgive, your body relaxes. Your blood vessels open up. Your breathing evens out.

Dr Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, a psychology professor at Hope College, found that when people imagined forgiving someone who had hurt them, their stress levels dropped, and their hearts literally worked more efficiently. Those who clung to anger showed higher heart rates and blood pressure spikes.

In other words, forgiveness is a kind of detox for your body, your heart and mind.

Health benefits of forgiveness

1. Lowers blood pressure and heart rate

Forgiveness helps calm your body’s stress response. Studies show that people who forgive have lower blood pressure and steadier heart rates, which supports long-term cardiovascular health.

2. Reduces stress and anxiety

Letting go of resentment reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, which means you feel calmer, more focused, and less reactive.

3. Strengthens the immune system

When stress drops, your immune system works better. You’re less prone to inflammation, fatigue, and illness.

4. Improves sleep quality

It’s hard to rest when your mind is full of anger. People who forgive sleep longer and more peacefully, with fewer nightmares or restless nights.

5. Supports emotional and mental health

Forgiveness restores emotional balance. It can reduce depression, increase self-esteem, and make you more compassionate toward others and yourself.

What happens when you hold grudges

Holding grudges might feel powerful in the moment, but it’s a slow poison. The longer you hold on to anger, the more your body stays in “stress mode.”

When your brain perceives a threat, whether emotional or not, it releases cortisol and adrenaline. Those hormones are fine in small doses, but when constantly triggered by anger or resentment, they can cause inflammation, headaches, insomnia, and even heart disease.

You may notice it too: that tightness in your chest when you think of someone who wronged you, or how your mood drops after scrolling through old texts you should’ve deleted long ago. Your body remembers emotional pain more deeply than you realise.

How to start forgiving

Forgiveness doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t have to. It’s a process of reclaiming your peace one step at a time.

Start by acknowledging your feelings. It’s okay to admit you were hurt. Then, try journaling about what happened and what you learnt from it. Sometimes seeing it written down helps you let it go.

Self-forgiveness matters too. Many people find it easier to forgive others than to forgive themselves. Remind yourself that making mistakes is part of being human.

For some, forgiveness comes through faith or spiritual grounding. Prayer, meditation, or simply talking to a trusted mentor or therapist can also be helpful. For others, it’s empathy: trying to understand why someone acted the way they did, not to excuse them, but to stop the pain from defining you.

Forgiveness ≠ forgetting

Let’s be clear: forgiving doesn’t mean you’re pretending nothing happened. It doesn’t mean staying in toxic relationships or allowing repeat harm.

True forgiveness is about freedom, not denial. It’s choosing peace over pain. You can forgive someone and still set boundaries. You can forgive without reconciling. The point isn’t to erase the memory but to stop letting it control you.

People misunderstand this, but forgiveness doesn’t make you weak; it makes you lighter, and it means you’re strong. When you forgive, you free yourself from carrying anger that your heart and mind were never designed to hold.

So, on this National Forgiveness and Happiness Day, maybe it’s time to let something go. Not for them, but for you.

Because in the end, forgiveness might just be the healthiest thing you do for your heart. Literally.