People with fragile mental health, more precisely under chronic stress, are more inclined to forgive others.
- Authenticity helps people cope with the various trials of life.
- The ability to forgive also contributes to the maintenance of psychological well-being.
In a recent study published Clinical Psychology and Special Education, Russian researchers have studied the link between a person’s authenticity, namely their ability to be themselves, and the ability to forgive under different levels of stress. For the purposes of their research, they interviewed 140 young men and women between the ages of 16 and 40. They were divided into several groups and divided according to their level of stress: relatively low, daily stress and chronic stress.
Go forward
According to the results, the highest scores for authenticity and forgiveness were obtained in participants suffering from chronic stress. As for respondents with daily stress and low stress, they were less likely to forgive others.
In a statement, scientists have this the high propensity to forgive in adults with chronic stress. Although these people face difficult living conditions, they are physically dependent on other people and are more likely to discover the most important values. These adults feel “closer to themselves” and are able to put aside their multiple misfortunes through forgiveness in order to move on.
The ability to forgive promotes authenticity
According to the team, respondents coping with daily stress are less likely to show pity and forgive others due to a “lack of importance” in everyday issues. The latter are not aware of their stress until their reaction to it reaches its climax. That’s why people who think they can handle daily pressure well get burned out and demand too much of themselves and others.
The authors concluded that the ability to forgive does contribute to feelings of authenticity, but that at different levels of stress and under different types of stress, the factors that cause it can change.
