Does Suppressed Anger Affect Your Health?
Countless studies have proven that suppressed anger (bitterness) has a destructive affect on your health.
According to WebMD, Center of Disease Control, National Institute of Stress, and world-renowned cellular and molecular biologists, 85%-95% of doctor visits are stress related. The term "stress" is merely a socially acceptable word for: fear about situations, and bitterness toward others and oneself.
Dr. Gabor Mate, a physician, researcher, and best-selling author, has said, "In almost all chronic conditions, from cancer to multiple sclerosis to autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis…repressed anger is a major factor."
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Googling the words, "suppressed anger," or, "repressed anger," along with any other common ailments such as arthritis, high blood pressure, headaches, allergies, obesity, cancer, heart disease, hypothyroidism, etc., confirms the countless number of studies that prove suppressed anger is a common denominator as the cause of these illnesses.
Still questioning the connection between your thoughts and your body? Just consider these examples: When you're embarrassed, what happens to your face? When someone sneaks up on you and screams, what happens to your heartbeat? When you tell a lie, what happens to your pupils, sweat glands, and pulse? When you're about to speak in front of a crowd, what happens to your breathing, stomach, and throat?
The Bible says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22). The wisest man who ever lived taught that what goes on in our minds and hearts also affects our body.
The very first step to healing is an awareness of the problem. A distorted view or denial of the situation prevents us from taking the proper steps to healing.
Usually, when I share with others about forgiveness, most excuse their health issues as the result of either the environment or heredity. But if that's the case, how do you explain all the sick people who have been healed after choosing to live a life of forgiveness, after being diagnosed with a hereditary or environmental disease?
Personally, it took close to four years before I believed that the health issues I was fighting was due to the poisonous bitterness I held in my heart. When I first heard about the healing affects of forgiveness, it was from a friend who had been sharing to me about the healing that happened in his life. I remembered thinking, "Good for you, but it doesn't apply to me."
When I finally felt desperate enough to "try anything" I gave forgiveness a try. I was amazed to find that when I truly forgave from my heart, so many of the ailments I fought on a daily basis just disappeared. I was ecstatic, to say the least. As a result I felt younger than ever and wanted to share this healing with everyone.
I have seen many people healed of diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer, fibromyalgia, arthritis, allergies, chronic back pain, and much more. I have personally been healed from chronic fatigue syndrome, hypoglycemia, severe insomnia, allergies, and neck and back pain—just from living a life of forgiveness.
Until next time, may you live a life of daily forgiveness!
This is part one in a two-part series.
