As seen on Rebel Circus, our emotions have a significant impact on our overall health and it appears that negative emotions can trigger the growth of cancerous cells in the body. Scientists believe that learning how to forgive is the best way to minimize the chance for this serious disease and to better the positive effect of the treatment.
Continue reading the article to learn more about the connection found between negative thinking and cancer.
Why Negative Thoughts Are so Bad?
Often times, people who are hurt tend to replay the hurting moment in their heads for days, months, and even years. Unfortunately, as seen on Prepare for Change, each repetition intensifies the feelings and worsens the situation additionally. Since bottling up negative emotions is not recommendable, people need to be able to forgive more.
Forgiveness is a process during which one puts aside bitterness and the need for retribution. Also, forgiveness means to develop and nurture feelings of empathy, generosity, and even love for those who have caused the suffering. But, this process is not easy and straightforward. Clinicians agree that the healing process can be quite long, especially in people with deep emotional scars and traumas. But, forgiveness is possible and overcoming these feelings is doable.
According to Dr. Steven Standiford, chief surgeon at Cancer Treatments of America, treating emotional wounds or disorders is a must because they can really interfere with how one reacts to cancer treatment or their willingness to get treatment.
Dr. Michael Barry of The Forgiveness Project says that more than 60 percent of patients diagnosed with cancer are struggling with forgiveness problems and half of them have serious cases. Dr. Barry also adds that when one harbors negative feelings like hate and anger, they contribute to the chronic state of anxiousness. Anxiety is known to increase the levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which in return maxes out the creation of natural cancer killer cells, which is crucial for the body’s fight against cancer.
But, forgiveness is not just important for cancer patients; these negative emotions have also been linked to hypertension, stomach ulcers, chronic ache, and heart issues. As seen on Healing Life Is Natural, in a study done with women who were victims of emotional abuse, those who focused on forgiveness as a method for healing experienced less depression, PTSD, anxiety, and self-esteem problems.
How to Begin the Healing Process by Forgiving?
Specialists in the area of forgiveness assert that the process starts with self-acceptance and being honest with yourself and showing compassion for those who have hurt you so that you no longer need to battle with grudges and bad emotions.
Some recommendable activities to remove negative feelings are refection techniques and expressive writing. When one strives for freedom through forgiveness, they are more motivated to leave these emotions behind.
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