Forgiveness

===Criticisms===
{{expand section|date=January 2016}}
Forgiveness studies have been refuted by critics who claim that there is no direct correlation between forgiveness and physical health. Forgiveness, due to the reduction of directed anger, contributes to mental health, and mental health contributes to physical health, but there is no evidence that forgiveness itself directly improves physical health.

Most of the studies on forgiveness cannot isolate it as an [[independent variable]] in an individual's well-being, so it is difficult to prove [[causation (sociology)|causation]].<ref name="McCullough, Michael E. 2000">{{cite book|last1=McCullough|first1=Michael E.|first2=Kenneth I.|last2=Pargament|first3=Carl E.|last3=Thoresen|title=Forgiveness: Theory, Research, and Practice|location=New York|publisher=Guilford Press|year=2000}}</ref>

Although there is limited research directly linking forgiveness to physical health, there are certain factors{{vague|date=July 2023}} that suggest{{how|date=July 2023}} a potential connection. This is particularly relevant to physiological indicators{{specify|date=July 2023}} and how the process of forgiveness may affect the body's responses in various situations throughout daily life.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=vanOyen Witvliet|first1=Charlotte|last2=Ludwig|first2=Thomas E.|last3=Vander Laan|first3=Kelly L.|year=2001|title=Granting Forgiveness or Harboring Grudges: Implications for Emotion, Physiology, and Health|journal=Psychological Science|volume=12|issue=2|pages=117–123|issn=0956-7976|jstor=40063597|doi=10.1111/1467-9280.00320|pmid=11340919|s2cid=473643|url=https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2300&context=faculty_publications}}</ref>

Research into the correlation between physical health and forgiveness has been criticized for being too focused on unforgiveness. Research shows more about what hostility and unforgiveness contribute to poor health than it shows about what forgiveness contributes to good health.<ref name="McCullough, Michael E. 2000" /> Unforgiving or holding grudges can contribute to adverse health outcomes by perpetuating anger and heightening SNS{{Expand acronym|1=in|date=July 2023}} arousal and cardiovascular reactivity. Expression of anger has been strongly associated with chronically elevated blood pressure and with the aggregation of platelets, which may increase vulnerability for heart disease.<ref name=":1" />