In the world of psych I’ve learned that forgiveness can do you a world of good, from releasing emotional baggage to even improving mundane body functions such as digestion. I’m no where close to bringing anything religious into the discussion since that is out of bounds, but it’s interesting so many sources in science shed light on its benefits. But our toxic culture has skewed its definition to things like throwing yourself back into the harmful people that hurt you in the first place or denial of any wrong-doings occurring in the first place. Some of these cookie-cutter definitions have worsened my tendency to hold grudges.

What constitutes forgiveness? How can I tell if I have forgiven someone?