Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
We all carry emotional baggage. But what if holding onto that pain is hurting you more than the person who caused it?
In this short video, psychiatrist Dr. Tracey Marks—who brings over twenty years of clinical experience—explains how unforgiveness can affect your memory, mood, stress levels, and even weaken your immune system.
Forgiveness can help reduce pain, reactivity, and chronic stress. It’s not about forgetting what happened, condoning harmful behavior, or reconciling with the person who hurt you. Forgiveness is primarily an internal process and a conscious decision to release resentment for your own peace.
Neuroscience suggests that when you forgive, you activate brain networks for emotional regulation and perspective-taking, and engage calming systems in the body. This combination is linked to lower anxiety and depression and fewer rumination loops that keep old hurts alive.
This video was created as part of a two-year Greater Good Science Center project on forgiveness, supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF). Learn more about forgiveness on TWCF's Discover Forgiveness website: discoverforgiveness.org
Find new articles on forgiveness, practices, and more: greatergood.berkeley.edu
We all carry emotional baggage. But what if holding onto that pain is hurting you more than the person who caused it?
In this short video, psychiatrist Dr. Tracey Marks—who brings over twenty years of clinical experience—explains how unforgiveness can affect your memory, mood, stress levels, and even weaken your immune system.
Forgiveness can help reduce pain, reactivity, and chronic stress. It’s not about forgetting what happened, condoning harmful behavior, or reconciling with the person who hurt you. Forgiveness is primarily an internal process and a conscious decision to release resentment for your own peace.
Neuroscience suggests that when you forgive, you activate brain networks for emotional regulation and perspective-taking, and engage calming systems in the body. This combination is linked to lower anxiety and depression and fewer rumination loops that keep old hurts alive.
This video was created as part of a two-year Greater Good Science Center project on forgiveness, supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF). Learn more about forgiveness on TWCF's Discover Forgiveness website: discoverforgiveness.org
Find new articles on forgiveness, practices, and more: greatergood.berkeley.edu
