Forgiveness: Letting Go of the Past for Your Mental Health

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Forgiveness: Letting Go of the Past for Your Mental Health
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: How Anxiety Affects My Bipolar Disorder
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

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FB Live: What Does Depression Feel Like?

This Wed. evening, join our guest, depression blogger, Erica Marie Swanson, who survived two suicide attempts before reaching out for depression help and treatment. Erica shares her story and will be taking your personal questions. We start at 7p CT / 8 ET. Hope to see you then. https://www.facebook.com/HealthyPlace/

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Forgiveness: Letting Go of the Past for Your Mental Health

Forgiveness. We hear the word frequently, and it’s touted as something important for our inner peace. Rightly so, for forgiveness means letting go of the past and moving forward. These aren’t easy, however.

Rethinking what these concepts mean might help. Contrary to the phrase “forgive and forget,” forgiveness does not mean forgetting. The human brain turns certain things—especially emotional things—into deep-seated memories. How, then, do you forgive?

How to Forgive

Try these tips to help you forgive and let go:

• Focus on the “letting go” part. That is about you and your choices.
• Know that it is a choice. You are choosing to let go rather than hanging on to negative thoughts and experiences. That’s empowering.
• Know your values. What’s important to you? Which one will move you toward the life you want, the person you want to be: hanging on to the past, or letting go and moving forward?
• Practice mindfulness. When you notice your thoughts and emotions drifting back, redirect them. Pay attention to what you are doing right now, in this moment. Are you living now, despite what happened? If yes, focus on that. If no, do something in the moment to move a step toward what you value.

Whether you call it forgives or letting go, these are actions and mind-sets that move you forward in your life for your mental health.

Related Articles Dealing with Forgiveness and Letting Go

• Forgiveness
• Forgiveness and PTSD: Releasing Trauma or Excusing the Guilty?
• Can We Forgive When There is No Justice?
• Forgiveness: Celebrate Love
• Forgiveness: What’s it For?

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: What helps you move forward when you have a hard time forgiving and letting go? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Bipolar Disorder and Music: Helps Me Understand My Emotions
• Managing the Stress of Change for Your Mentally Ill Child
• Can We Destigmatize Mental Illness by Not Saying ‘Stigma’?
• Does Social Media Cause Anxiety or Help Anxiety?
• Self Care Is Important When You Feel Anxious
• DBT Skill–Mindfulness for Radical Acceptance with Borderline
• How to Start Dating with Confidence
• Anxious Emotional Overreaction in Schizoaffective Disorder
• Time Anxiety: The Feeling That ‘There’s Never Enough Time!’
• Don’t Say Things That Make Depression Worse for a Loved One
• Talking About Eating Disorders: Let’s Change the Dialogue
• How the DID Host of Our System Protected Our Lives
• Anticipatory Anxiety–What It Is, Why You Get It, How to Cope
• Coping with Psychotic Symptoms: Hallucinations

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

I'm Hannah. I Have Bipolar 2

How Anxiety Affects My Bipolar Disorder

I have bipolar 2 and anxiety is one of the symptoms I deal with. With mood disorders, like depression and bipolar disorder, sometimes anxiety is a symptom. Other times it's a separate illness. (Watch Hannah)

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Setting Realistic Goals Benefits Your Mental Health
2. Defining Myself Outside of My Mental Illnesses
3. 10 Tips for the First 90 Days of Addiction Recovery

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"Do not confuse my bad days as a sign of weakness, those are actually the days I am fighting my hardest."

Read more mental health quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or google+) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, circle HealthyPlace on Google+, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Pinterest and share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

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