Just to be clear, for the purpose of this discussion, the act of forgiveness is being treated as a personal act that is intended for personal healing. As described beautifully by Andrea Brandt, Ph.D., forgiveness doesn’t excuse what another person has done; it doesn’t mean that you need to tell another person that he or she is forgiven; it doesn’t mean that you should forget what has happened or should not continue to have strong feelings about a violation of trust or a physical or emotional boundary. And perhaps most importantly, forgiveness isn’t for the person that you are forgiving. It’s
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