Letting Go of Bitterness and Hate

Bibliographic Data

ID9020458
AuthorsMary M Baures (56 Lothrup Street, Beverly, MA 01915., corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume36
Issue1
Pages75-90
Publication date1996-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00221678960361007
OpenAlexW2078966164
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited11

Feeling hate toward perpetrators is part ofthe recovery process from abuse, but "counter-dehumanization" is not a psychological victory and can perpetuate the cycle of dehumanization. Twenty survivors of extreme trauma-from abuse, accidents, serious illness, death of a child-who made positive transformations in the wake of the trauma. were interviewed. All of them found a way to let go of bitterness. Some of them realized the destructive quality of hate in their lives and made a conscious attempt to alter their thought processes. Others learned that to forgive did not mean to condone unjust behavior but let go of their need to judge themselves and others. Some helped other survivors and made a commitment to transforming themselves by finding new priorities and values

Dehumanization · Feeling · Political science · Victory · Child Abuse and Trauma · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology

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