Implications of forgiveness enhancement in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

The purpose of this review is to examine forgiveness as a means to enhance coping with the emotional sequelae of two disorders, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. As with many chronic illnesses, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue often result in a host of negative emotions including, anger, stress, fear, and depression. We contend that learning to become more forgiving may be a complementary treatment to cope with the ongoing stress, frustration, and negative emotions that result from these two conditions.

Effects of a group forgiveness intervention on forgiveness, perceived stress, and trait-anger.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 6-week forgiveness intervention on three outcomes: (a) offense-specific forgiveness, (b) forgiveness-likelihood in new situations, and (c) health-related psychosocial variables, such as perceived stress and trait-anger. Participants were 259 adults who had experienced a hurtful interpersonal transgression from which they still felt negative consequences. They were randomized to a forgiveness-training program or a no-treatment control group.

Transformative practices for integrating mind-body-spirit.

This paper explores the clinical use of transformative practices that arose from the varied religious traditions of the world. Examples include prayer, meditation, mantra, affirmation, tai chi, and yoga. The purpose of these practices was to lead the practitioner to long term spiritual transformation toward an enhanced awareness of spirit, and a corresponding diminishment of identification with the mental and physical aspects of life.

A controlled pilot study of stress management training of elderly patients with congestive heart failure.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress management training on quality of life, functional capacity, and heart rate variability in elderly patients with New York Heart Association class I-III congestive heart failure (CHF). While substantial research exists on stress management training for patients with coronary heart disease, there are few data on the value of psychosocial training on patients with CHF. Thirty-three multiethnic patients (mean age, 66+/-9 years) were assigned through incomplete randomization to one of two treatment groups or a wait-listed control group.