The inability to forgive can lead to resentment.
The first step we are going to take before fully analyzing the term resentment is to determine its etymological origin. Specifically, we can establish that it comes from Latin since it is the result of the sum of three Latin words: the prefix "re-", which is synonymous with "repetition"; the verb "sentiré", which is equivalent to "feel", and the suffix "-miento", which can be translated as "medium".
Resentment is the action and effect of feeling resentful (having anger or regret about something). Resentment is reflected in various feelings and attitudes , such as hostility toward something or someone, unresolved anger about an event, rage, or the inability to forgive.
For example: "I feel a lot of resentment towards my boss since he denied me the raise" , "Resentment will get you nowhere: you have to learn to forgive" , "The young man accumulated years of resentment that exploded when he decided to plant a bomb." in the shopping center .
Resentment and the past
Resentment is the continuation of a negative feeling . A person may become angry with another person and feel hatred or anger for a time. If this hatred does not subside, one can speak of resentment. The only way for resentment to go away is through forgiveness or acceptance of the situations.
The past is a key element of resentment, since it is always based on events that already happened and that caused pain that cannot be erased. It can be linked to resentment with an open wound that does not heal and that continues to cause pain.
Being nervous or very sensitive to certain events or people, having a hostile attitude, expressing difficulties in trusting in new relationships, and feeling unappreciated are some of the consequences of resentment.
Resentment can be linked to unresolved anger.
How to overcome it
There are many ways to overcome resentment towards another person for a specific event. However, among the most effective and useful are the following:
• Accept what happened and understand that life is full of injustices.
• Improve the level of self-esteem, establishing that after that event one has matured and advanced and that now one would not respond to it in the same way.
• Be positive. In this case, you must always find the good that each circumstance or fact has, and ignore the negative that exists in that same sense.
• Look forward. In order to leave resentment behind, it is essential to be clear that what is in the past, that nothing can be changed and that we must look to the future with energy and positivity. What is past is past and it is no longer useful to think about it, because the only thing you achieve is not being able to move forward as you want.
• Forgive. By this we mean not only forgiving the person who hurt us but also forgiving ourselves for the harm we may have caused ourselves by remaining stuck in that past.
Psychologists recommend that the person who feels resentment try not to remain chained to what causes it and that they dare to release the pain. It is important to keep in mind that the resentful person harms himself with his negative feelings.