Success Story: Charlene's Story of Releasing Depression, Anger, Resentment, Hurt and Low Self-Esteem from Family, Sibling Conflicts

Charlene Describing Her Experience in Her Own Words

Charlene was a 38 year old married woman with 2 children when she came in to see me for therapy. She was clearly struggling with depression, anger, hurt and some suicidal thoughts. Charlene was the second person to complete the Forgiveness Solution book and do all the exercises. Here is her forgiveness story.

“I came in for therapy because I had been depressed for about two and a half months. I wished that I wasn’t here anymore. It took all I could do to get up to go to work. When I came home I lay down on the bed and just wanted to go to sleep. I didn’t care about eating or doing anything. I wanted to sleep and not wake up until everything was better.

I hadn’t been able to let go of past experiences. I thought my sister, Mary, did things that hurt and that angered me. I had been holding onto a lot of that resentment and anger. This deep hurt and anger was compounded by my Dad’s declining health and his transfer to a nursing home from his own house near me. My sister, who lived in Texas, seemed all of a sudden to want to be a part of my life and my father’s life. She wanted to know the details of everything, after what I perceived as being hurtful to me. I resented this.

I had strong negative feelings and low self-esteem. I felt frustrated with the situation. My husband and I talked about it and felt therapy would be beneficial in helping to pull me out of my depression. I wanted to feel better about myself and to deal better with my sister.

During weekly therapy sessions I learned forgiveness tools and letter writing exercises which gave me insight into my problems. These powerful exercises helped me to release the anger, hurt and bitterness that I had been holding onto for so long.

In frequent emails to my sister I have been able to share with her the details of my fathers life as his health declines. I hope and look forward to the day that my sister and I will be a part of each others lives again.

The therapy sessions have helped me to feel worthwhile. I have been able to accept myself and to choose a better path to happiness.

Reading the Forgiveness Solution workbook helped me to learn about different areas and ways to achieve forgiveness and the different experiences made me feel that I wasn’t alone. Doing the exercises in the workbook in particular, helped me to relax and to become a lot calmer and much more forgiving. Some of the forgiveness tools that I feel really helped me are the psychological uplifters, which I typed up on the computer. I laminated them as well and put them up around the house. I also carried one in my wallet. This way I was always reading it. If I was feeling a little down I could always take one out of my wallet and read it. The tapping, using the positive pressure point techniques, and the light imagery exercises, which allowed the light to come into me, were very helpful.

Deciding to go to therapy was the best decision that I made. All the forgiveness tools had a significant part in helping me to become a more relaxed, calm, forgiving person with a much better outlook on my day to day life. Now I look forward to the future. I am a lot more peaceful and happier.

I am grateful to Dr. Friedman for the tools that he taught me and for helping me to become a much happier person.”

(from The Forgiveness Solution: The Whole Body Rx for Finding True Happiness, Abundant Love and Inner Peace by Philip H. Friedman, Ph.D. Conari Press, Dec. 2009, p.72)

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