“I Felt Like I Wanted to Hug the Whole World”: Forgiveness as an Embodied Emotional Narrative Process

Abstract

Earlier studies have shown that forgiveness is an emotional process. However, it is not very clear how the emotional transition is made from transgression to forgiveness, or how it is embodied. The current research explored how embodiment and emotions are used to make sense of the narrative forgiveness process. Applying McAdams’s life story interview method, 22 Finnish adults were interviewed about their experiences of forgiveness. Their responses were subjected to thematic narrative analysis. The data-driven process revealed two overarching themes: empowerment and pain. Five subthemes were formed: (1) forgiveness as a liberation, (2) forgiveness as a relief from a burden, (3) forgiveness as releasing energy, (4) forgiveness through vulnerability, and (5) forgiveness through hate. The findings indicate that forgiveness is a complex and dimensional process with nuances on emotional, sensory, and embodied levels. In the past, forgiveness and unforgiveness have been constructed as distinct entities, but the current results highlight that they may overlap. Future studies could explore forgiveness and unforgiveness together with various methods to gain deeper understanding of being hurt, releasing the hurt, and living with it.