Self-forgiveness can lead to longer, happier life

Scientists and doctors suggest that there is a very close link between a person's ability to deal with stress and their long-term health.

Usually we are tempted to blame this on external factors - a difficult relationship, pressures at work or pure rage at the inadequacies of public transport.

Yet for the first time a group of researchers in New York have discovered that a large part of this stress can be put down to "self-compassion" or, as they put it, whether you are willing to "cut yourself some slack".

The team from Brandeis University suggested that a capacity for self-forgiveness would lead people not to blame themselves for stress factors beyond their control, ultimately translating into a longer and happier life, the Independent reported.

The research suggested that not only do people lacking self-forgiveness get more stressed in the first place, but they also hold onto that stress for longer - a trait which puts them at risk of long term health problems.

The findings are published in the journal Brain, Behaviour and Immunity.