The practice of forgiveness grows from generosity and repetition. To forgive requires letting go of the anger. Working through the anger is imperative to forgiveness work.
In a study on the forgiveness related to the conflicts in Northern Ireland, it was found that the specific emotion of anger, or anger-related emotions (hostility and resentment, rather than other negative emotions, such as fear and disgust), hinders forgiveness. Anger needs to be expressed and released before forgiveness may occur.