If you suffer from anger issues, it can be difficult to regain control of your emotions and remain calm in the face of stressful situations. One of the most straightforward and effective methods of managing anger is meditation. Specifically, meditation can help reduce your outbursts in the following ways:

Meditation Allows You to Observe Your Emotions

Many people in the West consider meditation to be the absence of any thoughts. However, this isn't quite true. Whilst meditation does teach you to eliminate the continuous stream of consciousness that typically runs through your mind each second, it does not require you to empty your mind completely. Rather, meditation allows you to take a step back and view your thoughts as an observer. You can think of this process as a bystander standing on the sidewalk and watching the constant stream of traffic flow by. He or she is aware of the traffic, but not swept up in it.

Therefore, meditation allows you to gauge your emotional state from an objective standpoint. By taking a step back and sinking deep into your mind, you will have a much greater understanding of your emotional state whilst meditating. Over time, this ability will carry over into your daily life and you will be able to catch yourself before your anger gets the better of you. By practicing meditation on a daily basis, you give yourself the best chance of noticing when an outburst is imminent and taking steps to control your anger.

Meditation Balances Your Body's Chemistry

If you're prone to angry outbursts, you'll know that the feeling of anger never comes alone. Rather, an overwhelming feeling of rage is typically accompanied by physical responses such as an increase in heart rate, tightening of the muscles, clenching of the jaw and a huge rush of blood to the head. These responses are caused by an increase in the stress hormone, cortisol, which is released by your adrenal glands during stressful or confrontational situations. Because this biological response is hard-wired into you through evolution, it can be difficult to control in the heat of the moment. However, meditation can help re-balance your cortisol levels, allowing you to clear your mind and bring your blood pressure back to normal.

Meditation can also promote the release of serotonin, which is a chemical that increases our sense of well-being and happiness. Serotonin is one of the most vital chemicals in fighting depression and, as such, is contained within many pharmaceuticals for treating this illness. However, often people can become dependent on these drugs for battling mental problems, which can become a problem in itself. By using meditation to increase your body's natural supply of serotonin, you give your mood a natural boost, which can help reduce your reliance on prescribed medication.

Meditation Allows You to Slow Down

Often angry outbursts are a way of releasing stress, so in order to manage your outbursts, it's important to keep your stress levels low. Unfortunately, this is difficult to do in today's modern environment. The workplace is becoming evermore frantic, traffic congestion seems to be constantly deteriorating, and the widespread use of smartphones can make it difficult for people to 'switch off'. Therefore, in order to manage your outbursts, it's important to give yourself some peace and quiet and devote some time to yourself.

Meditation is one of the best ways to introspect and center your mind. When meditating, you are completely at one with your mind and are able to focus only on the physical sensations you experience while sitting in the chair. This may not seem like much, but focusing on the present moment and centering your mind can be an extremely powerful way of lowering your stress levels. Therefore, to keep yourself calm and slow your mind down for a while, you should practice meditation on a regular basis.

For more information on managing your anger, contact a facility like Evergreen Recovery Centers.