If you find yourself frequently losing control of your emotions or feeling overwhelmed, meditation might be just what you need to regain balance and improve your interpersonal relationships. A study of 82 female teachers between the ages of 25 and 60 revealed that meditation can effectively reduce harmful emotions that result from the stressful nature of modern living, while simultaneously enhancing social and emotional behaviors.
Constant exposure to high-pressure environments often causes us to react impulsively and emotionally, leading to undesirable outcomes, such as damaged relationships and coping mechanisms that aren’t always beneficial. That’s where meditation comes in as a way to restore emotional equilibrium and develop healthier ways of responding to stress.
Meditation offers various valuable techniques that can help regain control of your emotional state. Here’s how participants in the study benefited from practicing different forms of meditation:
Developing focused attention
One way meditation can help you gain control of your emotions is by aiding you in developing sustained, focused attention on your thoughts and experiences. With practice, you’ll learn to remain present during both positive and negative situations, and observe your emotions and reactions without judgment.
Regularly meditating helps create a buffer between stressors and your immediate reactions, and makes it easier for you to consciously choose how to respond to any given situation. Increased mindfulness leads to more thoughtful interactions with others, as well as improved decision-making, which ultimately creates a more harmonious life.
Enhancing body-mind connection
Meditation encourages us to examine how our feelings are connected to our physical bodies and emotions. By developing a greater understanding of these connections, we can better recognize when our stress levels are rising and make an active effort to manage them before they negatively impact our day-to-day interactions.
A strong mind-body connection also allows for early intervention in situations that might cause us to lose control of our emotions. This could include timely breathing exercises, taking breaks, or simply walking away from a stressful situation to prevent an emotional outburst or negative reaction.
Cultivating empathy and compassion
Another profound benefit of meditation is its ability to help cultivate empathy and compassion toward ourselves and others. Understanding and accepting our own emotions is the first step to recognizing them in other people. By being more in touch with our feelings, we are better equipped to empathize with others, providing support and comfort when needed.
Practicing meditation enables you to communicate more effectively with others, forging stronger connections and relationships. It can also reduce feelings of isolation or loneliness, as empathy and compassion promote understanding and emotional support between individuals.
Keeping the benefits going
As the study suggests, those who participated in the meditation programs were better prepared to deal with emotionally challenging situations and managed confrontations in healthier ways that lasted for months, even after their meditation practice had ceased. This reveals the potential for long-term benefits from regular meditation sessions.
If you’re new to meditation or looking to expand your practice, consider the following techniques that cater to a variety of preferences:
- Basic mindfulness meditation: In this practice, you sit quietly, focusing on your breath or a word or phrase, and bring your attention back to your point of focus whenever your mind starts to wander.
- Body scan meditation: During this guided meditation, you focus on different parts of your body, mentally scanning and releasing any tension.
- Loving-kindness (Metta) meditation: This type of meditation involves focusing on developing feelings of love, compassion, and goodwill toward yourself and others.
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR): An eight-week program that teaches various mindfulness practices like Hatha yoga, body scan meditation, and sitting meditation to reduce stress and improve mental well-being. You can find local MBSR programs or join online courses like those offered by Mindful.org.
Remember that practice makes progress. Dedicate time each day to meditate, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Soon, you’ll find yourself more in control of your emotions, more compassionate toward others, and better equipped to handle whatever life throws your way.
