How to control anger?

Anger is a widely prevalent human emotion and anger control is an important skill for people to learn to live peacefully and productively. There is something that angers all of us. A delay, a mistake or even forgetting something. Managers are angry over unmet targets; parents about their child’s grades; wives at their husbands for a canceled holiday; and well, even kids with their parents for not buying ice cream.

Fundamentally, anger stems from expectations. Psychologists interpret anger as an adaptive reaction to situations or people when they have deviated from this expectation. Beyond the ill-justified logic that anger is sometimes good, there is also an urge to glamourize it as a manifestation of perfection. Remember, good intentions can never be a good reason to get angry.

Anger, in any form, is a negative energy. We must control anger by all means and convert it into positive energy. So, we can pause and prevent instinct from taking over. Respond instead of reacting.

What happens during anger?

Expression of anger varies from person to person. You may throw a fit. Or grumble under their breath with a deep sense of resentment. The “talented” few even manage to suppress it with the pretense of calmness. Whatever the avatar, an angry mind is a disturbed mind. It cannot think clearly. It turns blind to other points of view.

Anger may appear to be restoring some control to you over the situation that agitated you. But in the process, you stand to lose your health. Have you noticed that your heart beats faster when you are angry or stressed? High blood pressure, incoherence in
thoughts and words, or even misdeeds are other ill effects of anger. You also tend to lose the most vital aspect of your relationships – quality. The warmth, laughter, and bonding.

Often, anger is also followed by embarrassment or guilt. You fling your glasses in a fit of rage, but quickly check to see if it is cracked. You give an earful to your colleague, and you can’t look straight into his eyes.

Can we avoid getting angry?

It would be great if we could. However, learning to control anger would be a good start. To be fair, no one consciously cultivates anger in their mind. It gets formed as a habit caused by feelings of helplessness, threat, or disrespect. Once this ball of anger starts
its roll with no conscious attempt by you to stop it, your mind learns the pattern. It switches on the anger button the next time it notices a pattern.

Meditation is the most effective way to control anger, which is a form of emotion, as we have already seen. Scientific studies by eminent institutions have validated the age-old belief that meditation regulates emotions. Millions of regular meditators worldwide have reaffirmed the efficacy of meditation in controlling anger and various other emotions.

How does meditation control anger?

Meditation helps by making you less reactive in the first place. With that calm state of mind now attained, the mind can handle ambiguity better. The interference of personal bias and negative thoughts will be lesser. This, in turn, tunes the mind to respond
consciously rather than react impulsively.

The uniqueness of meditation is in how it trains us not to be overwhelmed by ambiguities and challenges. We learn to observe our emotions and understand that they are only temporary states and hence should not be treated as final or real. The longer and
more regularly you practice meditation, controlling anger becomes a cakewalk.

One of the studies found that even just one session of meditation significantly controlled anger among first-time meditators.

Heartfulness Meditation to control anger

Heartfulness meditation has been developed by a spiritual institution steeped in the practice of meditation for over a hundred years. It has taught the profundity and timeless value of heartfulness meditation to millions of people around the world.

The core philosophy of Heartfulness meditation practice lies in recognizing the power of the tender heart over the wayward mind. Through simple, easy-to-practice meditation, Heartfulness teaches this eternal truth. If we keep the heart in the right place, our mind
will automatically follow us there. And when you have a willing mind, you automatically learn to control anger.

Heartfulness believes that meditation, an ancient yet timeless skill, should be shared for free. Everything in the app is free. Be it to practice meditation, attend master classes or seek the help of a personal trainer. What you will spend is only your time.

Download Heartfulness App. Begin your meditation. Feel the change.