Why Meditation is Good for Your Emotional Well-Being

Wondering how sitting cross-legged and saying “om” can make you a better person? A lot more goes into meditation than the stereotypical practice. And you get more out of it, too.

Meditation has roots in ancient times. But it’s still a relevant practice today. It’s a practice that helps you redirect your thoughts and become more mindful.

But the mental aspect is only one reason why meditation is good. It can also help your emotional well-being.

Why do your emotions matter? When you experience positive emotions, you have a more positive outlook on life. That helps you deal with situations better and may even help you achieve more.

Keep reading to learn about the benefits of mindfulness meditation.

Lower Stress

Think of a time when you were under immense stress. What did that stress do to your emotions? Maybe it makes you feel anxious, mad, sad, or easily upset.

When you stress out, your body increases cortisol, which can release chemicals that cause inflammation. Those chemicals mess with your whole body, affecting your sleep, thinking, and feelings.

Mindful meditation may help reduce the inflammation response of your body that comes from stress. That can help ease the other symptoms you feel because of the chemical response.

Managing your stress levels can lower those negative feelings that come along with stress.

Decrease Feelings of Depression

Another reason why meditation is good relates to depression. Research shows that meditative practices can have a signification impact on reducing feelings of depression.

Meditation can help increase your serotonin and norepinephrine levels. Those two critical neurotransmitters are key to making you feel happy.

When levels are low, you might feel sad or depressed. Try meditating to naturally increase those neurotransmitter levels to help decrease those feelings.

Improve Overall Mood

Meditation can help improve your positive thinking. It may make you feel more optimistic. You may feel happier and more energized in general.

That’s because a large part of meditation focuses on identifying and letting go of those negative thoughts that can ruin your mood. It helps you replace those thoughts with more constructive, positive ones.

Increase Self-Awareness

Meditating regularly helps develop your self-awareness. The practice often causes you to reflect and better understand yourself.

Certain types of meditation focus specifically on self-awareness. You might pay attention to the harmful thoughts you have about yourself so you can change the way you think.

Self-awareness also helps you recognize the negative feelings you might experience during your normal day. Do you normally shove those feelings aside to avoid dealing with them? Eventually, they probably boil over and make things worse.

When you’re self-aware, you can recognize the onset of those negative feelings. Meditation can help you handle them in a more positive way before they boil over into a major meltdown.

Encourage Feelings of Kindness

Loving-kindness meditation is a specific type of meditation that focuses on creating kind, loving thoughts toward yourself and others. It goes beyond just your friends and family to include all people. This practice focuses on unconditional love for everyone without thought of whether or not they deserve the love.

This type of meditation can help you naturally radiate kindness and feelings of love. It can also help you feel self-love, which supports your overall well-being and emotions.

Feel More Connected

The same loving-kindness meditation that makes you feel nicer may also help you feel more connected to other people. Those connections can help you feel less lonely, which makes you feel better overall.

Being connected to others also helps improve your empathy. When you’re more aware of your own feelings and thoughts, you’re more likely to pick up on them in other people. It can improve the relationships with those in your life because you’re more aware of their feelings.

Create a Calm, Peaceful Feeling

The practice of meditation is itself very calming. It’s not a fast-paced workout or the dizzying activity of daily life. It’s a quiet, calm practice you spend with yourself.

Taking that time out of your day can help you feel more calm and peaceful overall. It’s tough to avoid chaos and activity during the day. But learning to keep yourself calm in all the noise can help you feel better emotionally.

When you feel peaceful, you’re better able to handle difficult situations. Say someone bangs into your car in the parking lot. With a calm, positive outlook and less general anxiety and stress, you’re able to handle the situation with a clear mind instead of getting angry or overreacting.

Find Motivation

Finding motivation is often something that comes from many sources. You might hire a motivational speaker at work and seek out mentors.

Meditation can also fit into that motivation puzzle. The practice helps you improve your focus and concentration. Those qualities are important in motivation and sticking to your goals.

Feeling less stress and improving your mood and attitude overall can also help you find motivation. It’s tough to feel motivated when you’re anxious, depressed, or negative.

Meditation also helps you have a clearer mind. When your mind is clear, you’re better able to focus on your goals and figure out what to do to achieve them.

Improve Sleep

Sleep deprivation can leave your emotions feeling out of whack. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to get upset about things. It’s tough to deal with everyday situations when you’re sleepy.

Mindfulness meditation may help treat insomnia to help you sleep longer and wake less. When you feel rested overall, you’re better able to keep your emotions in check. You’ll likely feel better physically, which carries over to your emotional state.