How Meditation Can Improve Mood

Bad moods seem to defy all logic. It’s not uncommon to witness the calmest and collected individual go from happy and serene to high-strung and tense within just a few minutes. While moodiness is a big part of the human condition, and no one can be perfectly happy and positive all the time, without some control over these mood swings, personal and professional relations can become more strained.

However, it’s difficult to place the finger on the root cause of a bad mood. While nosey neighbors, slow drivers, inconsiderate colleagues, and cold coffee can trigger an emotional response, the underlying causes might not be so immediate. Lifestyle habits like excessive negative thinking, poor sleeping habits, and even the regular ingestion of stimulants and intoxicants can also contribute to nervousness and mental tension.

When feeling tense and uneasy, it’s much easier to let the smallest external pressures or internal grievances spark a bad mood. If this situation sounds familiar to you, consider trying meditation, one of the simplest and fastest ways to set yourself up for a better day.

Effects of Meditation on Mood

When dealing with recurring bouts of moodiness and temper issues, it does no good to ignore the problem. Oftentimes, the true cause of an irritable character or negative feelings is small and easily resolved once identified.

When it comes to building the type of self-awareness and self-love that can smooth out those wrinkles in mental and emotional processes, nothing beats meditation.

If you aren’t completely familiar with the concepts of mindfulness and meditation, highlighted below are the key benefits of meditation.¹

Recognize Bad Moods

Meditation allows for increased awareness, creating the potential to identify a bad mood as it begins and addressing it rather than allowing it to put a damper on your day.

Achieve a Better Understanding of Your Emotions

Mindfulness clearly highlights how transient a bad mood really is. Through mindfulness, you gain the awareness that feelings come and go, as will your bad mood.

Gain Acceptance

Bad moods can be associated with feelings of guilt or other negative emotions, which only breeds a worse mood. Meditation is all about observing feelings and thoughts without judgment or involvement. Through acceptance of the way you feel, it is easier to deal gently and patiently with yourself and those around you.

Learn to Love Yourself

Taking time to get to know yourself better and catering to your essential needs builds inner strength and increased self-worth. These qualities build mental and emotional resilience and balance mood.

Choosing the Right Essential Oils for Controlling Moods and Supporting Meditation

The cultivation of mindfulness through meditation can bring about beneficial changes in the way you handle emotional upsets.

Of course, an emotional upset can make it difficult to find the peace, serenity, and comfort needed to begin a productive process toward greater mindfulness. You’ll be happy to know that this problem has been faced before, and solutions have been proposed.

Aromatics, for example, have been used alongside the practice of mindfulness for centuries. This is not coincidental either—the powerful organic compounds released from incense and essential oils can ground the mind and relax the body, creating the perfect atmosphere for meditation. Pairing essential oils catered to your specific bad mood can allow not only improve the quality of your meditation session but lift some of the feelings of a bad mood independently.

Angry, Frustrated, Impatient, or Annoyed

When tempers flare and patience runs low, the mind goes into overdrive thinking of complex solutions, aggressive plans, and defensive responses. This can make the mind uneasy and forces awareness in a multidirectional strain.

Counteract anger with the kind of clarity and mental release that comes from standing atop a high mountain. Mountain MONQ can provide a refreshing breath of perspective laced with juniper and scotch pine essential oils. Use this blend to soothes anger and calm frustrations, allowing for a momentary trip above the clouds.

Upset or Melancholy

When feeling lower than the bottom of a well, the very idea of taking a moment alone with the mind can seem like an invitation for a stream of negativity.

Before trying to gather awareness, consider smashing through the negativity with some aromatic reminders of what an outstanding individual you are. The Happy blend lives up to its name with a cheery mixture of fennel, thyme, and vanilla essential oils that have been shown to displace this gloom.

Excited and Giddy

Even positive emotions can get the better of individuals sometimes. A happy mind running around in fantastic imaginations can be hard to tame. When anticipating a big event, working on a project that captures the imagination, or simply feeling especially happy to be alive, the mind can become pretty active.

Even though there is nothing wrong with being especially happy, taming the excited mind is important for maintaining mental balance as well as focus during meditation.

Try Zen or Sleepy MONQ to promote relaxation or sleep at night.

Stressed or Anxious

Stress and anxiety are not just an inconvenient truth about modern society or an inhibitor to smooth meditation. More and more studies have highlighted the negative physical and mental health consequences of excess stress levels. Sapping the immune system and deteriorating a variety of physical and mental processes.²

Forest and Ocean MONQ are characterized by their woodsy and citrusy aromas and contain a range of essential oils that have been shown to alleviate stress.

Exhausted or Mentally Fatigued

Mindfulness is not exactly difficult, but it is certainly a lot easier if the mind is sharp and energized. After a long work week or especially tiring day, the mind can feel about as energetic as a lump of coal and badly in need of a spark of life to build awareness.

Give your mind a pick-me-up with an aromatic boost of energy. Try the Vibrant blend, which contains essential oils that can energize the mind and body. Ginger and spearmint are highly-energetic fragrances and lemon essential oils can fight off drowsiness.

Conclusion

The personal path to mindfulness practices must be approached intuitively for best results. By understanding the mental and physical process that interrupt meditation, remedies can be found to prevent further interruptions. Essential oils are some of the most time-honored solutions to soothing the mind and preparing for proper practice.

Finally, never forget that meditation is not a measure of time, apparent progress, or a race to enlightenment. Meditation is really nothing more than simple breath, in and out, made extraordinary through awareness and intention.