How to Control Your Temper

It is never right to burst in anger. We don't know where it can bring us. Perhaps, we don't want to go around regretting what we've said and done. However, no matter how we avoid people or things which seem to potentially push us to our limits, getting angry is still inevitable. We, humans, are emotional beings. We cannot stop other people, even those who love us and whom we loved, to hurt us in any way. I, therefore, formulated simple ways on how I could control my temper whenever something or someone puts me to rage: pursed lip breathing, clearing my mind, and praying.

Whenever stressed, our body responds by increasing almost everything in our system - heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and even blood sugar level. Sometimes, if the stress is moderate to severe, we can feel our heart palpitating, head getting heavy, and our fingers cold and trembling. Even our ability to concentrate can break loose. The same happens to our body whenever we're angry. One way to counter this is to do pursed lip breathing. This is done by inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling with a pursed lip. Experts say that this is effective for relaxing the system and increasing blood flow in the brain. I've done this several times, and it helped me relieve my anger a bit.

Along with the pursed lip breathing, I also clear my mind to control my temper. Just like in meditation, our goal here is to refresh the mind by shaking off everything it contains. Whenever I do this, I close my eyes and relax my body as if trying to fall asleep. Clearing the mind can help take away negativity and anger.

After doing the first two ways, I put my hands together and pray. I ask God for forgiveness and enlightenment. The challenging part here is when guilt kicks in - pride gets hurt. However, when this difficult part is surpassed, controlling the temper becomes a success.

So far, these three ways - pursed lip breathing, clearing one's mind and praying - have already saved me a lot of times from sleepless nights of worry, guilt and regret. Mitch Albom said, ". . . But hatred is a curved blade . . . and the harm we do to others . . . we also do to ourselves." Remember that anger, when not controlled, can lead to hatred. Hatred brings wrath. Wrath can cause insanity.