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Arguments are stressful events, robbing the body of essential hormone production and increasing the blood pressure. The effect of a heated argument can be as severe as a heart attack. Arguments break down the body's immune system over the long run, especially if arguments are a repetitive occurrence in your life.

The brain also suffers debilitating consequences of intense and incessant arguing. You ruminate, muse, and vindictively scheme to get even over a perceived slight during a verbal jab session. Common aftershocks of arguments are depression, anxiety, and anger, the later adding more physical strain on your body.

The best way to calm down after an argument is to forget about it. You need something, someone, or some activity to take your mind off of the argument.

Some experts believe that people need to contemplate their role in an argument after its conclusion. That is hogwash. The time to make amends or address the supreme issue for an argument is later. The time to heal the argument scars is right after it goes down.

Exercise

Exercise will someday be the panacea for all that ails us. The benefit of exercise on the mind is a field of study that is beginning to ascent u the scientific community focus list. The physical benefit of exercise are a given. The mental benefits, researchers are finding, are the release of important neurotransmitter that calm the impulsive hot spots of the brain.

Any exercise that pumps blood throughout the body and causes your heart to pump at a faster than normal clip is acceptable. I'll walk off an argument, but when I'm really pissed off I head for the gym. But I don't take out my wound up nature after an argument on punching bags.

Music

Walking and music are a compatible one-two knockout of any post argument mental hang ups. The genre of music is irrelevant. It is the sounds of bliss that take you away from the heated argument and cause you to focus on something else.

I like to listen to anything from classical to Led Zeppelin.

Meditation

Everyone should learn the art of meditation and not just to alleviate the bombardment that goes on in the brain after an argument. Quiet contemplation and introspection is a good source of distraction. But the key with meditation is the breathing. The pace of the breathing determines the calming pace of your mind.

Yawning

Yawning is one big gulp of air and oxygen is proven to replenish the worn out cells and neuron centers of our brain. A yawn isn't about being tired; it's about feeding the brain.

Olfactory

What is your favorite smell? Scientists say the sense of smell usurps all of the other four senses when it comes to regulating mood. Regardless of the issue or the intensity of an argument, I'll drive to a little ethnic enclave by my house and smell the wonderful scents emanating from the bakeries and pizza joints.

Food

A hearty breakfast is supposed to help mitigate the symptoms of a cold. A meal laden with carbohydrates will help put you into a somnolent state. Nap time is a good time to forget about the argument.

Nature

Once again, walking amongst the still of the woods or prairie is a wonderful antidote to how you feel after an argument. Open stretches of water calm my nerves. The birds that sing their harmonious music ease my angst. A sunset reminds me that tomorrow I need to make amends.

Apologizing for your role in an argument is the final chapter for calming down after an argument. It's not about who was right or wrong. It's about making amends for your role and how you handled yourself during the argument. "I'm sorry I said the things I did" isn't the same thing as saying "I'm sorry I was wrong." We finger point too much as a society. Accept some of the responsibility for a discussion that went awry and became an argument.

Learn more about this author, Keith Bailey.
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