Question:

When I try meditation, it seems my mind constantly gets in the way or if I am upset it is hard for me to focus, how can this Meditation help?

This is a common issue and as a modern society with all the areas we deal with, meditation takes on a whole other aspect. Compared to times and places where active spirituality was more confined to Monasteries or temples, currently there is a shift where people want the benefits of meditation even if they are not headed to a mountain top.

With this in mind, a monk for instance did not have the distraction we have, like cell phones, bills, family, traffic, relationships that easily distracts us somewhat from our true nature, our spiritual/higher self. Therefor making  part one: opening & releasing with desire to move forward, a very powerful aspect.

It gives room to let go of pent up issues, emotions, mind chatter that come along with the real life challenges by releasing them in various ways during meditation.  In order to go to that deeper place of knowing and connection, the intuition or wise part within one self. And from this more open and released space, one can truly and more naturally calm. 

As you practice you can learn to overcome obstacles like the ones you are challanges with. And this practice then also carries into your daily life, where you will be able to live freer of the challenges and replace them with the things that please you.

Of course there is the saying: "Practice makes the Master", so some areas take time to learn when you do the meditation, so you may need to be a little patient. And if that is a challenge for you, that may be the thing to meditate about first....