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General approaches to stress management

Yu.V. Shcherbatykh "Psychology of stress and methods of correction" - tutorial/ SPb - 2008.

There are many methods for correcting psycho-emotional stress, and the task is to choose those that would correspond, on the one hand, to the individual characteristics of a particular person, on the other, to the real conditions that exist in a given place and at a given time. In the monograph "Individual resistance to emotional stress" K.V. Sudakov, listing the most important ways of anti-stress measures, points to the following methods:

• autogenous training;
• different methods relaxation;
• biofeedback systems;
• breathing exercises;
• inclusion of positive emotions in a person's life;
• music;
• physical exercises;
• psychotherapy;
• physiotherapy activities (massage, sauna, electrosleep);
• acupuncture, etc.

At the same time, it is noted that the choice of some method of stress correction should be determined by the body system, the indicators of which deviate most strongly from normal values. It is especially emphasized that we should not talk about the "average statistical norm", but about the vital indicators that are normal for a given individual.

In addition, to correct stress, it is necessary, in addition to specific measures of psychological influence, to use general strengthening methods. For example, the prevention of cardiovascular disorders caused by exam stress should be comprehensive, including reducing hypodynamia, measures to optimize the daily routine, alternating tension of the nervous system with rest, systematic stay in the fresh air and proper nutrition.

Among the various ways to relieve stress, both the latest scientific developments of psychologists and traditional folk remedies time-tested. At one of the anti-stress seminars conducted by the author of this book, its participants, among the methods used to reduce stress, named:

• communication with nature;
• music;
• alcohol;
• pets;
• chat with friends;
• extreme physical activity;
• sex;
• hobby;
• steam bath;
• watching a good video;
• book reading;
• playing sports, etc.

In addition to these "everyday" methods, methods were also named that can be called "psychological":

• load yourself with work so that there is not enough time and energy for experiences;
• change the attitude to the situation;
• remember those people who are even worse;
• pour out your soul to a friend or girlfriend;
• treat the situation with humor;
• listen to the advice of a competent person, etc.

This example shows that many people have knowledge of stress reduction techniques but still experience stress in their lives. This situation is due to the fact that in most cases anti-stress methods are applied spontaneously and not always justified, and as a result - with low efficiency.

If we turn to the scientific literature on stress, the situations will be similar - a wide range of methods for reducing mental stress and the problem of their choice. Some psychologists prefer autogenous training, others - muscle relaxation, others - breathing exercises, fourth - meditation, etc. American psychologist Joseph Wolpe, in turn, believes that there are only three activities incompatible with stress: sex , food and relaxation exercises. Thus, before practical psychologists street problem differentiating anti-stress methods, and optimal selection those methods that are best suited to the nature of stress and individual characteristics of the person.

To understand the numerous techniques aimed at reducing psychological stress, it is necessary to systematize them in accordance with certain criteria, and, depending on the selected coordinate system, the classifications will be different. There are at least two classifications of stress neutralization methods. The first classification is based on the nature of the antistress effect: physical, chemical or psychological, the second classification is based on the method of implementation, into the consciousness of the antistressor installation - independently or with the help of another person.

Let's consider them in more detail.

Rice. 37. Classification of methods for neutralizing stress

depending on the nature of the antistress effect

First classification.

Starting from the lowest levels of organization of matter, the simplest will be physical methods of reducing stress - exposure to high or low temperatures, light of different spectral composition and intensity, etc. Numerous observations prove that hardening, sauna and Russian steam bath are excellent anti-stress methods that have been used for centuries in folk medicine and have not lost their significance at the present time. Moderate doses of sunbathing (tanning) also have beneficial effects on mental and physical health. Research in recent years has proven that not only the intensity of light, but also its spectral composition also affects the mental state of a person. So, when a group of subjects observed a red color obtained with the help of ordinary projection lamps with additional light filters, their perception was associated with negative emotions: limitation, feeling of tightness, headache. When irradiated in a standing position, a tendency to recede or expand the space. Irregular physiological reactions were also noted: a periodic increase in blood pressure and increased heart rate. At the same time, the blue-green color was assessed by the subjects as calm, pretty, pleasant, some of them associated with water and moonlight. It partially inhibited the increased physiological functions and normalized the decreased parameters.

The next group of biochemical methods for relieving stress includes various pharmacological drugs, medicinal plants, narcotic substances, alcohol and aromatherapy. The last method is to manage mental state a person with the help of smells. For this, a special aromatic water lamp, smoking sticks, scented baths or massage with the addition of aromatic oils are used.

Among the multitude essential oils there is a set of substances that have good sedative and anti-stress properties. The most well-known and proven sedative properties are the scents of valerian, lavender, lemon balm, ylang-ylang and neroli, however, when using aromatherapy, individual odor tolerance and previously formed olfactory associations should be taken into account.
Physiological methods of stress regulation consist in direct impact on physiological processes in the body, in particular, on the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems. These include massage, acupuncture, exercise, muscle relaxation, and breathing techniques.

Psychological methods of stress reduction will be discussed in more detail below, so for the moment we will not dwell on them in detail.

Second classification.

You can regulate the level of stress yourself, with the help of another person, or with the help of technical means.

Practice shows that the most effective way regulation of the level of stress is external - with the participation of a psychologist, psychiatrist or any other positive-minded person. This includes all types of psychotherapy, emotional participation loved one, competent advice from a knowledgeable person, sex, sport games, massage, etc.

Rice. 38. Classification of methods for neutralizing stress, depending on the method of application of anti-stress effects.

In some situations, the above method of relieving stress is impossible - in the absence of a specialist or a person's unwillingness to share their problems with strangers. In this case, various methods of psychological self-help are applicable - autogenous training, meditation, breathing techniques, special physical exercises, etc. meditation (samadhi).

Regulation of the level of stress can be carried out using technical means:

• tape recorder on which the formulas are written

autogenous training;

• video cassette recorder with which to play

pictures of nature;

• training computer programs for relaxation;
• a variety of biofeedback devices.

In overcoming industrial stresses, there is a classification of methods for optimizing functional states, which divides all methods of anti-stress protection into organizational and psycho-preventive ones.

The first group of methods is aimed at reducing the degree of extremeness of the factors of the production environment and their greater compliance with the psychophysiological characteristics of the employee. This (organizational) approach is most common in labor psychology, engineering psychology, and ergonomics. Its main areas are:

1) rationalization of labor processes by drawing up optimal work algorithms, ensuring convenient time limits, etc.; _

2) improvement of tools and means of labor in accordance with

psychophysiological characteristics of a person;

3) development of optimal modes of work and rest, which

would not lead to premature depletion of resources

employee;

1. rational organization of workplaces and the formation of an optimal working posture;
2. creating a favorable social and psychological climate in the team;

6) increasing moral and material interest as a result of labor.

The second group of methods is aimed directly at the psyche of the employee and his functional state. It includes ways such as:

• exposure to color and functional music;
• impact on biologically active points;
• health-improving physical exercises;
• persuasion and suggestion;
• self-hypnosis and auto-training;
• breathing exercises;
• meditation..

It is also possible to distinguish two directions in overcoming psychological stress: preventive and therapeutic.

The first way is to strengthen the body's defenses, change the attitude towards traumatic situations, and develop positive thinking.

The second way is aimed at neutralizing the existing
stress and consists in a targeted impact on his bodily and emotional manifestations. Of course; there are no clear boundaries between these two approaches. The same auto-training can be used both as a prophylactic and as a therapeutic agent. With another; On the other hand, with a sharp development of stress, it is necessary to influence not only the body (using muscle relaxation and breathing exercises), but also thoughts and feelings (using reframing and rational therapy).

In addition, remember that the cost of being successful is always quite high, and priorities must be set when choosing the optimal stress response strategy. The complete removal of stress activation significantly reduces a person's ability to realize himself to the maximum in life and professional activity, while excessive stress causes serious disturbances in the body. The optimal stress level is a balance between the two extremes. There is an assumption that for each individual there is an optimum of activation, at which his activity is quite effective and at the same time the level of stress does not reach distress.

In this regard, the results of a study are of interest, in which the functional state of operators was assessed in the process of 20 hours of activity on the means of communication. Two groups were distinguished: operators with high and low quality of work. When comparing the psychophysiological indicators of these 2 groups, it was found that the operators who were more successful in coping with the assigned tasks had a higher hand tremor by 26%, and reactive anxiety by 34%, compared with operators who worked less successfully. The individuals of the first group also had a higher blood pressure, a pronounced galvanic skin reaction, and lower state of health, activity and mood. Thus, the success of the operators was closely related to the level of neuro-emotional stress, which leads to an increase in the cost of the activity.

The study of the performance of athletes showed that best results and the greatest stability was achieved by athletes with an average level of anxiety and, accordingly, with an average indicator of the press. The second place was taken by athletes with a low level of anxiety, and the worst indicators (both in terms of efficiency and stability of performances) were taken by athletes with excessive levels of anxiety and stress.

Thus, it comes on the optimization of the stress level, although it should be noted that in most cases the task is precisely to reduce the excess stress indicator, and further the main methods of stress correction used in practice will be listed and analyzed.

Self-regulation of the psychological state during stress

1. Autogenic training

Autogenic training is one of the options for self-hypnosis.
With its help, a person can have a significant impact on mental and vegetative processes in the body, including those that do not lend themselves to voluntary conscious regulation. The mechanisms of the phenomena occurring in this case are still unclear, and the "peripheral theory of emotions" by James-Lange, created at the beginning of the century, still retains its significance for understanding the processes that connect our thoughts and our body. According to this hypothesis, each physiological state of the organism more or less deterministically corresponds to a certain state of consciousness, and the influence of these states is mutually mirror-like. From the at first glance paradoxical statement of W. James “we cry, not because we feel bad, but we feel bad because we cry”, an empirical conclusion that has been sufficiently confirmed in practice follows. If, by an effort of will, we change, firstly, the pattern of excitation of skeletal muscles, making it correspond to another emotion, and, secondly, our thoughts, making the assumption that the desired emotion is already present in the body, then the probability of the desired emotion will increase dramatically.

In the 1930s, Johann Schultz, ignoring the experience as the West-
Noah and Eastern psychotherapy (in particular, the system of yogis), created his own direction of self-hypnosis, calling it autogenous training (AT). Exercises AT, according to Schultz, are divided into two stages - initial and higher.

The initial stage includes 6 exercises, thanks to which you can learn to arbitrarily influence a number of body processes that normally do not obey conscious control. The outcome of this AT phase is six skills:

• cause a feeling of heaviness in the limbs;
• cause a sensation of warmth in the limbs;
• normalize the rhythm of cardiac activity;
• normalize the rhythm of breathing;
• cause a feeling of warmth in the epigastric region;
• cause a feeling of coolness in the forehead.

This canonical sequence of exercises has been repeatedly modified by various authors. Some of them reduced this set basic exercises up to 4 elements. Others insisted on introducing a seventh exercise into this set, aimed at mobilizing the student. Some suggested excluding the exercise of forming a feeling of heaviness, which is poorly tolerated by some people, etc. Nevertheless, the main idea of ​​I. Shultz about the conscious control of the tone of skeletal muscles and blood vessel walls using verbal formulas and visual images is present in all AT modifications.

The highest level of Schultz's auto-training was actually a modified version of Raja Yoga and was available only to certain patients. At this stage, people learned to call themselves "special states of mind"(In contrast to the lower stage, at which, according to Schultz," changes in the somatic character "are caused). Patients mastering the classic version of AT, at this stage, were consistently trained in the ability to vividly imagine in front of their inner gaze, first, some color, then a given object, and, finally, to imagine images of abstract concepts ("beauty", "happiness", "justice", etc. . NS.). In conclusion, AT practitioners, being in a state of deep immersion, ask themselves questions such as "What is the point of work?", Getting the answer to them in the form of visual images.

Subsequently, the method of autogenous training was widely used by various psychotherapists and was significantly modified in accordance with applied tasks... By now, autogenous training has completely passed practical testing and is widely used in medicine, psychotherapy, sports, military affairs, pedagogy and other areas of human practice. As many experts note, the setting and the special psychological attitude inherent in autogenic training, the induced state of rest and muscle relaxation help to reduce the emotional stress inherent in people with increased anxiety and prone to experiencing stress. This important feature of self-hypnosis can be used to eliminate anxiety, anxiety, fear, excessive emotional tension. A standard AT session has three parts:

1. basic self-hypnosis of rest and relaxation;
2. target self-hypnosis;
3. exit from the state of relaxation.

At the first stage, it is best to practice in a quiet, calm room with soft, dim light, with a comfortable temperature, in loose clothing. As you master the AT technique, training can be applied in any environment: at work, at home, even in transport. The eyes are usually closed. You can do AT 1-3 times a day for 10-20 minutes (the time is selected individually). It is better to do autogenic training before getting up - in the morning, in the afternoon - at lunchtime and in the evening - before going to bed. If it is difficult for someone to remember the formulas of self-hypnosis, at first you can use a tape recorder, into which these formulas are read out in a calm, unhurried voice. For training, you can use the bottom from the following positions:

1. lying on your back: head on a low pillow, arms along the body, legs extended and slightly parted with socks outward;
2. in the chair: the back of the head and back, lean comfortably and softly on the back of the chair. Hands are relaxed, resting on the armrests or on the hips;
3. sitting on a chair: the spine is slightly bent so that the shoulders hang forward, the head is lowered, the hands lie relaxed on the hips, the hands are hanging inward, the legs are comfortably apart - this is the so-called coachman's pose, in which you can sit without straining for a long time.

At the beginning of classes, self-hypnosis formulas are used (words spoken in separate respiratory cycles are separated from each other by two slashes), given below.

"I (on inhalation) - rest (on exhalation)."

"I (on inhalation) - calm (on exhalation)."

"I (on inhalation) relax (on exhalation) // and (on inhalation) - I calm down (on exhalation)."

After achieving the primary relaxation of the whole body, begin to relax its individual parts: arms, legs, face, etc. classic version AT first it was necessary to instill in oneself a feeling of heaviness in the hand, and only after that - a feeling of warmth. The experience of many psychotherapists shows that most practitioners can immediately learn to instill a feeling of warmth, especially since for some people the feeling of heaviness can cause some discomfort.

In the latter case, the following suggestion formulas are used:

"My hand is getting warm."

"The hand is heavy and warm."

"Both hands are heavy and warm."

“The warmth fills the hands. // Then - legs ";

“The whole body gets warm. // Muscles are relaxed. "

"Pleasant warmth - washes away all the troubles."

"I am calm. // I am completely calm. "

When a person relaxes enough and plunges into a drowsy state (it is also called Autogenic), then you can proceed to the active phase of auto-training - self-hypnosis formulas. The fact is that in a normal waking state, a person's suggestibility is low, and in an autogenous state, it is high. Therefore, after achieving relaxation, you can easily introduce into your subconscious the necessary programs that were poorly absorbed in the normal state.

1. Self-hypnosis against the background of a hypnotic state with its subsequent implementation as a post-hypnotic task.
2. Self-hypnosis against the background of physical or breathing exercises.
3. The so-called "pure" self-hypnosis, when in the process of self-hypnosis a person does not use any additional influence.

Our research on the ways of using AT for correcting exam stress showed that each of the above methods of self-regulation can be used to optimize the stress level, choosing them taking into account the accompanying conditions:

• personal characteristics of a person;
• the presence or absence of a preliminary psychologist-

technical training;

• group or individual forms classes;
• the amount of time available to the psychologist

For persons who did not pass the preliminary course of auto-training, we offered a combined technique that combines the 1st and 2nd AT variants according to Romain; auto-training against the background of hetero-training with the addition of breathing exercises that accelerate the transition to relaxation. This group method of preparation for exams was conditionally designated by us as "AT-1".

Psychological preparation for the AT-1 exam, as a rule, was of a group nature and consisted of 4 parts: breathing meditation, relaxation, mobilization and creation of a program of successful activity. At first, the students were asked to sit comfortably, concentrate on their breathing, and perform the exercise "meditation on breathing." The experience of both our own research and other authors who worked with the pre-start states of athletes shows that such a concentration on the breathing process is, firstly, a pronounced sedative character, and secondly, it distracts anxious students from negative thoughts about the results of the upcoming exams, switches the orientation of attention from external to internal direction. Such relaxation methods with elements of a yoga or meditation system have shown their effectiveness in relieving excessive situational anxiety of students before exams.

After 3-5 minutes, when the dominant associated with exams faded somewhat, the students were asked, following the psychologist, mentally, silently, to pronounce self-hypnosis formulas: “I - I relax - and I calm down”, synchronizing them with the rhythm of my breathing, as indicated above.

After reaching the required degree of relaxation, the students were offered the formula for mental recitation: “I am calm - // and I am sure - in her!”, Also synchronized with breathing, but with opposite proportions of the elements of the respiratory cycle. The first part of the formula, pronounced on inhalation, was quite long, and the second (on exhalation) was short. The last part of the formula is "in itself! |" it was recommended to pronounce on a forced exhalation with emotional pressure.

After that, the students were asked to create a mental model of their successful passing of the exam and "replay" this situation in their minds several times. Thus, a kind of successful activity program was created, which students had to follow in the exam. It included the image of a calm, self-confident person with free access to his available memory resources. After that, the state of autonomic homeostasis was assessed in students by the Kerdo index. If this indicator was more than twice the individual indicator measured in the norm, then the final session of auto-training aimed at muscle relaxation was conducted with the student. After subjective determination of the most tense part of the body, the subject concentrated his attention on it and silently repeated self-hypnosis formulas such as: "My face relaxes and calms down" or "My hands are soft and warm"; accompanying these formulas with appropriate representations. The whole lesson, including the preliminary and final measurement of blood pressure and pulse rate, took 20-25 minutes (without measuring the parameters of the cardiovascular system - 15-20 minutes). At the same time, the average heart rate in the group at the end of the lesson decreased from 102.1 to 93.4 beats / min (p<0,01), также достоверно снизилось артериальное давление. Особо выражено было изменение психологического состояния студентов после сеанса коррекции экзаменационного стресса. Средний уровень тревожности в этой группе студентов, измеренный по методике Свилбергера, уменьшился с 55,4 ± 2,1 до 43,1 ± 2,0 баллов (р < 0,001). Общая картина итогового изменения вегетативных и психологических показателей студентов после сеанса комплексной саморегуляции показана на рис. 39.

1st column: heart rate, beats / min

2nd column: ABP, mm Hg. Art.

3rd column: BPP, mm Hg. Art.

4th column: Anxiety, conditional points

Rice. 39 Changes in the psychophysiological indicators of students after a session of psychological training "AT-1"

Thus, we can conclude that the application of the program of psychological preparation for exams "AT-1" made it possible to significantly reduce the level of emotional tension, which was noted at the physiological, psychological and behavioral levels. The positive dynamics of the psychological well-being of students after such a training is confirmed by their self-reports, which they filled out after passing the exam.

Student R., 2nd year: “Before the English exam, I felt fear, uncertainty in my knowledge, fatigue. After the autogenous training, I became completely calm, anxiety and fear were gone, and confidence in my abilities appeared. This allowed me to pass the exam well ”.

Student D., 1st year: “The auto-training sessions helped me in passing the current tests, and the pre-exam (exercises) helped me in the exam. I gained confidence in myself, in my knowledge, calmness and optimism. Classes were given in three directions: relaxation, to achieve self-confidence and confidence in successfully passing the session. Most of all of these stages, relaxation helped me, because at the same time you "fenced off" from the world around you, you forget about the current difficulties, and this makes it easier to pass the exams. "

2. Biofeedback method

Biofeedback (biofeedback) is understood as such methods of self-regulation of human vegetative functions that allow you to directly observe your own physiological parameters and consciously influence them (7,12,18,19,24). Traditionally, it was believed that the capabilities of the conscious of many physiological systems of the body are very limited. Only as a result of many years of practice, some Indian yogis managed to slow down the heart rate, control the tone of peripheral blood vessels or influence the biorhythms of the brain. Until recently, it was believed that a person can arbitrarily control only skeletal muscles, and smooth muscles and glands are regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which does not obey the control of consciousness. The heart, blood vessels, stomach, kidneys - all these organs work according to certain programs, a conscious influence on which is almost impossible. True, with the help of self-hypnosis formulas used in the process of autogenic training, some of the trainees learned to influence some physiological processes, however, control over these procedures was carried out at a subjective level and did not make it possible to really assess the nature and intensity of the changes taking place. Many trainees complained that it was difficult for them to understand in which direction to move, since in classical auto-training there is no visual feedback between the result of the exercises and the indicators of the sense organs. When a person says, “My hands are getting warmer and warmer,” he is not completely sure that the feeling of warmth in his hands is not a figment of his imagination, but an accomplished reality. To accelerate the learning of self-regulation skills, some researchers began to develop various technical devices that would allow patients to directly observe their physiological processes. Therefore, back in the 80s of the twentieth century, various models of skin electrothermometers began to be introduced into the practice of auto-training, which significantly accelerated the process of mastering self-regulation skills. If without devices it took patients 2-3 weeks to master the ability to increase the temperature of the hands, then with an electrothermometer this happened already in the first or second lesson. In fact, these first fairly simple devices were the prototypes of modern biofeedback devices that allow humans to actually monitor certain physiological parameters.

A serious breakthrough in the development of this method began after the creation of modern computer technologies that allow the patient to actually see what was previously impossible to see, indicators of the heart, rhythm, electrical activity, brain or galvanic skin response. It turned out that if a person is presented with these parameters on a computer screen and taught him some self-regulation techniques, then he will be able to consciously influence the previously involuntary processes of his body, relieving stress, improving the state of the cardiovascular system, restoring damaged muscles or overcoming alcohol addiction. According to one definition; "Biofeedback is a complex of ideas, methods and technologies based on the principles of biological feedback (BFB), aimed at developing and improving the mechanisms of self-regulation of physiological functions in various pathological conditions and for personal growth." It is indicated here that the biofeedback method can be successfully applied to normalize high blood pressure, which is provoked by chronic psycho-emotional stress, i.e., stress. The principle of biofeedback is shown in Figure 40.

In accordance with the basic position of biofeedback, in order for a person to learn to influence some physiological or biochemical process, he must receive information about the results of his actions. For example, if, as a result of stress, a person develops persistent tachycardia and the doctor asks him to slow down his pulse, he is unlikely to be able to do this, and even if he accidentally succeeds, it will be difficult for him to fix and repeat the result. It is another matter if the patient is equipped with a biofeedback device. Then he will quickly learn to associate changes in his body with changes on the computer screen, and lowering the heart rate will become quite simple. It should be noted that recently, computer consoles for game biocontrol are gaining more and more popularity in the world, with the help of which the patient learns to control his physiological functions by influencing the characters of the game. A person can win the competition only if he learns to control his physiological function in a situation of virtual competitive stress. For example, the more he relaxes his muscles, the faster the car rushes on the monitor screen, the calmer and less frequent the heart works, the more successful the diver finds the hidden treasures, etc. As a result, the treatment session turns into an exciting activity that is pleasant for both adults and children. ... Working with such a simulator has a beneficial effect on the work of the cardiovascular system, normalizing the work of the heart and lowering blood pressure.

In the process of playing training, a person acquires the ability
to resist stress, learns to react in a new way to conflict situations, to reduce excessive internal stress when increased performance is required. Recently, it has been proven that using the biofeedback method, people can deliberately reduce
heart rate, either by activating the parasympathetic system, or by inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system. The developers of the method describe the features of game biocontrol in the following way:

“A person can win the game or achieve a positive development of the plot only by learning to control their own mechanisms of self-regulation, using muscle relaxation techniques in combination with a high degree of control of consciousness, constant scanning of internal sensations and observing the dynamics of indicators on the monitor screen. the need to maintain a state of calmness, the player learns to maintain resistance in a stressful situation of the game, without falling into panic, into a state of passion. Thus, he creates a model of effective behavior - a system of skills for constructive resolution of such situations that prevent the development of stress-induced states and their consequences ”.

To date, there is convincing evidence of the high effectiveness of the biofeedback method in reducing stress levels and treating diseases such as hypertension, Raynaud's syndrome, migraine, alcoholism and drug addiction. In addition, the biofeedback method has shown high efficiency in the treatment of phobias, anxiety, insomnia and depression. In this case, the most important advantage of the method of biological self-management is that in it the patient from a passive object of medical intervention turns into an active subject who himself determines the level of his physiological state and his recovery.

3. Breathing techniques

Breathing is a unique human function with a number of important features.

Firstly, this is the second life-long process of our body (after the work of the heart). A person can live without food for a month, without water for a week, without breathing for two or three minutes.

Secondly, breathing is perhaps the only vegetative function that is subject to the control of consciousness. Unlike the work of the stomach, liver or kidneys, we can control our breathing within certain limits and through it influence the activity of other internal organs.

Thirdly, the rhythm of breathing is closely related to the state of skeletal muscles, and its correct use allows you to quickly and more fully master the skills of muscle relaxation.

Fourth, the ratio of inhalation and exhalation affects a person's mood. Remember how a sad person breathes? He takes a deep breath and a long exhale (the so-called "sigh"). How does an athlete breathe before a fight? He exhales briefly, energetically.

Thus, our psychological state is reflected in the nature of breathing, and, on the other hand, by changing the nature of breathing, we can change our mood in the right direction. These facts explain why in all eastern spiritual and bodily practices (from yoga to karate), breathing exercises are necessarily included in the basic skills of both novice students and experienced masters.

Currently, breathing exercises are widely used in. various sets of exercises aimed at reducing stress levels. One of the simplest ways to use the anti-stress potential of breathing is to focus on it. You can concentrate on the movement of the chest, rhythmically rising and falling in time with breathing, on the quiet rustle of air entering and leaving the lungs, but the easiest way is to concentrate on the air currents passing through the lungs. Therefore, to reduce stress, the exercise "Breathing meditation" is often used, which allows you to distract thoughts from the source of stress and switch a person's attention from a traumatic situation to the breathing process.

There are two main modes of breathing: chest and abdominal. The first is due to the intercostal muscles, and the second is due to the contraction of the diaphragm.

Abdominal (belly) breathing is considered more physiological, although it may not look so aesthetically pleasing. Nevertheless, abdominal breathing has a pronounced healing effect on the processes of digestion (increased intestinal motility and activation of the pancreas and liver) and pulmonary ventilation (cleansing of microbes from the lower lobes of the lungs). In addition, it is more effective in neutralizing high intensity stresses. This effect is achieved both due to more pronounced muscular efforts, and due to holding the breath in the exhalation phase. Comparison of two sources of potential danger: psychological and biological (associated with a lack of oxygen) significantly devalues ​​the first of them.

S. Gremling and S. Auerbach write: “Deep breathing exercises are an important part of all types of relaxation procedures. They are one of the simplest and most effective relaxation techniques. They make life especially easier for people prone to panic in stressful situations. "

4. Muscle relaxation

In the 30s of the last century, Edmund Jacobson (in another transcription - Jacobson) published his work "Progressive Relaxation", where he showed that our mental problems and our body are mutually related: anxiety and anxiety cause muscle tension, and muscle tension , in turn, heightens negative emotions. As a result, a person who often experiences stress forms a so-called "muscle corset", which he constantly wears and which causes mental stress. The point is that the brain; receiving an additional portion of excitement from tense muscles, it becomes even more excited and sends new orders back to the muscles.

You can break this vicious circle by learning to relax your muscles, since, according to Jacobson, muscle relaxation is incompatible with anxiety. You can, of course, try first to "relieve stress" of the brain, but, as practice has shown, this path is better suited for a person brought up in Eastern traditions - Indian yogis or Buddhist monks. Westerners are more accustomed to dealing with something essential and material (which our muscles are) than with ideal and poorly controlled processes (thoughts and emotions). Therefore, Jacobson suggested that people learn muscle relaxation in order to relax their tense mind. He developed a technique of voluntary muscle relaxation in affective states, which helped to relieve emotional tension, and was also used to prevent the occurrence of these conditions.

A. M. Svyadosch recommends using this method as a symptomatic remedy for anxiety, anxiety neurosis, anxiety neurosis and various phobias. It should be noted that the main difficulty that arises when mastering this method is the problem of voluntary relaxation of the skeletal muscles. Indeed, the neuromuscular relationships are organized in such a way that the muscles understand well only one order: "Shrink!", And the instruction "Relax!" they don't actually perceive. To relax a muscle, you just need to stop straining it, but in this case, giving up the activity is much more difficult than starting it. In the wild, animals or people from primitive tribes relax automatically as soon as danger disappears or other activity ceases, but this is not the case for a civilized person. He carries his problems, anxieties and dangers in his consciousness, which controls the muscles, so the latter are in a state of chronic tension almost all the time. The effect of "positive feedback" arises - an excited and anxious brain makes the muscles unnecessarily tense, and tense muscles further excite the mind, sending nerve impulses to it. To stop this process, Jacobson suggested using a seemingly paradoxical path - First, strain the muscles as much as possible and only then try to relieve tension. It turned out that using the principle of contrast ", one can more clearly perceive the degree of muscle relaxation, and then consciously manage this state (Fig. 41).

As experts in the field of functional state management note, a characteristic feature of these exercises is the alternation of strong tension and the relaxation of the corresponding muscle group quickly following it. At the same time, subjectively, the relaxation process is represented by sensations of softening, propagation of a heat wave and pleasant heaviness in the area of ​​the body being worked out, a feeling of calm and rest.

Just as a computer scans its condition from time to time using a special program, so our brain constantly receives information about the state of all internal organs and skeletal muscles. At the same time, there are certain relationships between the mind and the body, which will differ significantly in a person reading a book, sleeping or performing in a sports competition. A well-defined state of blood vessels and skeletal muscles corresponds to negative emotions, and our brain remembers a fairly large set of such psychophysiological states. When a person is stressed, their muscles tense up and their heart beats harder, which only increases the overall tension of the body. If a person manages to relax his muscles and calm his breathing, then his brain will calm down, and then emotions will subside.

5. Rational psychotherapy

Rational therapy has long been used to reduce emotional stress (in particular, in sports practice), but its effectiveness is not always high. This is due, in particular, to the inability to consciously regulate the processes associated with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and endocrine glands. In addition, as some authors point out, attempts to influence an agitated person with the help of persuasion are unsuccessful due to the selectivity of perception of emotionally significant information, because a person in a state of emotional excitement selects, perceives, remembers and takes into account only what corresponds his dominant emotional asset. Nevertheless, rational therapy can be used in combination with other methods at the final stage of emotional stress correction, when the general level of arousal has already been reduced to an acceptable level. For highly anxious people, rational psychotherapy helps to reduce the subjective significance of the situation, to shift the emphasis on understanding activities and building confidence in success, while for people with low levels of anxiety, it, on the contrary, helps to increase attention to the motives of activity, increasing a sense of responsibility. As an example of the application of rational therapy in reducing stress levels, there are several cognitive postulates that help to look at a traumatic situation in a new way and reduce the level of emotional stress.

Defining the scope of your competence

Mentally outline an area around you, which includes what belongs to you, what you love, what you can influence - "the circle of your competence." It will include your home, your family and friends, your favorite activities, your plans, etc. Many things from distant galaxies to the value of value added tax will inevitably fall outside this circle. Think about it and realize that we cannot and should not strive to control everything in this world, as well as react to everything that happens in it.

Live "Here and Now"

We are between two Eternities: the one that has already passed and the one that has not yet arrived. And while we lingered for a moment between the Past, in which nothing can be changed, and the Future, which cannot yet be changed, we, because of the brevity of this situation, are safe. In this infinitely small and at the same time infinitely large moment of the Transition we have, firstly, the opportunity to relax and take a breath, and secondly, the chance to change our life for the better. Therefore, let's learn to appreciate the precious moment of the present, because this is the only reality of our life, in which we exist.

The best- enemy of the good

You can improve endlessly! If you strive for perfection all the time, then you can spend too much effort on the process - and lose sight of the ultimate goal. Many people put themselves under chronic stress by trying to achieve excellence where it doesn't have to. We are talking about quite reasonable, organized and purposeful managers or officials who spend a lot of effort to ensure that perfect order always reigns on their desk, or they spend hours polishing the quarterly report. There are women who are simply killed by a crease in the curtains or a speck of dust on the polished surface of the sideboard. Such people can be reminded of the words of Hans Selye, who warned: “Admit that perfection is impossible. Set yourself a real peak, strive for it and be content with it. Leave yourself time for joy and relaxation. "

Separate role functions and personality responses

The problematic mixture of personal and role reactions is often faced by representatives of many professions who, due to their duty, are forced to make or carry out unpopular decisions: police officers, judges, transport controllers, teachers, tax inspectors, etc. victim of stress, you need to be able to separate your social role from your own personality. To do this, you need to realize which of your actions are role-based (in fact, independent of you), and which you accept based on your personal preferences and attitudes. Mentally compare your professional role with professional clothing (uniform, overalls), and when you are forced to perform actions that are unpleasant for others, imagine that these actions do not come from you, but from your work clothes. When people direct a stream of negative energy at you, let it also go into your uniform. Once a week, shake out your work clothes or clean them, imagining all negative feelings and wishes flying off with the dust.

Zebra Principle

Happiness and unhappiness are mixed not only in space, but also in time. Following a series of problems and troubles, a streak of bright days and good mood inevitably follows. If fate is too energetically "pressing" you, not giving a break, freeze for a while, give up the fight and take a breath. Maybe your time has simply not come yet and you should not fight to the death with unapproachable fortune, but accumulate strength and think carefully about which way you are going.

Keep in mind: very often, such black stripes are sent to us not by fate that is alien to us, but by our own subconscious, which in this way simply wants to show that we have chosen the wrong goal.In this case, we should not push with all our might, resisting our essence, but there is a sense correct your intentions.

Pragmatizing stress

If someone criticizes you or tells you unpleasant things, then before releasing a portion of destructive adrenaline from the adrenal glands, take an emotional pause (for this you can exhale and hold your breath for a while), and then ask yourself: “How can I benefit from the data words? " Believe me, if you want, you can benefit from anything: an excellent fertilizer is obtained from manure, a toothache serves as a source of income for the dentist, and electricity is obtained from household waste in Japan. In the same way, if you try, you can extract some new information about yourself or the interlocutor from passionate criticism. And then you need to do the most difficult but fascinating act; praise your opponent! For what? You can come up with this yourself, for example:

• for helping you train endurance and patience;
• for helping you to look at yourself from the outside;
• for the joy of victory over yourself and over the situation (if you still did not succumb to provocation and did not give free rein to anger and irritation).

6. Dissociation from stress

There are several methods of detached (dissociated) perception of events (Fig. 42).

The first method of dissociation is associated with a change in the scale of the event.

For example, if a person has a pimple on their forehead, it may seem quite unpleasant, especially if he is looking at it point-blank, in a mirror, and even through a magnifying glass. His emotional stress; will it decrease if he imagines how this pimple will look from the other side of the street or from a distance of a kilometer? You were offended by a classmate who copied your test answers and got an A, while your teacher only gave you “four”. Are you beside yourself with rage and righteous anger? Wonderful. Now imagine what this situation looks like from the International Space Station? And from the surface of Mars? Some small worms are boiling for some reason.

The second method of dissociation is associated with a change not in the spatial, but in the temporal scale. Think about how you will think about your emotional outburst in a month? Probably, it will seem like a petty skirmish over a forgotten reason. And in a year you will remember why your blood pressure jumped today? Unlikely. And in fifty years?

The third technique is associated with a change in the so-called "submodalities", that is, the characteristics of our perception of the world around us.

For example, a person might visualize a situation that is causing them stress as a black and white still picture. He can also change the proportions of the picture, make some characters larger and “others smaller than they really were. In this case, the images of people or objects that were a source of stress, usually make the image fuzzy and faded.

The fourth dissociation technique may be suitable for people who have difficulty visualizing.

In this case, you can take a few small objects (paper clips, buttons, chess pieces, etc.) and simulate stress by depicting yourself and other participants in the stressful situation in a playful way. A look from the outside and your transformation into a small chip will play a positive effect, and you will be able to look at everything that happens much more calmly.

7. Using positive images (visualization)

In order to get rid of stress, you need to fix not on your negative emotions, but on positive experiences, and you should think not about problems, but ways to get them out. The first step towards this is to create an appropriate word formula that would symbolize the future goal. It can be expressed in one word ("health", "courage"), or it can be formulated as a whole sentence ("I really want to pass the exam perfectly"). However, using such a verbalized method of reducing the goal, we may encounter difficulties along the way of its implementation. This is due to the fact that a person's subconscious reacts weakly to verbal formulas and is much more sensitive to sensory images created in consciousness. “An image speaks more than a thousand words,” says popular wisdom, therefore, to reduce stress, you need to learn how to create convincing, bright, powerful, sounding images. For some people, visual images are better, for others - auditory, for others - bodily, but combined images, in which all modalities participate, are best stimulated and inspired.

For example, if the source of stress is indecision, which does not allow a person to take a worthy place in his organization, then he should cultivate in his mind the image of a confident, competent worker. The visual range of images will include a confident person with a straight posture, a proudly held head up, elegantly dressed, with a good haircut. The sound series of images can consist in a quiet, low, confident voice. The kinesthetic range will be represented by a firm handshake, a sense of calm throughout the body, even breathing and the ability to relax in any environment. The positive effect of this method is based on the fact that every vivid image that a person creates within himself strives for embodiment. The more complete the inner image of the desired final state is, the more it is charged with energy and the more often it appears before the inner gaze, the more likely it is to be realized in reality.

8. Neuro-linguistic programming

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) as a method of psychotherapy is based on the study of optimal ways to achieve success in various areas of life - interpersonal communication, therapy, education, business, personal growth - and is a synthesis of the methods of F. Perlsaich (gestalt therapy), B, Satir (family therapy) and M. Erickson (hypnotherapy), to which the founders of NLP J. Grinder and R. Bandler added their understanding of the structure of human language: the possibility of "programming" the behavior of an individual by selecting optimal strategies for organizing internal experience. Unfortunately, in the domestic scientific literature, references to GRP are still sporadic, although this direction is very popular among practical psychologists. His methods are successfully applied to relieve various fears, and, in particular, those associated with learning problems - "school phobias", fear of exams, etc. In this case, one of the leading terms here is the concept of "anchor", which is understood as a stimulus associated with a certain psychological state and is its trigger. "Anchor" can have different modalities and be tactile, visual or auditory. In order for a person to subsequently gain access to positive resources (for example, courage, calmness, confidence), an NLP specialist must first activate the memory of his patient, induce the desired state, and then “link” it to a certain “anchor”. After such "binding", only one presentation of the appropriate "anchor" will cause the necessary positive emotions ("resources" - in NLP terminology), which will allow a person to further minimize fear, anxiety and other negative emotions and successfully overcome psycho-traumatic events.

The Anchor Integration Technique has been shown to be effective in reducing exam stress in students.

Among the unpleasant experiences associated with exams, states such as excitement were more common; fear; shame; uncertainty; unexpected "forgetting" of the learned material; stiffness, etc.

Resource states necessary for successful passing of exams ("positive anchors") included: a sense of self-confidence, calmness, attentiveness, the ability to insist on one's point of view, a sense of self-worth, determination, "orderliness of thoughts", "freedom of speech", etc. ...

Without diminishing the undoubted advantages of this approach as a very promising area of ​​practical psychology, it should be noted that its part concerning "anchors" is essentially nothing more than a slightly modified technique for developing classical conditioned reflexes. Foreign experts in NLP in their works do not take into account the works of the founder of conditioned reflex teachings I.P. Pavlov and therefore allow methodological errors. For example, they recommend anchoring (applying a conditioned stimulus) at the peak of emotional experiences, while specialists in higher nervous activity are well aware that a conditioned stimulus is most effective when exposed to some time before unconditioned reinforcement.

At present, the concept of a conditioned reflex is interpreted rather broadly. According to modern concepts, the generated conditioned reflex is a complex physiological and psychological phenomenon that includes the mechanisms of sensory analysis, activation of past experience, motivation, prediction of future action, assessment of the state of the external and internal environment, as well as regular shifts in the field of autonomic and endocrine reactions. ... At the same time, it is noted that only with the presence of reinforcement, leading to the satisfaction of some urgent need, can the development of a conditioned reflex occur. It follows from this that for the formation of a new ("positive") conditioned reflex, an integrated approach is required, including the activation of traces of memory of successful behavior, normalization of autonomic balance and stimulation of the subject's motivation to acquire new behavioral skills.

The experience of using NLP techniques to reduce exam stress has shown its high efficiency both in terms of reducing psycho-emotional stress and in terms of optimizing the vegetative balance of students. The work with persons experiencing fear of exams was carried out using two methods of NLP: the method of "changing personal history" and the method of "integrating anchors". These methods are described in numerous tutorials, so we will not dwell on them in detail.

Briefly the algorithm of the "anchor integration" technique is shown in Fig. 43.

The last stage of the technique was repeated several times until the final consolidation of a new temporary connection. The purpose of developing such a conditioned reflex was that the exam situation would not cause the student to feel fear and self-doubt, as it was before, but, on the contrary, generate Calm and a feeling of self-confidence and knowledge. In fact, this technique replaces one behavior program with another.

Before the "readjustment" of behavior, waiting for the exam, the type of exam tickets, contact with the examiner automatically caused negative affective feelings in students - fear and anxiety. After applying the NLP techniques, the same conditioned stimuli, such as tickets and contact with the examiner, as a kind of triggers “triggered” the deployment of positive emotions (self-confidence, courage, a sense of calmness, etc.). Therefore, after repeated combination of mental reproduction of the examination situation with the experience of resource states, the previously ineffective program of behavior on the exam changes to a new one that helps to better implement the existing knowledge.

If a person's stress is caused by an internal conflict, then to resolve it, it is advisable to use the “Integration of conflicting parts” technique, which helps to find harmony between two conflicting “subpersonalities” of a person. In this case, an a priori assumption is made that the presence of two opposite needs is a consequence of the existence of at least two "parts" of the personality, which have different intentions and the conflict between which causes you stress.

For example, some person loves to eat tightly before bed and at the same time worries about being overweight. A teenager can be drawn to new people and new adventures, while at the same time he or she feels shy or fearful of strangers. A pregnant woman wants to bear a child, but at the same time she is worried about her appearance and wants to return to her former attractiveness as soon as possible. There are many such situations and often they are a source of psychological stress, from which people often cannot get rid of, since the cause of the conflict lies within the person himself.

The technique "Integration of conflicting parts" consists of the main stages, clearly shown in Fig. 44.

9. Exercise

Physical education and sports are an essential factor in the prevention and correction of psychological stress. This is primarily due to the fact that physical activity is a natural, genetically determined response of the body to a stressor (“fight or flight” strategy). In addition, physical education and sports distract a person's consciousness from a problem situation, switch his attention to new stimuli, thereby reducing the importance of an urgent problem. Additionally, sport activates the work of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, burns excess adrenaline, increases the activity of the immune system.

The activity of the body, combined with positive emotions, automatically leads to an increase in the activity of the psyche, a good mood. As the English writer William Godwin wrote, “the most important property for physical health is good spirits. Depression is akin to death. But good spirits give new life to our physical body and accelerates the circulation of juices. "

Specialists in the field of prevention of occupational stress point out:

“The use of various types of special motor and breathing exercises is a well-known way of normalizing the functional state for a long time. The fact of the influence of the level of general physical fitness on resistance to the occurrence of unfavorable conditions does not require special evidence. Sports activities, various systems of hardening, normalization of the mode of physical activity are widely used for these purposes. "

In other studies, it was shown that people with high physical performance were also higher in mental performance.

10 Religion as a way to deal with stress

In accordance with the information hypothesis of the emergence of emotions by P.V. Simonov, affective reactions are the result of a mismatch between expectations and reality. At the same time, the magnitude of emotion is proportional to the strength of the need, which prevails at the moment. The greater the mismatch between the expected and the received, the higher the intensity of feelings. Thus, the less a person expects from life and the lower his needs are, the less sorrow, disappointment and stress he experiences.

This position is consistent with the concept of Buddhism, according to which the elimination of desires and expectations leads to the destruction of the cause for suffering and stress. At the heart of classical Buddhism are the four noble truths about suffering and the doctrine of the eightfold noble path necessary for liberation from suffering. Buddha argued that life in the world is full of suffering (stress, as we would put it now), this suffering has a reason that can be neutralized, and there is a certain way for this. It consists in cultivating in oneself a certain mindset and appropriate behavior, which are aimed at minimizing human needs, abandoning attachment to the world, leading a virtuous lifestyle and focusing on achieving nirvana - a state without any stress.

The Christian religion can also help to reduce the intensity of stress for some people, because different individuals seek and find in religion those principles and values ​​that correspond to the characteristics of their personality and correspond to life attitudes. Therefore, for individuals with an external locus of control, religion seems to be one of the ways to transfer responsibility from oneself to the higher forces that control their fate.

Our testing has shown that the desire to protect oneself before a responsible event in life, by turning to God, is widespread enough among people to speak of it as a mass phenomenon. So, according to the survey, 54% of the students of the medical academy believed that faith reduces the anxiety before the exam, and 44% of the students believe that believing in God and turning to him before the exam can really help to get a better grade. There was a significant correlation between the religiosity of students and their opinion about the sedative property of faith in God (r = 0.41; p< 0,01); между религиозностью и уверенностью в том, что Бог может реально посодействовать получению лучшей оценки на экзамене, корреляция была более тесной и достоверной (г = 0,52;р<0,б01).

In our previous studies, we found that people with different personality traits rely on different aspects of religion in religion. Thus, conforming subjects tend to seek support and protection in religion; people who are organized and able to control their emotions emphasized the factor of the “Creator” in religion more as a force regulating and controlling the world. Prudent and discerning individuals who have high scores on the "I" scale of the Cattell questionnaire, first of all, see religion as a good way to regulate relationships between people; people prone to a heightened sense of guilt (Cattell's "O" factor) find in Christianity an ideal way to repent of their sins, etc. As our research has shown, people with a high degree of religiosity are characterized by a lower level of frustration than the rest of the population , which underlines the sedative nature of traditional Christian religion. Therefore, for individuals with a weak type of higher nervous activity and a high level of conformity, religious faith is one of the ways to relieve life's stress. At the same time, for people with a strong type of GNI and an internal locus of control, religion does not significantly affect the indicators of the functional state during stress.

11. Meditation

Meditation as a method of reducing stress relatively recently entered the arsenal of Western psychotherapy, although in the East this way of restoring mental balance has been used for thousands of years. A. L. Groisman writes about this:

“Historically, in contrast to an active attitude to the external world, for centuries there has been another tendency cultivated in the East (yoga, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen Buddhism), which requires more appeal to the“ inner ”world, preaches a passive-observant attitude to reality ... Meditation is the classic way of developing calm concentration, which is ultimately a means of restoring and coordinating mental and physical functions, creating clarity of thinking, relieving mental and emotional stress, etc. "

This author notes that meditation, while having common roots with autogenous training, is still different from the latter, requiring more volitional effort and conscious control over the process of self-regulation. He draws attention to the fact that if during auto-training sessions a constant effort of will is needed to combat the unstable modulation of thoughts and sensations, then in meditation there is no volitional control.

In support of this point of view, the statement of the Indian scientist Chowdhury is cited, who wrote that “a radical approach begins with a decision not to think about anything, not to make any efforts. One must completely relax and allow the mind and body to get out of the ever-changing stream of thoughts and sensations. Metaphorically, you can say: watch the flight of your thoughts, feelings and desires across the mental firmament, like a flock of birds. Let them fly freely, you just watch. "

From our point of view, the juxtaposition of autogenous training and meditation is not very correct.

Firstly, meditation has many varieties, and the above description of this process is more suitable for meditation practiced in Zen Buddhism, and less consistent with other forms of it (for example, transcendental meditation), where, especially in the initial stages, a certain amount of volitional control is required.

Secondly, the highest stage of autogenic training, according to I. Schultz, is a classical meditation borrowed from Raja Yoga.

Thirdly, a person can meditate not only on his internal processes, but also on objects in the external world (which is practiced in some martial arts). Thus, we can conclude that meditation, being originally an Eastern method of self-regulation, can be included as separate elements in various forms of traditional Western psychotherapy.

Tactics of dealing with stress depending on the time of its onset

Depending on the temporal localization of the source of stress (past, present, future), the tactics of overcoming the emerging stress will differ significantly.

If a person is expecting an unpleasant event and this expectation itself is already starting to trigger the neuro-humoral reaction of stress development, then at the first stage it is necessary to reduce the level of anxiety with the help of auto-training or concentration on the breathing process.

The next step will be to build self-confidence using the techniques of rational psychotherapy or neurolinguistic programming.

Further - the search for the resources necessary to overcome a future potentially stressful situation (both objective - money, material resources, time, etc., and subjective - a sense of calmness, decisiveness or confidence). Then you should start modeling the desired result in the mind and reworking the “ideal” scenario in the mind (Fig, 45).

If a person is at the epicenter of an event that caused stress, then the algorithm of actions will be different:

It is necessary to reduce the level of negative emotions with full breathing;

With the help of auto-training or NLP techniques, you need to strengthen the feeling of self-confidence;

Causal analysis of stress, which will help to find adequate remedies for overcoming it;

Finding resources to cope with stress and drawing up an operational plan of action;

The beginning of practical actions to get out of a stressful situation (Fig. 46).

The third algorithm of actions is necessary if the event that caused the stress has already happened and is in the past, but the person periodically returns to it in his thoughts, while experiencing negative emotions (Fig. 47). In this case, it is necessary to disassociate from the situation, then select the necessary subjective resources (indifference, calmness or wisdom) and actualize them using NLP methods. In the third step, rational psychotherapy can be used and the work is completed by modeling the desired future.

Eliminating Causes of Stress Through Improvement

behavioral skills

1. Communication skills

Communication - both business and with loved ones (outside of work or with family) - is often the cause of psychological stress. Among the specific causes of communicative stress, in section 4.1.6, we singled out overestimated expectations, negative prejudices, lack of understanding of the interlocutor's motivation, etc., however, the most powerful emotional reaction that can develop during prolonged stress is criticism. This fact was first noticed in the 17th century by the Spanish Jesuit Baltasar Gracian, who can be considered one of the founders of practical psychology.

In his "Pocket Oracle", published in 1647, Gracian, for example, wrote:

“Don't be a detractor. There are people of a fierce disposition: they see crimes everywhere, and not in the heat of passion, but by natural inclination. Everyone is condemned - one for what he did, the other for what he will do. Condemning, they will exaggerate so much that they will create a log from the atom and gouge their eyes out, And if passion is mixed in, they will not be able to hold back ”.

“Do not indulge in slander. All the more, fear the glory of the hunter to dishonor. At the expense of someone else's wit, it is not difficult to shine with wit, but it is dangerous. They will take revenge on you, say bad things about you; you are one, there are many enemies - it is easier for them than you. win than you convince them. Seeing bad things in people, do not rejoice, much less discuss. The gossip is hated forever ... you say bad, hear the worst. "

“Silk words, velvet disposition. Arrows strike the body, bitter words strike the soul. One fragrant lozenge - and the lips are fragrant. The great art in the everyday market is to sell air. Most often they pay with words, they do the impossible. Let your lips be full of sugar - to sweeten speech, even to the taste of enemies. And the surest way to be nice is to always be calm. "

2. Confident behavior

Often, a person's own insecurity is a source of stress. Its source can be anything: small or too large growth, a noticeable accent, overweight, lack of financial resources, low social status - seemingly objective factors.

Nevertheless, the true and deepest source of uncertainty and the stress associated with it is the subjective feeling of one's own inferiority and low self-esteem, which are quite amenable to correction;

K. Williams notes that most of the stress is generated by feelings of inferiority. She writes:

“You grew up in a world where you were taught - in the name of modesty - to belittle your dignity. Preaching nobility and concern for your neighbor, you were taught to let other people go ahead, to give them a larger piece of the pie, to yield to them and value them higher than yourself. All this is great, but, unfortunately, too often leads to negative consequences. For most people, the habit of giving in to others, which they acquired as a child, causes a lack of respect for themselves and their achievements.

Clinical practice and life itself show that most people have an unimportant opinion of themselves. Even braggart and proud people hide a deeply hidden fear underneath their outer shells that they are not beautiful enough, smart enough, loyal, generous, successful, or wealthy. The ability to love and respect yourself, to live in harmony with yourself and with your actions is the main way to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

This means inner self-confidence. You are good as you are at the moment. Learning to love and appreciate yourself is probably the most difficult, but at the same time, the most effective step in dealing with stress. "

There is a close relationship between the psychological state of insecurity, its bodily characteristics and behavioral responses, so the stress of insecurity can be dealt with in different ways: with the help of rational self-talk, changes in behavioral patterns or bodily characteristics (Fig. 48).

Thus, if a person is stressed about their insecurity, they can consciously change their bodily state (posture, gestures, breathing parameters and vocal characteristics), as a result of which they feel more confident.

Another way is to act more competently (change in behavioral manifestations of activity), which will affect both the self-esteem of the individual and his assessment by others, which ultimately will also allow him to act more confidently.

Another way is the use of rational psychotherapy (already discussed by us in section 6.2.5).

Below is a table, using which you can learn to consciously evoke feelings of self-confidence by changing bodily parameters (Table 8).

Changing behavioral signs (in addition to improving professional skills) consists in mastering a number of techniques for counteracting psychological pressure during communication. They are described in their respective psychology books, so in this tutorial we will list only the most famous ones.

Endless counter questions

The essence of the technique: remove the emotional part of the accusations and move on to considering the essence of the claims.

The effect; clarification for both parties to the conflict of the reasons for their disagreements.

Wife. You promised a long time ago to fix the shelf in the pantry, and I see you are not going to keep your promises.

Husband. What is the best way to fix the shelf?

Wife. Just nail it back.

Husband. Maybe it makes sense to make it thicker and wider to make it more roomy?

Wife. Just beat it down and you're done.

Husband. I would like you to like this work of mine. Please specify again, what shelf would you like to see in the pantry?

"Played Record"

The essence of the technique is to calmly repeat what you want (or what you don't want) over and over until the opponent backs down. When performing this technique, the one with the most patience wins. The person who uses it has the advantage, since he, unlike the interlocutor, is pre-configured for multiple repetitions of the same type of words and phrases. This technique teaches persistence and that you don't have to explain the reasons for your desires. In the classical interpretation, it is only required to endlessly repeat the same phrase, and without any expression, like "robot", but sometimes this technique pisses off the interlocutor too much, which is fraught with additional conflicts. Therefore, it makes sense all the same to diversify the answers a little, introducing into them elements of strengthening one's innocence.

Effect: ignoring attempts to manipulate you by detaching yourself from the situation and calmly repeating the same type of formulas.

Husband. You didn't wash the dishes again this morning. I came home from work and the sink is full of dirty dishes.

Wife. When you are late for work, there is no time for dishes.

Husband. So, should I wash these damn dishes?

Wife. I don't know, but I was so late this morning that I barely made it on time.

Methods and Techniques for Optimizing Stress Levels

General approaches to stress management.

Methods for self-regulation of the psychological state during stress. Autogenic training.

Biofeedback method.

Breathing techniques. Muscle relaxation.

Neuro-linguistic programming.

Religion as a way to deal with stress.

Tactics of dealing with stress, depending on the time of its onset.

Eliminate the causes of stress by improving behavioral skills.

Today, there is already a great variety of methods for correcting psychoemotional stress, getting rid of stress (including charlatan, anti-scientific), and the main task is to choose those that would correspond to the individual characteristics of a particular personality, and specific social, everyday and pr. conditions, realities in which this stress developed. Among the methods, techniques, methods are known (and we have already mentioned some of them):

The choice of method should also be determined by the physical data of a person. In addition, to correct stress, it is necessary to use restorative methods, for example, to reduce / get rid of hypodynamia,

optimization of the daily routine, alternation of tension of the nervous system with rest, systematic stay in the fresh air and proper nutrition. There are and are used traditional folk remedies, time-tested:

In addition to these, "everyday", there are those that can be conditionally attributed to psychological:

As a matter of fact, many people know how to get rid of stress, but, nevertheless, they constantly experience it ... Apparently, these methods are not always applied reasonably and systematically - as a result, with low efficiency. And, naturally, turning to a specialist, we must understand that any of them, the most authoritative or little-known, will give preference to some of their favorite method, method, technique: the American psychologist J. Wolpe mentioned above, for example, believes that there are only three, activities incompatible with stress: sex, food and relaxation exercises ... Not bad! But all of the above means only that practical street psychologists face the task of differentiating anti-stress methods, and their optimal selection in accordance with the nature of stress and individual characteristics of a person. Attempts to somehow streamline, classify methods of relieving / neutralizing stress only lead to their division into psychological, physiological, biochemical, physical or methods of self-organization of assistance in stress, technical, instrumental methods and others, communicatively directed, personally oriented, requiring a companion, ally , partner (sex, team games, companionship, etc.). You can consider some of them in a little more detail:

– physical methods of stress reduction - exposure to high or low temperatures, light of different spectral composition and intensity, etc. Tempering, sauna and Russian bath are excellent anti-stress methods (which have been used in folk medicine for centuries and have not lost their significance today). Sunbathing (tanning) in moderate doses has a beneficial effect on mental and physical health;

– biochemical methods of stress relief - various pharmacological preparations, medicinal plants, narcotic substances, alcohol and aromatherapy (management of a person's mental state with the help of smells - the most famous and proven soothing properties are the smells of valerian, lavender, lemon balm, ylang-ylang - but when using aromatherapy, individual tolerance should be taken into account odors and previously formed olfactory associations);

– physiological methods of stress regulation consist in a direct effect on physiological processes in the body: on the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems - massage, acupuncture, acupuncture, muscle relaxation, breathing techniques;

– psychological self-help methods - autogenous training, meditation, breathing techniques, special physical exercises, etc. A classic example of this group's method is Indian yoga, which includes breathing exercises (paranayama), physical exercises (asanas) and meditation techniques (samadhi);

– methods of using technical means: a tape recorder on which the formulas for autogenous training are recorded; videotape recorder / computer / tablet, with the help of which pictures of nature are reproduced; training computer programs for relaxation; a variety of biofeedback devices.

If we talk directly about production stresses, then there is a specificity here:

I Methods aimed at reducing the degree of extremeness of the factors of the production environment and their compliance with the psychophysiological characteristics of the employee.

Rationalization of labor processes by drawing up optimal work algorithms, ensuring convenient time limits, etc.;

Improvement of tools and means of labor in accordance with the psychophysiological characteristics of a person;

Development of optimal work and rest regimes that would not lead to premature depletion of the employee's resources;

Rational organization of workplaces and the formation of an optimal working posture;

Creation of a favorable social and psychological climate in the team;

Increasing moral and material interest as a result of labor.

II Methods aimed at the psyche of the employee and his functional state: exposure to color and functional music;

Impact on biologically active points;

Recreational exercise;

Persuasion and suggestion;

Self-hypnosis and auto-training;

Breathing exercises;

Meditation.

Dealing with stress can also be seen as preventive And How therapeutic:

- strengthening the body's defenses, changing attitudes towards traumatic situations, developing positive thinking;

- neutralization of already arisen stress - purposeful impact on all its manifestations.

There are practically no boundaries here - auto-training can be used both as a preventive and as a therapeutic tool. But with a bright, obvious development of stress, it is necessary to influence not only the body (with the help of muscle relaxation and breathing exercises), but also thoughts, feelings, emotions (by methods of reframing and rational therapy). When choosing the optimal strategy for responding to stress, priorities should be set: the complete removal of stress activation reduces a person's ability to realize himself to the maximum in life and professional activity, excessive stress causes serious disturbances in the body. The optimal stress level is a balance between the two extremes. Probably, each individual person has his own optimum of activation, at which his activity is quite effective and, at the same time, the level of stress does not reach distress.

And now specifically about the individual, already mentioned techniques and methods of resolving / relieving stressful situations.

1. Autogenic training

Autogenic training is one of the options for self-hypnosis. With its help, a person can have a serious impact on mental and vegetative processes in the body, including those that do not lend themselves to voluntary conscious regulation. The mechanisms of the phenomena occurring in this case are not yet fully understood, and the "peripheral theory of emotions" by James-Lange, created at the beginning of the 20th century, still retains its significance for understanding the processes that connect our thoughts and our body.

According to this hypothesis, each physiological state of the organism more or less deterministically corresponds to a certain state of consciousness, and the influence of these states is mutually mirror-like. From the paradoxical W. James - we cry, not because we feel bad, but we feel bad, because we cry - the empirical conclusion confirmed by practice follows: if by an effort of will to change the pattern of excitation of skeletal muscles, making it corresponding to another emotion and thought, making the assumption that the desired emotion is already in the body, then the likelihood of the desired emotion will increase dramatically.

Today, this method is recommended as a symptomatic remedy for anxiety, anxiety neurosis, anxiety neurosis and various phobias. It should be noted that the main difficulty that arises when mastering this method is voluntary relaxation of the skeletal muscles. Indeed, neuromuscular relationships are organized in such a way that the muscles understand only one order well - shrink and the order to relax is actually not received. To relax a muscle, you need to stop tense it. Animals relax automatically, as soon as danger disappears or certain activities cease, for a civilized person everything is not so: he wears their problems, anxieties and dangers in the mind, which controls the muscles, therefore the latter are in a state of chronic tension almost all the time. The effect of "positive feedback" arises - an excited and anxious brain makes the muscles unnecessarily tense, and tense muscles further excite the mind, sending nerve impulses to it. To stop this process, Jacobson suggested using a paradoxical way - first to strain the muscles as much as possible, and then try to relieve tension. It turned out that using this contrast principle, you can more clearly perceive the degree of muscle relaxation, and then learn to consciously manage this state.

The most important feature of these exercises is the alternation of strong tension and relaxation of the corresponding muscle group quickly followed by it. At the same time, subjectively, the relaxation process is represented by sensations of softening, propagation of a heat wave and pleasant heaviness in the area of ​​the body being worked out, a feeling of calm and rest. Our brain constantly receives information about the state of all internal organs and skeletal muscles. At the same time, there are certain relationships between the mind and the body, which will differ significantly in a person reading a book, sleeping or playing hockey. A well-defined state of blood vessels and skeletal muscles corresponds to negative emotions, and our brain remembers a fairly large set of such psychophysiological states. When a person is stressed, their muscles tense up and their heart beats harder, which only increases the overall tension of the body. If a person manages to relax his muscles and calm his breathing, then the brain calm down, and then the emotions will subside.

5. Rational psychotherapy

Rational therapy is used to reduce emotional stress (in sports practice), but its effectiveness is not always high - this is often due to the inability [at a conscious level] to regulate the processes associated with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and endocrine glands. Yes, and everyone knows that attempts to influence an agitated person with the help of only persuasion are unsuccessful. There will be not so much emotionally significant information for a person in a state of emotional excitement - from the entire information flow, he selects, perceives, remembers and takes into account only that which corresponds to his [dominant] emotional heritage. Nevertheless, rational therapy can be used in combination with other methods at the final stage of emotional stress correction, when the general level of arousal has already been reduced to an acceptable level. For people with high anxiety, rational psychotherapy helps to reduce the subjective significance of the situation, shift the emphasis on understanding the activity and building confidence in success, and for people with low anxiety, on the contrary, it helps to increase attention to the motives of the activity, increasing the sense of responsibility.

6. Dissociation

Today it is also important that there are a number of methods and techniques for dissociation, removal from stress:

– change the scale of the event. You can find a bunch of examples of how to consider a specific disturbing, exciting, annoying event, phenomenon, for example, moving away from it, moving away in space. Everything will seem so small, insignificant, imperceptible ...;

– changing the time scale. It is worth thinking about how we will think about our emotional outburst in a month? In a year? Probably, everything will seem small, forgotten, insignificant ...;

– changing "submodalities" - characteristics our perception of the surrounding world. Change the proportions of the "picture", the features of people, participants in the event, give them something caricatured, grotesque, funny ...;

– simulate stress in a playful way- why not try to portray everything that happened in the form of games using paper clips and buttons, buttons and matches? And look at it from the side, from above, as the creator of this action (remember Chapaev from an old film, who simulated a picture of a battle using an old iron pot, a smoking pipe and a few potatoes)?

7. Using positive images (visualization)

Maybe, nevertheless, in order to get rid of stress, it is worth learning to fixate not on negative emotions, but on positive experiences and think not about problems, but about ways to get them out? And the first step towards this is the creation of a certain “magic” verbal formula that would symbolize the future goal - it can be expressed in one word (“health”, “courage”), or it can be formulated as a whole sentence (“I will pass the exam for Great"). However, using a similar method to reduce goals, one may encounter difficulties on the way of realization - the subconscious mind reacts weakly to verbal formulas and is much more susceptible to sensory images. Of course, visual images are better for some, auditory images for others, and bodily images for others, but combined images, in which all modalities are involved, are best stimulated and inspired. The positive effect of this method is based on the fact that each vivid image that is created inside strives for its own way out, realization, embodiment. The more complete the inner image of the desired final state is, the more often it appears before the inner gaze, the more likely it is to be realized in reality.

8. Neuro-linguistic programming

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) as a method of psychotherapy is based on testing and research on optimal ways to achieve success in various areas of life - interpersonal communication, education, business, personal growth - and is a synthesis of Perls' techniques (gestalt therapy), Satir (family therapy) and Erickson (hypnotherapy), to which the founders of NLP J. Grinder and R. Bandler added their own idea of ​​the structure of human language, noting its importance as the main means of communication and structuring individual life experience, and also suggested the possibility of "programming" the behavior of an individual by selecting optimal strategies for organizing internal experiences. True, we should note that our science does not approve of NLP, but among practical psychologists this direction is very popular. His methods are successfully applied to relieve various fears, and, in particular, "school phobias", fear of exams, etc. In this case, one of the leading terms is "anchor", which is understood as a stimulus associated with a certain psychological state and which is its trigger. "Anchor" can have different modalities and be tactile, visual or auditory. In order for a person to subsequently gain access to positive resources (for example, courage, calmness, confidence), an NLP specialist must first activate the memory of his patient, induce the desired state, and then “link” it to a certain “anchor”. After such "binding", the mere presentation of the appropriate "anchor" will cause the necessary positive emotions ("resources", according to NLP terminology), which will allow a person to further minimize fear, anxiety and other negative emotions and successfully overcome traumatic events. One cannot, of course, fail to notice that the part concerning the "anchors", in its essence, is simply a modified method of developing classical conditioned reflexes, although both the creators and NLP specialists do not take into account the works of the founder of conditioned reflex teachings I.P. Pavlov ( hence their methodological errors - for example, they recommend placing an "anchor" - applying a conditioned stimulus at the peak of emotional experiences, while specialists in higher nervous activity are well aware that a conditioned stimulus acts most effectively when exposed some time before unconditioned reinforcement). The experience of using NLP techniques to reduce [exam] stress shows its high efficiency both in terms of reducing psycho-emotional stress and in terms of optimizing the autonomic balance [of schoolchildren and students].

9. Exercise

Physical education and sports are an essential factor in the prevention and correction of psychological stress. First of all, this is due to the fact that physical activity is a completely natural, genetically determined response of the body to a stressor. In addition, physical education and sports simply distract a person's consciousness from the problem situation, switch attention to new stimuli, reducing the significance of the actual problem. Additionally, sport activates the work of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, burns excess adrenaline, increases the activity of the immune system.

The activity of the body, combined with positive emotions, leads to an increase in the activity of the psyche, a good mood.

The use of various types of special motor and breathing exercises is a long and well-known way to normalize the functional state. The fact of the influence of the level of general physical fitness on resistance to the occurrence of unfavorable conditions does not require special evidence - for this purpose, sports, various hardening systems, morning exercises, etc. have been used for a long time.

10. Religion as a way to deal with stress

Affective reactions are often a consequence of mismatches between expectations and reality. At the same time, the magnitude of emotion is proportional to the strength of the need that prevails at the moment - hence: the greater the mismatch between the expected and the received, the higher the intensity of feelings. Thus, the less a person expects from life and the lower his needs, the less sorrow, disappointment and stress he experiences ... Actually, this is one of the principles of Buddhism: the elimination of desires and expectations leads to the destruction of the cause for suffering [and stress].

Buddha argued that life in the world is full of suffering, this suffering has a reason that can be neutralized - for this there is a certain way - cultivating such a mindset and appropriate behavior, which are aimed at minimizing needs, to renounce attachment to the world , lead a virtuous life and focus on achieving nirvana - a state without any stress.

And Christianity? People look for and find in religion those principles and values ​​that correspond to their personality characteristics and correspond to life attitudes, therefore, almost always for people with an external locus of control, religion seems to be one of the ways to shift responsibility from themselves to the higher forces that control their fate.

Having turned to God, many want to protect themselves before an important event in life (for example, students before an exam, soldiers before a battle ...). Conformal people tend to seek support and protection in religion; those who are organized and able to control their emotions emphasize the factor of God in religion as a force that regulates and controls the world. The calculating and discerning person often sees religion as a good way to regulate relationships between people; people prone to a heightened sense of guilt find in Christianity the perfect way to repent. People with a high degree of religiosity are characterized by a lower level of frustrations than for the rest, indicating the sedative nature of traditional Christian religion. Therefore, for individuals with a weak type of higher nervous activity and a high level of conformity, religious faith is one of the ways to relieve life's stress.

11. Meditation

As a method of removing, correcting, reducing the influence of stress, meditation has entered the arsenal of psychotherapy not so long ago, although in the East it has been used as a means, a way, a way to restore mental balance for several millennia. Meditation is a classic way of developing calm concentration, which is a means of restoring and coordinating mental and physical functions, creating clarity of thinking, and relieving mental and emotional stress. Having, without a doubt, common roots with autogenic training, meditation differs from it, because AT requires greater volitional effort and conscious control over the self-regulation process - during auto-training, a constant effort of will is needed to combat the unstable modulation of thoughts and sensations, and in meditation, volitional there is practically no control.

Meditation has several varieties, and a person can meditate not only about his internal processes, but also about the objects of the external world (some martial arts). Originally a method of self-regulation, meditation can, of course, be incorporated [as separate elements] into various forms of traditional psychotherapy.

The question of the fight is very serious with stress depending on the time of its occurrence. If a person expects the onset of an unpleasant event, and this very expectation already triggers a neuro-humoral response to the development of stress, then first you need to reduce the level of anxiety with the help of auto-training or concentration on the breathing process. Then - building self-confidence with the help of rational psychotherapy techniques or

Rice. 3 Sequential scheme of work with stress, depending on the time of its onset

However, the options for dealing with stress will change if a person is in the midst of an event that caused stress:

overcoming;

If the event that caused the stress has already happened and now it is in the past, but the person periodically returns to it mentally, while experiencing negative emotions, it is necessary to dislocate from the situation, then select the necessary subjective resources (indifference, calmness or wisdom) and actualize them:

A curious question about eliminating the causes of stress by improving behavioral skills.

Communication skills. Communication, oddly enough, is quite often the cause of psychological stress: high expectations, negative prejudices, lack of understanding of the interlocutor's motivation, etc., and a particularly strong emotional reaction, sometimes developing in prolonged stress, criticism.

Behavior. Often, the source of a person's stress is their own insecurity: small or too large growth, a noticeable accent, overweight, lack of financial resources, low social status - all these seem to be obvious, objective factors. However, the true and deepest source of uncertainty and the stress associated with it is, most likely, a subjective feeling of one's own inferiority and low self-esteem, which, by the way, can be corrected. In general, probably, a large number of people have an unimportant opinion of themselves. And the ability to love and respect yourself, to live in harmony with yourself and with your actions is the right, and often the only way to reduce the amount of stress. Internal self-confidence. A person is already the same as he is at this point in time. Learning to love and appreciate yourself is the most difficult, but also the most effective step in dealing with stress.

You can try to deliberately change your posture, gestures, breathing parameters and vocal characteristics - as a result of which you feel more confident.

You can also act more competently - a change in behavioral manifestations in activity, which will affect both self-esteem and the assessment of others, which ultimately will allow you to act more confidently.

You can try using rational psychotherapy (discussed above).

The source of stress, as we said above, can be frustration associated with the failure to achieve the set goals (both in personal life and in the professional sphere). Quite often, the collapse of plans is associated not so much with insurmountable objective difficulties, as with incorrect goal setting or inability to find the necessary resources. In this case, the use of an effective goal-setting algorithm will allow in the future to avoid the "stress of dashed hopes", which causes serious psychological and somatic consequences. Here is an example algorithm for setting life goals:

Positive wording. This rule means that there should be no “not” particle in the goal formulation. According to this rule, the goals "I will not drink anymore", "I will never smoke","I AM I will not be afraid anymore"Etc. are difficult to achieve due to the peculiarities of our subconscious, which does not accept the operation of logical negation.

Fundamental achievability. The goals that are set must be achievable in principle, not contradict physical, biological and economic laws.

Maximum specificity. Language that should clearly bear in mind the specific expected result. In this regard, the goals "Become bolder", "become happier" and so on are abstract, fundamentally unattainable. To get rid of stress, the goal must be specified: the goal must depend on us as much as possible; the goal should be acceptable, understandable, achievable; the goal should be provided the necessary resources.

If this algorithm is used when drawing up plans and setting goals, then the likelihood of stress, as experience shows, will sharply decrease. At the same time, the very movement towards the goal becomes more rational and conscious, and the intensity and frequency of occurrence of negative emotions decrease.

The many conflicts that accompany our life often lead to additional nervous stress on a person, stressful situations, the need to manage stress. The concept of stress has been borrowed from the technical field, where it means the ability of various bodies and structures to withstand stress. Any structure has a tensile strength, exceeding which leads to its destruction. Transferred into the field of social psychology, the concept of "stress" includes a whole spectrum of personality states caused by many events: from defeats or victories to creative experiences and doubts. Some experts believe that stress is the pressure in the world that leads to a state of emotional discomfort. Others believe that emotional discomfort is stress caused by pressure or conditions called stressors. In general, stress is a common phenomenon. Minor stress is inevitable and harmless, but excessive stress creates problems for both individuals and organizations. Stress is a complex of physical, chemical and psychological reactions of a person to stimuli or stressors in the environment. Stress factors at work are the causes of stress in the worker. The main factors of stress at work and possible sources of stress are: overload (long work) or underload (boredom); lack of a support (feedback) system from the manager and (or) work colleagues; incorrect determination of the scope of work (task) - a discrepancy between the employee's abilities and the needs of the work; ambiguity or ambiguity of the tasks set; unreasonable policy in the movement of personnel; poor working conditions: noise, dirt, etc .; unfavorable social environment - working alone, constant pressure from others, inability to work in groups; the inability of the employee to cope with conflict situations, etc. Methods for neutralizing stress are ways of adapting a person to a stressful situation. The first way to neutralize stress is carried out at the level of the organization - as a result of changes in policy, production structure, development of clear requirements for employees, assessment of their performance. Such changes eliminate the source of stressful situations. The second way to neutralize stress - at the individual level - is to teach how to deal with stress individually, using special stress management programs that include meditation, training, exercise, diet and sometimes prayer. They help a person feel better, relax, and recuperate. In the practice of foreign management, such programs exist and are applied at the level of the entire organization, especially a lot of them have been developed in recent years at enterprises in Western Europe and the United States.

Psychology defines stress as a state of intense nervous tension against a background of physical, chemical or emotional impact. Not all stress is negative, sometimes a slight shake-up helps to mobilize the internal reserves of the body in order to cope with the task, do the job efficiently, and avoid an accident. The danger is represented by systematic emotional overload and the inability of the individual to cope with them. The consequences of chronic stress for a person are different: from mild nervous tension to serious physical and psychological problems.

Stress provocateurs

According to experts, more than half of all first aid visits are due to stress.

Stressful situations lie in wait for a person everywhere: conflicts between an employee and an employer, employees, incessant quarrels in the family, excessive demands on children, difficulties of adolescence lead people to a state of chronic stress.

According to some experts, the most stressful professions are the professions of a teacher, top manager, founder and head of a large company, salesman, doctor, police officer due to constant contact with people. Other causes of stress at work are lack of open communication with superiors, strained relationships with colleagues, fear of losing a job, low salaries.

Increased nervous tension in women and men causes family conflicts, disagreements related to raising children, material difficulties, relations with relatives. Men often worry that they cannot properly provide for their families, women are exhausted by the need to combine work and household responsibilities.

Stress is especially dangerous for women during pregnancy, children and adolescents. The expectant mother, worried about the baby's health, doubting her physical attractiveness due to her changed appearance, experiencing fear of childbirth, is in a state of constant excitement. These are natural experiences as long as they do not cause emotional and physical discomfort. But when a woman cannot cope with anxiety and confusion on her own, physical ailments join the psychological discomfort, this indicates the development of chronic stress.

In children, this condition is more often associated with changes in life (kindergarten, school), divorce of parents, death of a loved one. A child may suffer from bullying, lack of friends, domestic violence, quarrels and misunderstandings between mom and dad. Children are very sensitive, they are hurt not only by fights and swearing, but also by inner coldness and alienation.

Whatever the cause of stress, it takes away physical and emotional strength so much that a person cannot maintain a normal lifestyle.

Effects

People who are in a state of constant nervous overload feel the reaction of all systems and organs: an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, the level of hormones and blood sugar, respiratory failure, and a breakdown. The human body, working at the limit for a long time, fails, mental and physical health suffers.

Prolonged stress causes depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, as well as serious illnesses such as stroke, heart attack, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. Decreases immunity, which leads to an increase in the body's susceptibility to viral and bacterial infections.

People in the fight against stress fall into all sorts of addiction, exacerbating the emotional turmoil. Especially children and adolescents, not understanding what is happening to them, resort to drugs, alcohol, sexual promiscuity. They behave aggressively, leave home, commit crimes, and as a result create other serious problems for themselves.

Unattended symptoms of nervous overstrain in a pregnant woman negatively affect the health of the unborn baby and are dangerous at any time. The consequences of severe stress can be a deterioration in the supply of blood to the placenta, intrauterine fetal hypoxia, poor labor, miscarriages and premature birth. Children born to mothers who were emotionally shocked during the period of their gestation sleep poorly, cry a lot, and in the future they are often diagnosed with depressive and behavioral disorders.

Symptoms

People react differently to stress. Some people get so used to constant stress that they perceive it as normal. Others, not understanding why they are angry, look for the reason within themselves or in their environment, while others fall into depression, distance themselves from family and friends.

There is a category of people with increased stress resistance, their stay in a state of tension is accompanied by euphoria, they are looking for thrills in order to experience it again and again. Such individuals put themselves at risk by engaging in extreme types of entertainment and sports, embark on adventures, and love gambling. Despite their seeming invulnerability, they are as susceptible to the effects of stress as people who are negatively affected by the slightest disappointment.

Psychologists divide the symptoms of emotional burnout under the influence of stress into cognitive, behavioral, emotional, physiological. The more signs a person notices in themselves, the more likely they are to have chronic stress.

The most typical symptoms are:

• impaired concentration and memory;
• obsessive disturbing thoughts;
• fixation on the negative;
• irritability, outbursts of anger, tearfulness;
• nervous overexcitement, inability to relax;
• depression, despondency;
• tendency to "seize" stress or, conversely, lack of appetite;
• sleep disorders;
• obsessive actions (the habit of biting your lips, biting your nails, pinching or scratching yourself);
• a constant desire to relax with alcohol or medications;
• stool disorders;
• pains of various etiologies;
• dizziness, nausea;
• decreased sex drive;
• frequent viral infections.

Similar signs may indicate other mental and physical disorders in the body, therefore, self-diagnosis is unacceptable. Improper treatment is as harmful as stress itself.

A person's ability to endure emotional intensity depends on his psychological maturity, his ability to find a compromise in conflict situations, build relationships with others, and tolerate defeat and disappointment with dignity. An important role is played by the genetic component, the type of temperament and the general view of the state of affairs.

Neutralization methods

Psychotherapeutic medicine has developed effective techniques to neutralize the effects of severe stress: relaxation, auto-training, special breathing techniques, self-hypnosis techniques, abstraction from the stimulus. These techniques should be taught by an experienced psychologist or psychotherapist.

Severe stress associated with violence, disaster, crime, natural disaster, terrorist attack, leads to severe mental disorders. Panic attacks, neuroses, obsessive fears, insomnia are possible. It is difficult to cope with such conditions on your own; psychological assistance is required, possibly with the use of medications.

In other cases, methods of neutralizing stress that do not require the intervention of a doctor, are effective and are available to everyone:

1. 1. It is necessary to set aside time for rest every day. This should not be watching the news, which, due to the negativity of the content, can aggravate the situation. It is useful to listen to music, read a book, just lie down in a calm atmosphere.
2. 2. Do not do without proper nutrition. Healthy, natural food with enough vitamins and minerals will provide the body with energy and help reduce the effects of stress.
3. 3. Feasible physical activity is very useful: light morning exercises, walking, active games in the fresh air, fitness classes, aerobics, swimming.
4. 4. When setting goals, you need to soberly assess your capabilities and limitations. Unattainable goals cause in a person a feeling of deep dissatisfaction, lead to disappointment. Realistic tasks performed well will increase self-esteem and promote emotional calmness.
5. 5. Planning and prioritization will help you more productively combine work, household chores, parenting. Open communication, discussion of family problems brings parents and children closer together, develops trust and confidence in the future.
6. 6. Reduce the effects of stress by engaging in creativity, music, meeting friends who can share anxiety and anxiety, listen, give advice.

Stress is an inevitable reality of life, and few people manage to avoid it. But everyone has a choice: to accept and humbly surrender themselves to the power of negative emotions, or to take decisive action to earn the right to inner harmony and peace of mind.

Zhdanov Oleg Igorevich

Rapid stress management techniques are based on the distinction between facts and meanings (their interpretations). Facts are real events. The meanings are the result of their interpretation.

Stress, unless it is associated with a direct physical threat, is not a reaction to a fact, but to the meaning attributed to it. Change the meaning and you change your reaction to what is happening. The following techniques are simple and effective in relieving the effects of the stress you are experiencing.

So, for example, in order not to get angry about your child's noisy behavior, take his agility as a sign of good health, and in order not to get annoyed while waiting for your wife's fees, take them as her efforts to look attractive.

Stress hurts, and the long train of associated experiences can overwhelm you. Therefore, it is important not only to protect yourself from stress itself, but also to free yourself from its possible consequences - to break the last link of the vicious circle of destruction.

The most dangerous consequence of stress is fixed tension.

No tension - no flight. If you want to be successful, you must mobilize. No tension - no action. But if there is no action, then why stress? The stress of a civilized person is dangerous not so much by the tension caused by him, but by the blocking of the action that realizes this tension.

Tension is a natural prelude to purposeful action ... But when this action is delayed or suppressed, excessive tension is created. Such accumulated tension blocks energy, depletes life potential. Containing this energy only increases its destructive powers.

Being unhappy is hard work. Think of the constant flow of energy that goes into keeping your body cocked for hours. Muscles are mobilized, but this mobilization does not translate into anything. It is like a car skidding in the mud - the wheels turn and the car does not move. This is both tedious and useless. Figuratively speaking, a person spends more effort to frown than to smile.

The stress experienced by stress often persists after the event that triggered it has passed. It is, as it were, "embedded" in the structure of your personality and keeps you in its grip as long as you are able to withstand it. This tension is then transformed into neurotic behavior and illness. Underamed stress is at the root of most of our ailments.

Respiratory technique

The following breathing technique is an effective way to restore the natural biorhythm of a healthy body.

It is based on the fact that tension and relaxation are integral parts of breathing. Inhalation is the contraction of the intercostal muscles and the unfolding of the chest, stretching of the lung tissue. Exhale is their relaxation. In this case, you "pick up" these natural processes and strengthen them physically and mentally.

So, sit up straight and exhale all the air from your lungs. Relax as you exhale. Grasp the edges of the seat firmly with both hands and pull it up as you inhale, as if trying to lift a chair.

Tighten your arms, stomach, and other muscles in your body, continuing to lift the chair you're sitting on.

While maintaining tension throughout the body, hold your breath.

Exhale slowly through your nose, relaxing your body and letting go of the seat. Relax completely after exhaling. There should be no tension anywhere in the body.

Do three to five of these cycles. Determine the time of inhalation, exhalation and holding the breath in accordance with your state of health and your breathing rhythm.

As you do the exercise, imagine a personal counter to measure your tension-relaxation. This counter can be any measuring device that has a scale, like a thermometer, barometer, voltmeter, and so on. When you tighten on the inhale, "watch" how the indicator of your tension increases, when you relax on the exhale - "watch" how it decreases. The more you manage to "swing" the stress-relaxation indicator between its polar values, the more effective the exercise will be.

If you suffer from hypertension, then practice only a relaxing breathing method, without a phase of tension on the inhale. Then, with each exhalation, release from the tension that remains in you, as if "blowing" its reading from the scale of your personal counter-meter.

Rhythmic breathing and mental cleaning

Rhythmic breathing is an effective way to relieve the effects of stress experienced.

Continuous rhythmic breathing with natural alternating relaxation and tension is a kind of massage of the body from the inside. It speeds up blood circulation and ultimately ensures lasting health. The natural rhythm improves blood circulation in all parts of the body and gradually relieves fatigue.

This way you prevent depletion of the body. If you are not exhausted, you do not fall into a state of anxiety at the slightest provocation; if you are not worried, your consciousness is in a stable, calm state. With this attitude, you feel ready to cope with any external difficulty that arises.

To get rid of the mental toxins of stress, you need to perform some kind of "Mental cleaning".

To do this, "go back" to the moment of the past, where you were not completely satisfied with your behavior, and relive it again, but not the way you did it then. Renowned psychotherapist Virginia Satir calls this "come back and see with new eyes." From the standpoint of the present, understand what you lacked then for more successful behavior.

With a new resource, walk through the occasion a few times until you are satisfied with your reaction. Change your perception of what happened so that it no longer serves as a source of stress for you.

By giving the memory the characteristics of a strong positive experience, you not only protect yourself from the trace effects of stress, but also gain confidence that in the future this memory will positively influence all subsequent events. Although you realize that you yourself created it due to your properties, it nevertheless has the unconscious force of a real incident.

The outlined techniques are simple and effective for relieving the effects of the stress you are experiencing. It is important that you remember to use them from time to time, and always feel good about yourself.

How to make it a habit, remember it all day long? Here are some tips to help you remember to relax amid the many concerns of everyday life. Most of them are triggered by sending a signal that grabs your attention.

For example, a note with the words "Relax" or "Remember!" Will help you. Attach it to your desk, mirror, refrigerator, or car dashboard. Put it in your wallet so that every time you take out money, you can see it.

If you are used to making entries in the calendar, then write this appeal to yourself on each page for two weeks in advance, preferably in bright ink.

Change your watch hand, put on or remove the ring from your finger, or move your comb to a different location. Tell yourself that whenever you notice a difference, you need to remember your “emotional barometer” and consciously relax.

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