Techniques for the prevention and correction of stress. Proper prevention of stress

Stress Prevention – 17 Ways to Protect Yourself from Stress

Stress Prevention- This is an important condition for maintaining emotional health. And it's important to follow general principles to increase the level of resistance to stressful situations. This will prolong your life and increase its level several times. Here are ways to control unpleasant experiences:

1.Take everything easier.

You shouldn’t take everything to heart and worry about every little thing. Learn to calmly perceive any events in your life. Imagine that you are a sieve or a cloud and all stress passes through you without leaving a trace.

2.Learn positive thinking

If you are overwhelmed by stress, positive thinking will help you. Its essence is that you need to concentrate on positive thoughts and memories.

3.Use switching methods

Are you plagued by unpleasant thoughts? Don't give them power. Switch things up. Shift your focus to the outside world. Observe what makes you happy. Concentrate on what you see and hear at the moment.

4. Free yourself from negative emotions

Suppressed emotions increase stress and can lead to depression. So give them a way out. Naturally, this needs to be done in a positive way. So as not to harm others. For example, beating pillows or practicing forgiveness.

5.Laugh more

Laughter is the best stress prevention. Don't neglect her. Watch comedies, use laughter therapy, smile at passersby.

Sport helps cope with stress. Therefore, if you want to maintain emotional health, sign up for your favorite sports section and enjoy regular training.

7.Be grateful for what you have

Gratitude is a very good way to prevent stress. Instead of constant dissatisfaction, you will begin to find joy in what you have.

8. Relax

This method is very useful. All doctors and psychologists recommend doing autogenic training daily for 10-30 minutes to prevent stress.

9.Go on a trip

One of my friends experienced chronic stress, due to concerns about her health and being fired from her job. Her beloved gave her a trip to Mexico. After returning she will not be recognized. She left all her stress in another country. Try it too, if you like to travel, of course.

By the way, you don’t have to go to another country; you can take up tourism even in your hometown.

10.Take baths

An excellent remedy for relaxation. Especially with the use of essential oils.

11.Get outdoors

12. Use self-hypnosis

Choose a suitable affirmation for yourself and say it out loud or silently as often as possible, tuning into the desired wave. For example, if you are worried at work, you can say the following formula: “There is peace and harmony inside and around me.”

13. Find a hobby

A favorite hobby is a wonderful stress prevention. So ask yourself: What do I enjoy doing?” Perhaps write poetry, cook culinary masterpieces, or study psychology. We found out the answer. Fine. Now, without delay, start an interesting activity.

14.Make a list of things that make you happy

Take a few minutes to write down your favorite ways to spend time that make you happy. These activities are your salvation from stress.

14.Dream and fantasize

In positive psychology there is a technique called “Visualization”. Its essence is that you dream about what you want, do it with pleasure and in the present tense. And then you get what you pictured in your imagination.

16.Keep a diary

A diary helps you understand yourself, analyze your life and find a way out of difficult situations. And also, keeping notes has the function of a chiropractor; you write about what worries you, and you feel better.

17.Consult a psychologist

If your nervous energy is running low and nothing makes you happy, consult a psychologist. Thank God, there are now enough professionals in this field who can help you cope with stress.

Stressful thinking styles

Even ancient philosophers said that we react not to events as such, but to what we think about them. A person's reaction to any event depends on his thoughts. And the stress reaction as well.

There are a number of thinking errors that can lead to unnecessarily strong, excessive stress. The most common errors include:

"Black and white thinking." The world is seen in black and white, without color or halftones. A person thinks in terms of “everything” or “nothing” and considers himself a complete failure at the slightest discrepancy between expectations and reality.

Overgeneralization. Based on individual facts, a global (and unconfirmed) conclusion is formulated. The words “never, no one, nothing, everyone, everything, always” are often used.

Catastrophization. This is a kind of “making a mountain out of a molehill.” An exaggeration of a negative event occurs until it grows in the human mind to the size of a catastrophe. The words “nightmarish, terrible, terrible, tragic”, etc. may be used.

Subjectivization. Another option is “turning a molehill into an elephant,” when a person is determined to have a certain explanation of events and persistently tries to find confirmation of this. If no suitable facts are found, “confirmations” are formed from everything that is at hand, including one’s own emotions.

Excessive pessimism. The “spyglass effect,” which downplays good news and exaggerates bad news. A person pays attention only to the negative aspects of life, while stubbornly ignoring the positive aspects.

Daydreaming and denial of reality. A person is full of colorful, but completely unrealistic expectations about himself, other people, work, profession, the world around him, etc. At the same time, he often does not see the real problem or convinces himself that the problem does not exist, although in fact it is very relevant.

Excessive demands. A person makes inadequate, inflated demands on himself, other people and the world as a whole and makes incredible efforts to fulfill these demands. The words “should, must” are often used.

Condemnation and labels. A person takes the position of a strict judge and passes a mental sentence on himself or another. For example: “I’m a loser”, “he bad person", etc.

Hedonic thinking. A mindset aimed at maximum pleasure and the complete elimination of suffering and any restrictions. Often there are phrases: “I can’t stand this,” “I need this right now,” “it’s too hard.”

Sticky thinking. A person returns to the same thought again and again until it fills the entire space of consciousness. Moreover, each subsequent attempt to solve the problem is less and less successful.

The listed thinking errors occur in every person from time to time. Their identification and correction are an important component of stress management. This can be done either independently or under the guidance of a cognitive behavioral specialist. Of course, in the second case, results can be obtained much faster. But even with independent work, you can significantly improve your stress management skills.

Four groups of stress symptoms

There are at least 4 groups of stress symptoms: physiological, intellectual, emotional and behavioral.

PHYSIOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS:

Persistent headaches, migraines

Headaches

Vague pain

Indigestion

Bloating due to gases

Constipation or diarrhea

Spasmodic, sharp pain in the abdomen

Palpitations (a feeling that the heart is beating strongly, irregularly, or quickly)

Feeling short of breath when inhaling

Convulsions

Fatigue

Susceptibility to allergies

Excessive sweating

Clenched fists or jaw

Fainting

Frequent colds, flu, infections

Renewal of previously occurring illnesses

Rapid gain or loss of body weight

Frequent urination

Tingling sensation in arms and legs

Muscle tension, frequent neck and back pain

Skin rashes

Feeling of a lump in the throat

Double vision and difficulty seeing objects

INTELLECTUAL SIGNS OF STRESS:

Indecisiveness

Memory loss

Decreased concentration

Increased distractibility

"Tunnel" vision

Bad dreams, nightmares

Wrong actions

Losing initiative

Constant negative thoughts

Impaired judgment, confused thinking

Impulsive thinking, hasty decisions

EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS:

Irritability

Anxiety

Suspicion

Gloomy mood, depression

Fussiness

Feeling tense

Exhaustion

Susceptibility to attacks of anger

Cynical, inappropriate humor

Feelings of nervousness, fearfulness, anxiety

Loss of confidence

Decreased life satisfaction

Feeling alienated

Lack of interest

Low self-esteem

Job dissatisfaction

BEHAVIORAL SIGNS OF STRESS:

Loss of appetite or overeating

Bad driving

Increased problems in the family

Poor time management

Avoidance of supportive, friendly relationships

Ungroomed

Antisocial behavior, deceit

Failure to develop

Low productivity

Prone to accidents

Sleep disturbance or insomnia

Increased smoking and alcohol consumption

Finishing work at home

Too busy to rest

Each symptom is worth one point. A stress level of up to 10 points is considered acceptable, more than 10 - requiring action. In this case, the number of points from 20 to 30 indicates high level stress, and more than 30 - very high.

The state of stress is familiar to everyone, from a newborn to a frail old man. The very first stress experienced at the moment of birth is beyond our control.

At a conscious age, we can completely control it: whether or not to let it into our lives, regulate the charge from positive to negative, the degree of intensity of passions and their duration. It is not for nothing that the wise Chinese designated this phenomenon with two hieroglyphs: danger and opportunity.

Hans Selye, a Canadian physiologist, was the first to define stress. He divided it into positive and negative:

moderate positive improves attention, charges a person with positive energy, strengthens the immune system, increases interest in achieving goals, and fills life with bright emotions.
negative, on the contrary, prepares the body to fight danger - this is its main biological purpose. According to Selye, a strong negative shock nervous system can give rise to many serious diseases and premature aging.

His point of view is confirmed by both statistics:

7 out of 10 cases of myocardial infarction are caused by psycho-emotional overload,

and science:

Australian scientists from the Garvan Institute (Sydney) have found that a person living in a state of prolonged stress is open to viruses and infections, and there is an increased production of the neuropeptide Y hormone, which disrupts the body’s protective functions.

Consequences of stress:

general deterioration in health and development of depression, phobias and other mental disorders. A person’s relationships with other people deteriorate, drug addiction or alcohol addiction. Suicide attempts are possible.

What happens to the body during stress?

Vladislav Mozhaisky, a psychotherapist, describes this condition as follows: our body consists of many tiny cells, inside each of them there is its own specific environment. Imagine that in a moment of stress this environment turns into hydrochloric acid.

It is very difficult for the body to cope with such a huge amount of harmful biochemicals and enzymes. Therefore, their release invariably occurs in the blood and lymph.

A signal of danger enters the brain and, under the influence of the stress hormone cortisol and the action hormone adrenaline, the body mobilizes all its resources:

rises sharply muscle tone, the whole body seems to be compressed, preparing to jump or run, which puts a colossal load on the heart
heart rate accelerates,
we lose our appetite because... digestion slows down
, pressure rises,
blood clotting increases.
blood drains from the brain, we think slower, hear and see worse,

The result of such changes in the body can be loss of consciousness, vomiting, asthma, and diarrhea. Middle-aged people are at high risk of strokes and heart attacks.

How stress accumulates

We experience stress throughout our lives:

growing up - any manifestation of individuality encounters restrictions “you can’t”, “they don’t do that”, “you must behave well” and the like. This gives rise to indignation and a nervous reaction, moreover, than younger age, the more sincere and faster the reaction.
At a conscious age, we already code ourselves for stress: “I must,” “I must,” “I need,” and others.

Such attitudes invariably create unnecessary nervous tension; we want to get a lot done right now, but there is not enough time, we begin to take away the missing time from our children, from our family, from our favorite hobby. Life takes on a frantic rhythm, nervous and therefore muscle fatigue accumulates, we lose self-control over emotions, we can flare up, break down, get angry or burst into inappropriate tears or laughter.

In order not to expose your health to stressful shocks, you need to monitor your emotional state, your level of anxiety, etc.

If such a trifle as unwashed dishes causes a wave of indignation, and the loss of keys or a disagreement with your husband seems like the end of the world, you should think about whether you can handle the burden of responsibility and responsibilities that you have shouldered?

According to statistics Women aged 30 to 40 are most susceptible to stress,

those at the age of so-called “greatest anxiety.” During this period of life, they have to solve several priority tasks at the same time: children are small and require a lot of attention, parents are old and they need care and attention, their career is at the peak of construction and also takes the lion’s share of strength and energy.

Stress can be caused by:

long-term nervous tension,
constant psychological pressure,
depressive states,
physical exhaustion - insomnia, vitamin deficiency, malnutrition, uncontrolled use of psychotropic substances.

Ways to prevent stress

Any stress will last exactly as long as we allow it to be in our minds.

Spontaneous reaction. There is no universal cure for stress. But, if you still were unable to avoid a severe nervous breakdown, then do not hold back your emotions, listen to yourself, your body itself will tell you which medicine is suitable for it.

Look at the behavior of an animal that is afraid of a predator, it runs away, i.e. MOVING!!! Look how a child reacts when he doesn’t like something - very EMOTIONALLY: he either cries, or screams, or makes faces.

The reaction is immediate and spontaneous - the very first and needed help to yourself!

We change our attitude to the situation. Reduce the significance of an event or situation that causes mental stress: “This is not the end of the world!”, “It could have been worse,” “Everything that is done is for the better!” With such thoughts, you create a dominant focus of excitation in the brain, which inhibits and replaces the previous one.

Know how to refuse. Very often, the cause of a breakdown is the inability to refuse; as a result, at work you are burdened with a bunch of additional responsibilities in addition to your main ones, and your friends, taking advantage of your kindness, burden you with their problems.

When promising something, starting any business, leave yourself a loophole, do not reassure your interlocutor 100%. After all, no one knows the future and programming it is difficult. There is always a high probability that you will not be able to fulfill your promise.

Do not take on great responsibility; use phrases such as “I’ll think about it,” “I’ll call you back if necessary,” “I’ll try, but I can’t promise,” “I’ll do it if possible,” and the like.

This will reduce psycho-emotional stress in the event of unfortunate circumstances.

Look for helpers, do not carry the entire load yourself. Share the amount of work with colleagues, household chores with household members, do not try to do everything yourself. There is no shame in admitting that it is physically difficult for you to cope alone.

Make lists, plan your day in advance. Choose priority tasks, reschedule those that can wait until tomorrow. Don't try to solve everything at once. Such a desire will not bring anything good, but it will add fatigue and tension to the nerves. Due to the fact that planned things are not carried out, dissatisfaction with oneself grows, which becomes the cause of irritability and conflicts with others.

How to cope with anxiety

Divide the alarms into three groups:

"Alarm bells." These problems require an urgent response.
Alarm reminders about unresolved problems.
Future problems. Premonitions of future threats.

Alarm bells deserve to be taken seriously. If you feel smoke and are worried about a possible imminent fire, then drop everything you are doing and get serious about solving this problem.

Alarm reminders like “congratulate dad on professional holiday", "my son has a swim tomorrow, don't forget!", "take things to the dry cleaner" place in the diary. Don't worry about it, use it notebooks, computers, phone reminders.

Coming Problems worthy of your attention, but do not subordinate your life to them, do not let fears in in advance. Set aside a time when you can calmly think about the upcoming risks with money, with work, with business. Reflect and look for a constructive solution. Don't allow yourself to constantly dwell on these topics in your thoughts. Prepare for problems without panicking. Think over your actions in advance calmly, without wasting your emotional and mental resources on something that is not in your power to eliminate.

Thought control.

Often the impetus for experiences can be a thought that comes to mind spontaneously. If you notice that you are nervous about the same thing more than once a day, ask yourself the question: “Can I change this situation?” If not, then throw the reason for concern out of your head, force yourself to switch your attention to something else.

Decision making.

Trying to accept the most the right decision, don't overexert yourself. Any solution requires the expenditure of intellectual resources. If decisions about moving to live in another city, having a child, or getting married are carefully and long thought through, this is normal. But when choosing between a Volvo and a Saab, don’t give yourself more than a few days to think about it. Ice cream, vanilla or chocolate, is equally delicious.

Try to see the bright side in any situation, don’t dwell on troubles, and they will quickly give way to joyful events.

A positive perception of life not only helps to avoid, but also contributes to more high quality life.

I wish you a good mood and good spirits!

Elena Valve for the project Sleepy Cantata.

Sources: malahov-plus.com, A. Leonova and D. Kostikova “On the verge of stress / In the world of science” 2004, Selye “Stress without distress”.

Elena Valve for the project Sleepy Cantata

From this article you will learn:
How can stress be dangerous and why is it so important to deal with it?
What are some ways to deal with stress?
What are the measures to prevent stress?
How to become a stress-resistant person

Stress is firmly established in modern life. Many people now simply do not notice it. They are so used to constantly being in a stressful state that when they come out of it, they feel discomfort. Scientists claim that prolonged nervous tension causes cardiovascular diseases, neuroses, and illnesses. digestive system and other health problems. Therefore, it is very important to know and apply ways to deal with stress, as well as to be able to react correctly in stressful situations.

Why do you need ways to deal with stress?

Stress is the body's response to negative emotions or negative events. Adrenaline is “thrown” into the blood, its amount depends on the emotionality of the person and his susceptibility to irritants. The heart begins to beat faster, blood pressure rises, and muscles tense. Thus, the body comes to “ combat readiness", mobilizes its reserves. And if he is in such a state of overvoltage long time, then this will inevitably lead to unpleasant consequences. To prevent this, you need to deal with stress in all known ways.

Some doctors believe that the majority of all diseases (about 90%) are caused or aggravated by stress. It affects many organs and systems of the human body.

In stressful situations, blood vessels narrow, making it difficult to supply the brain with oxygen. This causes headaches, insomnia, weakness, neuroses and depression.

Stressful conditions are especially dangerous for cardiovascular system. They cause arrhythmia, hypertension, and increase the risk of the occurrence and development of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction.

Stress can cause disruption of the digestive system, liver and gallbladder diseases, and exacerbation of stomach ulcers.

Prolonged severe stress conditions lead to malfunctions of the body's immune system. As a result, a person becomes vulnerable and exposed to infectious diseases.

Therefore, no one should have any doubt about the need to deal with stress. There are several ways to fight this.

The most effective ways to deal with stress

People are all different, and therefore there is no universal way to deal with stress. What is ideal for one person will be completely useless for another. Still, there are several general methods that help everyone. These include: eliminating the cause of stress, alleviating stress and preventing stress.

Eliminating the causes of stress

Try to change the situation that led to tension. Addressing the cause is a great way to combat stress. If this is impossible, try to change your attitude towards her. But don’t “cut in from the shoulder”, don’t solve the problem right away, in a “hot head”. Cool down a little, take a break, do something. Or just lie down and sleep. After rest, negative emotions are always replaced by logic. And the current situation will no longer seem so terrible and hopeless to you.

There are two types of problems - solvable and unsolvable. Learn to distinguish them. If the situation can be corrected, then direct all your efforts towards it. In cases where you cannot change the circumstances, just forget about them. Take what happened for granted, don’t stress yourself out, learn lessons and move on. Constantly thinking about the unsolvable life problems, you increase stress.

Relief from stress

You need to get rid of stress because it can lead to various diseases. If the cause of stress cannot be eliminated, try to relieve stress and alleviate your condition. There are several quick and effective ways to deal with stress. These include:

Switching attention. Don't dwell on the problem that caused you stress. Try to switch your attention to something pleasant. For example, meet your friends or loved ones, go to a cafe, watch a good funny movie, do an interesting activity, etc. This way of dealing with stress will help you quickly relieve nervous tension.
Physical activity- Very effective way combat stress. When a stressful situation arises, the human body tenses up, mobilizes its strength, and produces adrenaline, which needs an outlet. At this time, a person wants to scream loudly, slam doors, break dishes, etc. Sometimes this helps, but it’s still better to throw it out negative energy"peaceful" methods. You can, for example, take a walk, play sports, do general cleaning, or do any other active physical work.
Breathing exercises. Another way to deal with stress is breathing exercises. Here's one option: lie down or sit down, put your hand on your stomach, close your eyes. Relax. Take a deep breath and imagine the air filling your lungs, moving down and lifting your stomach. Exhale and “feel” how the exhaled air carries away negative energy. Breathing exercises relieve tension, calm the heartbeat and normalize blood pressure.
Herbal infusions. Many medicinal herbs have a calming effect. They are used in the form of infusion, decoction or tea. Calming herbal teas are recommended to be taken in courses or during periods of severe nervous tension. It is necessary to take breaks so that this method of relaxation does not become the norm and habit. Valerian, fireweed, motherwort, oregano, chamomile, lemon balm and mint are used to combat stress.
Relaxation. It means relaxation, decreased muscle tone, a state of rest. An excellent way to deal with stress, it helps to contain it, preventing it from intensifying. To relax, you can lie down with eyes closed, listen good music. You can take a bath or go to the park and breathe fresh air and sit in the shade of the trees.
Relaxing baths. Such baths are in a good way dealing with stress. They are made with the addition aromatic oils or decoctions medicinal herbs. They use decoctions of oregano, lavender, rosemary, mint, lemon balm, and oregano. Oils used include basil, verbena, orange and anise.
Tears. For many people they are in a great way dealing with stress. They give a good release and relieve nervous tension. Scientific studies have shown that tears contain substances that increase human stress resistance (peptides). It is not without reason that in difficult life situations they advise: “cry and you will immediately feel better.”

Another very important topic: ways to deal with stress at work.

Ways to deal with stress at work

With the modern pace of life, the problem of dealing with stress at work is becoming very common. It is becoming increasingly relevant in practical psychology of our time.

Is it possible to avoid stress at work?

Psychologists say that in most cases, stress at work can be dealt with. But if the situation becomes unmanageable, then drastic measures should be taken, including changing work activities.

In order to prevent stress at work, it is necessary to analyze all the conditions offered by the employer when applying for a job. Your work schedule should be such that you have at least 10 hours of rest every day. If you have to work in dangerous or unusual situations that require instant decision-making, try to undergo special testing that will determine your stress tolerance.

Scientists have developed a special system containing a description of probable situations for specific work activities. Therefore, a person passing the test will be able to understand whether this vacancy is suitable for him.

When employed, a person is usually in a calm, familiar state. That is why it can be quite difficult during stress testing to determine whether a person will experience stress at work in the future. In most cases, stressful situations do not arise immediately, but only after some time. The reason may be excessive demands or a discrepancy between the expected and the actual situation.

It should be understood that ideal work “in nature” does not exist. Remember catchphrase“It’s good where we are not”? In any type of work activity there are certain nuances that entail the occurrence of stressful situations. They may cause a malfunction various systems human body. The human nervous system is always at greatest risk. You can combat stress by reducing your demands and expectations to reasonable limits.

Ways to deal with stress at work include the following:

proper distribution of your time (for work, rest and entertainment) is one of the main ways to deal with stress;
planning work activities (distributing loads and rest during work) is a very effective way to combat stress;
self-education and development (study and application of new achievements in a certain professional field);
lack of conversations about work outside of it (during your free time from work, do not talk about it if these conversations cause you negative emotions).

Knowing ways to deal with stress at work, a person will always be able to maintain normal emotional state. Due to constant severe stress, performance decreases. Regular stress testing will help reduce the influence of “harmful” factors. Get rid of the cause of nervous tension. Learn to treat unpleasant people with understanding or avoid communicating with them. If such “meetings” are inevitable, after them try to quickly switch to positive emotions. For example, a small piece of chocolate will “save” a sweet tooth.

A stress reaction causes a natural response in the body in the usual reflex way. Our current “natural” way of life, with its “habitual” lack of movement, does not provide an incentive for an active response. In such situations, the reaction of “escape from the situation” is becoming more and more common for us. And this combination of an inadequate lifestyle with biochemical and hormonal reactions to stress can lead to serious health problems.

For a long time, there was a belief that the anxiety response was unpredictable and unsafe and that there was no other way a person could respond to stress. However, many years of experience testify: it is much more useful, using the body’s reserve capabilities, to master the methods of conscious and active self-regulation. This will allow you to respond to stress more calmly. This means learning to manage stress contrary to the natural automatic reaction and respond to it autoregulatory, or, as doctors say, relaxation.

There are four main methods of stress prevention using autoregulation:

1. relaxation,

2. anti-stress “remake” of the day,

3. first aid for acute stress

4. and autoanalysis of personal stress.

The use of these methods, if necessary, is available to everyone.

Relaxation

Relaxation is a state of wakefulness characterized by reduced psychophysiological activity, which is felt either throughout the body or in any of its systems.

How does relaxation affect stress? The automatic alarm reaction consists of three successive phases (according to the theory of G. Selye):

1) impulse,

3) adaptation.

In other words, if adaptation occurs, the stressful state soon subsides - the person, one way or another, calms down. If adaptation is disrupted (or absent altogether), then some psychosomatic diseases or disorders may occur.

With the help of relaxation, a person is able to intervene in any of the three phases of stress. In this way, you can prevent the impact of a stressful impulse, delay it, or (if a stressful situation has not yet occurred) reduce stress, thereby preventing psychosomatic disorders in the body. By activating the activity of the nervous system, relaxation regulates mood and the degree of mental arousal. This allows you to ease or relieve mental and muscle tension caused by stress.

Physiology of relaxation

Volunteers with sufficient experience in using relaxation techniques were tested. Pulse, blood pressure were measured, electroencephalogram (bioelectric fluctuations associated with brain activity), oxygen consumption and excretion levels were recorded. carbon dioxide, as well as the level lactate(lactic acid) in the blood. When comparing the data, the following results were obtained. The pulse became slower, breathing calmed down, oxygen consumption decreased by an average of 16% (from the initial 251 cm/min to 211 cm/min), and the amount of carbon dioxide released decreased. The electroencephalogram showed calming, manifested by an increase in the number of alpha waves. During relaxation, the level of lactate in the blood decreased. It is interesting to note that after relaxation ended, blood lactate levels remained low for some time and then returned rather slowly to baseline. These measurements are consistent with the experience of many people who claim that after relaxing for a certain time they feel calm and balanced.

This can be explained relatively simply. The fact is that the source of lactate is smooth muscle. Naturally, when muscles relax, it produces much less of it, which, in turn, is beneficial for health. These objective measures obtained further prove that relaxation reduces the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, while activity increases sharply during stress.

Relaxation is very useful method, since it is quite easy to master it - it does not require special education or even a natural gift. True, there is still one indispensable condition - motivation, everyone needs to know why they want to master relaxation.

Of course, relaxation will not solve all worries and problems, but, nevertheless, it will weaken the degree of their impact on the body, which is very important. Relaxation cannot eliminate negative memories or impressions stored in the subconscious, there is no need to wait for any special, miraculous effect. But thanks to relaxation, you can actively fight stress.

With regular exercise, relaxation exercises; gradually become a habit and are associated with pleasant experiences. Naturally, these impressions will not arise immediately - mastering physical and mental self-regulation requires diligence, perseverance and patience

Anti-stress “remake” of the day

Very often, when people return home, they transfer their work activity and excitement to their family. What do you need to get rid of your daytime impressions and, having crossed the threshold of the house, not take your feelings out on your family? Bad mood? After all, in this way we bring home stress, and the fault is our inability to detach ourselves from the impressions accumulated during the day. First of all, you need to establish a good tradition: when you return home from work or school, immediately relax. Here are some recommended ways to relax in 10 minutes.

2. Sit in a chair, relax and rest peacefully. Or sit comfortably on a chair and take a relaxing “coachman’s pose.”

3. Brew yourself some strong tea or coffee. Stretch them out for 10 minutes, try not to think about anything serious during this period of time.

4. Turn on the tape recorder and listen to your favorite music. Enjoy these wonderful moments. Try to completely immerse yourself in the music, disconnecting from your thoughts.

5. If your loved ones are at home, drink tea or coffee with them and calmly talk about something. Do not solve your problems immediately upon returning home: in a state of fatigue and weakness, this is very difficult, and sometimes impossible. You can find a way out of the deadlock after a little time has passed and the stress of the working day has subsided.

6. Don't fill the bath very well. hot water and lie in it. Do calming breathing exercises in the bath. Take a deep breath through closed lips, lower your lower face and nose into the water and exhale very slowly. Try to exhale as long as possible (exhalation with resistance). Imagine that with each exhalation the overall tension that has accumulated during the day gradually subsides.

7. Take a walk in the fresh air.

8. Put on a tracksuit, sneakers and run for 10 minutes. It is very important that the initiative for such “changes” of the day comes from ourselves. It is necessary to warn your loved ones that this short period time we forget about our household responsibilities and try to spend these 10 minutes with them. With a fresh head, solving all household problems will require much less nervous and physical energy.

First aid for acute stress.

If you find yourself in a stressful situation unexpectedly (someone made you angry, your boss scolded you, or someone at home made you nervous), you begin to experience acute stress. First, you need to gather all your willpower and command yourself “STOP!” in order to sharply slow down the development of acute stress. To recover from a state of acute stress and calm down, you need to find an effective way of self-help. And then in a critical situation that can arise every minute, we will be able to quickly navigate by resorting to this method of helping with acute stress.

Here are some tips that can help you get out of acute stress.

1. Anti-stress breathing. Slowly take a deep breath through your nose; At the peak of inhalation, hold your breath for a moment, then exhale as slowly as possible. This is a calming breath. Try to imagine. That with each deep inhalation and long exhalation you partially relieve stress.

2. Minute relaxation. Relax the corners of your mouth, moisten your lips. Relax your shoulders. Focus on your facial expression and body position: remember that they reflect your emotions, thoughts and inner state. It's only natural that you don't want others to know that you're stressed. In this case, you can change your “facial and body language” by relaxing your muscles and breathing deeply.

3. Look around and carefully examine the room in which you are. Pay attention to the smallest details, even if you know them well. Slowly, without rushing, mentally “go through” all the objects one by one in a certain sequence. Try to fully concentrate on this “inventory”. Mentally say to yourself: “Brown desk, white curtains, red flower vase,” etc. By focusing on each individual subject, you will distract yourself from internal stress, directing your attention to a rational perception of the environment.

4. If circumstances permit, leave the room in which you are experiencing acute stress. Go to another place where there is no one, or go outside where you can be alone with your thoughts. Mentally disassemble this room (if you went outside, then the surrounding houses, nature) “bone by stone”, as described in paragraph 3.

5. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lean forward and relax. The head, shoulders and arms hang down freely. Breathing is calm. Hold this position for 1-2 minutes, then very slowly raise your head (so that it does not become dizzy).

6. Engage in some activity - no matter what: start washing clothes, washing dishes or cleaning. The secret of this method is simple: any activity, and especially physical labor, in a stressful situation acts as a lightning rod - it helps to distract from internal tension.

7. Turn on soothing music, the one you love. Try to listen to it, concentrate on it (local concentration). Remember that concentrating on one thing promotes complete relaxation and evokes positive emotions.

8. Take a calculator or paper and pencil and try to count how many days you live in the world (number full years multiply by 365, adding one day for each leap year, and add the number of days that have passed since your last birthday). Such rational activity will allow you to redirect your attention. Try to remember a particularly remarkable day in your life. Remember him in the smallest details without missing anything. Try to calculate what this day of your life was like.

9. Talk about some abstract topic with any person nearby: a neighbor, a workmate. If no one is nearby, call your friend or girlfriend on the phone. This is a kind of distracting activity that is carried out “here and now” and is designed to displace the internal dialogue saturated with stress from your consciousness.

10. Do some anti-stress breathing exercises. Now, having pulled yourself together, you can calmly continue the interrupted activity.

Autoregulation of breathing.

IN normal conditions no one thinks or remembers about breathing. But when, for some reason, deviations from the norm occur, it suddenly becomes difficult to breathe. Breathing becomes difficult and heavy when physical stress or in a stressful situation. And vice versa, when they are very frightened or tensely expecting something, people involuntarily hold their breath (hold their breath). A person has the opportunity, by consciously controlling his breathing, to use it to calm himself, to relieve tension - both muscular and mental, thus, autoregulation of breathing can become an effective means of combating stress, along with relaxation and concentration.

Anti-stress breathing exercises can be performed in any position. Only one condition is required: the spine must be in a strictly vertical or horizontal position. This makes it possible to breathe naturally, freely, without tension, and fully stretch the muscles of the chest and abdomen. The correct position of the head is also very important: it should sit straight and free on the neck. A relaxed, upright head stretches the chest and other parts of the body upward to a certain extent. If everything is in order and the muscles are relaxed, then you can practice free breathing, constantly monitoring it.

We will not go into detail here about what breathing exercises exist (they are easy to find in the literature), but we will present the following conclusions:

1. With the help of deep and calm autoregulated breathing, you can prevent mood swings.

2. When laughing, sighing, coughing, talking, singing or reciting, certain changes in the rhythm of breathing occur in comparison with the so-called normal automatic breathing. It follows that the method and rhythm of breathing can be purposefully regulated through conscious slowing down and deepening.

3. Increasing the duration of exhalation promotes calm and complete relaxation.

4. The breathing of a calm and balanced person is significantly different from the breathing of a person under stress. Thus, by the rhythm of breathing one can determine the mental state of a person.

5. Rhythmic breathing calms the nerves and psyche; The duration of individual breathing phases does not matter - the rhythm is important.

6. Human health, and therefore life expectancy, largely depends on proper breathing. And if breathing is innate unconditioned reflex, then, therefore, it can be consciously regulated.

7. The slower and deeper, calmer and more rhythmic we breathe, the sooner we get used to this method of breathing, the sooner it will become integral part our life. Try doing some other activity to quickly forget the stressful situation. Moderate exercise or walking - in short, any activity that requires physical activity and focus, but again, don't overdo it.