A person's response to stress, resilience and further elimination of stress often depend on knowledge, experience and adaptation to stressful situations that have arisen, since the same circumstance requires a different approach. Features of psychological stress include the general mental state of a person in various difficult or conflict situations, and his response to events, the search for a way out of stress.

We know that one of the stress factors is emotional tension, which is physiologically expressed in changes in the human endocrine system. For example, in experimental studies in clinics, it was found that people who are constantly in nervous tension are more difficult to tolerate viral infections. In such cases, the help of a qualified psychologist is needed.

Recall the main:
1) stress is a state of the body, therefore, its occurrence involves the interaction between the body and the environment;
2) stress is a more tense state than the usual motivational state - it requires the perception of a threat for its occurrence;
3) stress phenomena occur when the normal adaptive response is insufficient. Hence: since stress arises mainly from the perception of a threat, its appearance in a certain situation can be due to subjective reasons related to the characteristics of a given person. A lot depends on the personality factor. For example, in the "man-environment" system, the level of emotional tension increases as the differences between the conditions in which the mechanisms of the subject are formed and those that are newly created increase, and, thus, certain conditions cause emotional tension not because of their absolute rigidity, but as a result of inconsistency with these conditions of the emotional mechanism of the individual. With any violation of the balance of the mentioned “man-environment” system, the insufficiency of the mental or physical resources of the individual to meet actual needs or the mismatch of the system of needs itself is a source of anxiety. Anxiety, referred to as a feeling of vague threat; a feeling of diffuse apprehension and anxious expectation; indefinite anxiety is the most powerful mechanism of mental stress. This follows from the already mentioned sense of threat, which is the central element of anxiety and determines its biological significance as a signal of trouble and danger. Anxiety can play a protective and motivational role comparable to that of pain. An increase in behavioral activity, a change in the nature of behavior, or the inclusion of intrapsychic adaptation mechanisms are associated with the onset of anxiety. But anxiety can not only stimulate activity, but also contribute to the destruction of insufficiently adaptive behavioral stereotypes, replacing them with more adequate forms of behavior. Unlike pain, anxiety is a signal of an unrealized danger. Forecasting this situation is probabilistic in nature, and, ultimately, depends on the characteristics of the individual. At the same time, the personality factor plays a decisive role, and the intensity of anxiety reflects the individual characteristics of the subject rather than the real significance of the threat. Anxiety prevents the formation of adaptive behavior, leads to a violation of behavioral integration and general disorganization of the human psyche, and underlies any changes in the mental state and behavior caused by mental stress. Let us note an alarming series, which represents an essential element of the process of mental adaptation:
- a feeling of internal tension - it does not have a pronounced shade of threat, it serves only as a signal of its approach, creating painful mental discomfort;
- hyperesthetic reactions - anxiety increases, previously neutral stimuli acquire a negative connotation, irritability increases;
- anxiety itself is the main element of the series under consideration. Manifested by a sense of vague threat. A characteristic feature: the inability to determine the nature of the threat, to predict the time of its occurrence. Inadequate logical processing often occurs, resulting in an incorrect conclusion due to a lack of facts;
- fear - anxiety, concretized on a specific object. Although the objects to which the anxiety is associated may not be its cause, the subject is given the idea that the anxiety can be eliminated by certain actions;
- a sense of the inevitability of an impending catastrophe - an increase in the intensity of anxiety disorders leads the subject to the idea that it is impossible to prevent an upcoming event;
- anxious-fearful excitation - the disorganization caused by anxiety reaches a maximum, and the possibility of purposeful activity disappears.

Clinical studies of anxiety have shown that young people are more adaptive and less affected by external anxiety than older people. The conclusion follows from this: the younger a person is and the less his consciousness is loaded, for example, with prejudices, the easier the process of adaptation occurs and the less painfully stressful situations are tolerated.

By the way, Selye put forward a very interesting hypothesis that aging is the result of all the stresses that the body has been exposed to during its life. It corresponds to the exhaustion phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome, which is, in a sense, an accelerated version of normal aging. Any stress, especially caused by fruitless efforts, leaves behind irreversible chemical changes - their accumulation and determines the signs of aging in tissues. Particularly severe consequences are caused by damage to the brain and nerve cells. A successful activity, whatever it may be, leaves less consequences of aging, therefore, according to Selye, one can live happily ever after if we choose a job that suits us and successfully cope with it.

An increase in anxiety leads to an increase in the intensity of the action of two interrelated adaptive mechanisms:
1) allopsychic mechanism - operates when there is a modification of behavioral activity. Method of action: changing the situation or leaving it.
2) intrapsychic mechanism - ensures the reduction of anxiety due to the reorientation of the personality.
There are several types of defenses that are used by the intrapsychic mechanism of mental adaptation:
- obstruction of awareness of factors that cause anxiety;
fixation of anxiety on certain stimuli;
– decrease in the level of motivation, devaluation of initial needs;
- conceptualization.

Anxiety, despite the abundance of different semantic formulations, is a single phenomenon and serves as an obligatory (mandatory) mechanism of emotional stress. Occurring with any violation of the balance in the "man-environment" system, it activates adaptive mechanisms, and, at the same time, with a significant intensity, underlies the development of adaptive disorders. An increase in the level of anxiety leads to the inclusion or strengthening of the mechanisms of intrapsychic adaptation. These mechanisms can contribute to effective mental adaptation, ensuring the reduction of anxiety, and in case of their inadequacy, they are reflected in the type of adaptive disorders, which correspond to the nature of the borderline psychopathological phenomena that are formed in this case.

The organization of emotional stress involves the difficulty of implementing motivation, the blockade of motivated behavior, and frustration. The totality of frustration, anxiety, as well as their relationship with allopsychic and intrapsychic adaptations, constitutes the main body of stress.

The effectiveness of mental adaptation directly depends on the organization of microsocial interaction. In conflict situations in the family or industrial sphere, difficulties in building informal communication, violations of mechanical adaptation are noted much more often than in effective social interaction. The analysis of factors of a certain environment or environment is directly related to adaptation. The assessment of personal qualities surrounding as an attracting factor, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is combined with effective mental adaptation, the assessment of the same qualities as a repulsive factor - with its violations. Effective mental adaptation is one of the prerequisites for successful professional activity.

It should be noted that, for example, in professional management activities, stressful situations can be created by the dynamism of events, the need for quick decision-making, the contradiction between individual characteristics, the rhythm and nature of activity. Factors contributing to emotional distress in these situations may include lack of information, inconsistency, variety or monotony, evaluation of work as beyond the capacity of the individual in terms of volume or complexity, conflicting or uncertain requirements, critical circumstances, or risk in making a decision.

Psychological and psychophysiological studies of stress of different nature and duration have allowed scientists to identify a number of forms of adaptive activity that can be considered as stress subsyndromes. With a long course of stress, its subsyndromes can alternate, repeat or combine with each other with alternate dominance of individual symptoms. Under conditions when maximum tolerable stress factors act on a person for a long time, these subsyndromes, one after another, in a certain order, become phases of stress development. The differentiation of these subsyndromes becomes possible due to the fact that during the development of stress, under certain conditions, they become pronounced and noticeable as different forms of adaptive activity. It can be seen that under stress factors that are subjectively assessed as maximally tolerable, the change in the manifested stress subsyndromes indicates a consistent transition from the dominance of the subsyndrome, which marks a relatively low functional level of adaptation, to the subsyndrome, the symptoms of which indicate the mobilization of a hierarchically higher level of adaptation.

Today, the following subsyndromes have been identified:
✓ emotional-behavioral syndrome.
✓ vegetative syndrome (subsyndrome of preventive-protective vegetative activity).
✓ cognitive subsyndrome (subsyndrome of changes in mental activity under stress).
✓ social and human subsyndrome (subsyndrome of changes in communication under stress).

Note that such a division of stress subsyndromes is conditional. It may be different. In this case, predominantly human grounds were chosen to analyze the manifestations of stress that occur at a relatively constant level of subjective extremeness of the stressor. Other features of the stressor or other grounds for analyzing the development of stress will simply lead to a different structuring of the phenomena of its development.

If we talk about changes in mental processes and socio-psychological functions under stress, then it should immediately be noted as one of the first manifestations of the emergence of ecstatic or uncomfortable coloring of mental images, ideas, intentions, etc. under the influence of emotions. It should be said that a further increase in deep stressful changes in thinking, as a rule, are interconnected with emotions associated with stress. There are three types of mindset change:
- activation of thinking with an adequate reflection of reality in the mind of the subject;
- hyperactivation of thinking;
“avoidance” of solving stressful problems.

The first type of change in thinking in most cases can manifest itself in the form of activation of discursive-logical thinking. The integrative comprehension of the information that the subject has about the current moment, extracted from the memory funds as a product of associations and representations, or the disintegrative (differentiating) comprehension of such information can be enhanced. In the first case, a kind of compositional conceptualization of a stressful situation takes place - this leads to the emergence in the mind of a relatively simplified schematized representation of the situation with the highlighting of the main, according to the subject, aspects and the screening out of subjectively insignificant ones.

In the second case, a person under stress expands the scope of meaningful information coming to the individual at the current moment, retrieved from memory. Both types of stress activation of thinking have an adaptive-protective value and are aimed at mastering a stressful situation.

It is possible to classify the activation of thought processes during stress according to the orientation of the interests of the individual: “outside” or “into oneself”. Activation of the first type - an increase in the intensity of the analysis of a stressful situation in search of a way out of an extreme situation (socially positive), only for oneself, to the detriment of others, the search for a way of revenge (socially negative). Activation of thinking of the second type can be divided into positive "deepening" into oneself, which accompanies the intensification of solving urgent problems, creative activity, sharpening of intuition, etc.; negative; with "avoidance" from solving stressful problems.

The development of stressful transformations of thinking can lead either to a "leaving" from solving stressful problems, or to the emergence of insightful forms of thinking - the transition from discursive-logical to insightful thinking is mediated by the stage of mental confusion, emotional depression, etc., which can be considered as a stage of "pseudo-leaving" from solving a stressful problem. Such a stage is necessary for the emergence of mental insight, an insightful solution to a problem that seemed unsolvable. Hyperactivation of thinking may be due to obsessive thoughts and images that arise during stress, fruitless fantasizing in an extreme situation, etc. Stress hyperactivity of thinking is associated with "hyper-alertness", manifested in the form of insomnia, timidity. Mental stress hyperactivity is often associated with an increase in hyperemotionality and hypermobility in an extreme situation. Unfavorable socio-psychological concepts may arise: resentment, irascibility, distrust, or, conversely, excessive gullibility. After the termination of the action of extreme factors, people remember these negative mental actions, evaluating them as inadequate to the existing situation and inappropriate.

“Escape” from solving stressful problems - “replacing” their solution with solutions to “side problems” that are not related to the stressful problem, various forms of reducing the activity of thinking. A “replacement” action can, firstly, reduce the formed psychological attitude of the individual to commit an unfavorable action, and secondly, encourage the individual to positive actions. Without resolving the critical problem that generates stress, without reducing the external stress factor, the substitution action and the mental activity associated with it reduce the subject's predisposition to stress, reduce the effect of the internal stress factor. “Escape” from solving stressful problems, from dealing with a stressor can also occur by reducing mental activity - in emergency situations for the subject, this can occur due to some physiological mechanisms. Extreme stressors can cause narcolepsy, syncope, and physiological processes play an important role in causing this. A decrease in mental activity during stress can occur in a form that is perceived interactively as the “stagnation” of thoughts, the inability to move forward along the path of thinking about the problem.

With prolonged extreme exposure, adverse manifestations of mental activity directed “into oneself” may occur in the form of a decrease in the subjective significance of contacts with real space and time, with a decrease in the production of useful products. In this case, symptoms of impoverishment, personality breakdown are possible. A person begins to think about the past more than about the present, or dreams about the future, without doing anything to achieve the object of dreams.

Stress that has arisen for reasons beyond communication, or even when the very act of communication is stressful, significantly changes the nature of communication - a real variety of its forms can manifest itself. A distinctive feature of communication during acute stress is emotionality, which can sharply increase or also sharply suppress the activity of interaction, make it pleasant, desirable or painful, unbearable. Stress can awaken in people a humane attitude towards each other or, conversely, inhumanity. It is possible to single out the main stages in the development of communication, for example, in group isolation: acquaintance, discussions and role orientations (we will not dwell on it - this lies, rather, in the field of psychotherapy or psychocorrection).

It is quite understandable: the first thing that a person determines (and often not quite consciously) is whether his social environment is dangerous and whether instant protective actions are required on his part. The second is obtaining information about the prospects for the development of communication in the current stressful conditions.

The second stage of the development of communication under stress is characterized by an increase in the intensity of certain manifestations of communication or even the emergence of forms of active communication that are unusual for a given person outside extreme conditions, i.e., in the absence of symptoms of stress. This stage of development of communication is sometimes called the stage of personal expansion, which prepares the establishment of role status. The intensification of communication characteristic of this stage is aimed at optimizing the initial social position in order to obtain or capture the desired prestigious social role. As a rule, there is no perceived commercialism in this case. The direction of this peculiar expansion, its purpose, the "self-growth" of the intensity of communication is almost completely unaware of the communicating subjects.

At the end of the stage of personal "expansion", the role functions of those communicating are relatively stabilized. This is a new stage of development under stress. The stabilization of the role status can occur emotionally monotonously or be accompanied by affective acts of communication, both with positive and negative emotional coloring.

The world around us is full of fuss, worries, worries, unpleasant surprises. However, much also depends on us - the development of stress and related ailments is often closely related to our attitude towards the stressor (the factor that causes stress). And this attitude is influenced by the character of a person, his experience, hopes. In the 1960s, it was well established that certain personality traits are associated with a greater susceptibility to stress and the diseases it causes, in particular heart disease. These personality traits were called "type A". A Type A person is twice as likely to develop a heart condition as a more passive person, Type B, which is the complete opposite of Type A.

What are the characteristics of a Type A personality? As a rule, this is an assertive person with a developed sense of responsibility, always ready to firmly defend his point of view. He is extremely active and always ready to work hard. He constantly lacks time, and therefore he is used to speeding up everything he does. He is hurried, reckless, impatient, hardly endures standing in lines. Such a person constantly lives at a high pace to achieve the chosen goal. He begins to get bored if he is engaged in only one thing, and therefore he constantly participates in a variety of activities, often changes his occupation. This makes it necessary to adapt to new conditions, to adapt to them. His way of life in terms of intensity and pace significantly exceeds the average human capabilities - he works "for wear and tear".

The Type A person is ambitious - he wants to achieve success and shows a persistent desire for recognition and promotion. He is constantly striving for competition, competition, competitiveness. Often he behaves aggressively with people he meets on his way, is irritable and impatient. The speech of a person of type A, as a rule, is loud, explosive. It is characterized by an irresistible desire to argue; it happens that he not only interrupts people when they speak, but also finishes the phrases for them, and sometimes even certain stories that they tell. Such people love independence. Compared to the Type B personality, the stressed Type A individual tends to work alone, which gives him the opportunity to set deadlines for completing work and increase his workload. However, an increase in workload increases this person's stress level, and limits the ability to get the support of workmates and subordinates, which, in turn, can cause him to feel dissatisfied with colleagues. Is it good or bad to be a Type A person? Both good and bad. Good because Type A people usually achieve high results and quickly occupy a certain position in society. It is on them, as a rule, that all innovations, creative developments, etc. are kept. But ... bad - for themselves. By constantly working “at the limit” of his capabilities, a type A person creates chronic stress conditions for his body. And excessive stress leads to a variety of disorders - emotional disturbances (anxiety, anxiety, irascibility, irritability, gloom, depression), mental deterioration (absent-mindedness, lethargy, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate), a tendency to excessive drinking and smoking, tremors in the hands, disorders sleep. In addition, stress overloads seriously affect performance: labor productivity decreases, the ability to overcome stress decreases, relations between employees and the psychological microclimate in the team worsen. A decrease in performance, in turn, exacerbates stress even more (after all, for a Type A personality, a high pace of work is very important), and a vicious circle closes.

The opposite type of behavior (type B) is described in much less detail. People who are characterized by this behavior alternate work and rest, they are not characterized by a state of emotional stress, they are relaxed, unhurried. Their speech is softer and calmer (as well as gestures). All this, however, does not mean at all that they are lazy, passive in their duties and work inefficiently.

Friedman and Rosenman offer a more differentiated approach, taking into account the degree of expression of the characteristics of the two types of behavior described. Then we can distinguish:
type A1 behavior (a set of the most clearly manifested properties of "coronary behavior");
type A2 (a combination of the properties of both behavioral groups, but with a predominance of the characteristics of "coronary behavior");
type BZ (combinations of properties of both groups, but with a predominance of characteristics of behavior of type B);
type B4 (a set of properties that are opposite to the parameters of coronary behavior) and
type 0 behavior when the properties of both groups are balanced.
Back in the 70s of the XX century, the study of the immune system identified those structural elements that could affect the nervous system. Immune cells have been found to have receptors for various hormones and neurotransmitters, signaling molecules produced by nervous tissue to transmit signals.

The influence of the products of the immune system on various structures of the nervous system has been established: interferons, cytokines, etc. In the early 90s, similarities between them were revealed. It consisted in the collection, processing and storage of information about the environment. The influence of the nervous system on the immune system begins with the innervation of the lymph nodes, thymus, and spleen. This allows you to influence immune cells at various stages of their development, activating or slowing down reactions and growth. Equally important is the indirect influence - the central nervous system activates various levels of the endocrine system, the hormones produced affect immune cells through the receptors located on them. The effect of the immune system on the nervous system has already been well studied. The most famous reaction - fever, is carried out by the influence of the lymphocyte activating factor - interleukin on the structures of the brain. Cytokines largely influence human behavior - they regulate mood, appetite and sexual desire. In particular, the interferon system, known as part of the immune system responsible for fighting viruses, activating cells of the immune system, has another important purpose: interferon alpha is a factor that regulates the activity of endorphins under normal conditions. Gamma-interferon, which was previously found only in immune cells, is also synthesized by the cells of the nervous system, acting as a duplicative role of nerve growth factor. Interferons affect the nervous system through imitation of the action of hormones, since they are the evolutionary precursors of many of them, and have hormone-like regions in the structure of their molecule.

Violating the entire immune system, stress makes the body weakened before any internal and external influences. In acute stress exposure, the central nervous system is activated, which triggers the stress response. It lies in the fact that the peripheral nervous system is sharply turned on, various hormones begin to be released [by the endocrine glands]. In the body there is a violation of biochemical processes, which leads to undesirable changes in tissues and organs. The organs responsible for immunity are affected. In the blood, the level of hormones - glucocorticoids, sharply increases, a high concentration of which suppresses the body's immune system. By the way, with acute stress, a gender difference is sharply manifested: single men are more difficult to endure stress and illness than isolated women. Scientists do not yet understand why women recover their immunity faster after stress than men. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in this way they subconsciously protect the health of their future children. Socially isolated men are more susceptible to disease [and live shorter lives] than isolated women. Short-term stress increases the strength and duration of the immune response. Acute positive stress strengthens the immune system regardless of gender and speeds up the healing process of minor injuries. With short-term stress influences, in contrast to the effects of chronic stress, there are no clinical manifestations of psychological and physiological dysfunctions associated with disruption of the immune system. But it can be dangerous to underestimate the state of health, inadequate treatment and, as a result, aggravate the picture of the disease.

Modern society forms a chronic state of stress, in which the constant activity of adrenal cortex hormones inhibits the activity of immune system cells, the body's resistance to infectious diseases is weakened, and the growth of various tumors becomes possible. Due to untimely treatment or correction, various severe somatic diseases can occur. These include, for example, brain tumors. The most widespread is a latent herpetic infection, which is activated against the background of general immunosuppression. With visual research methods, specialists diagnose minimal changes, often inexplicable. The resulting pain and discomfort do not fit into the picture of classical diseases. Patients may maintain relative performance, but since this condition is long-term, general depression and asthenia are gradually formed.

By the way, researchers have found that under stress, the tension of the immune system and the activity of the body's natural defenses are reduced in people whose condition is characterized by despondency, despair, gloomy forebodings, fear, and anxiety. Conversely, the immune system is more stable in people who are optimistic!

Restoration of the structure and function of the immune defense occurs gradually. Initially, cell depots begin to fill up, because due to a decrease in stress, there is no need for an increased content of immune cells in the periphery. There is a time for the maturation of cellular elements. Soon the periphery is filled with mature immune cells necessary for the vital activity of a healthy organism. For future acute stress, there remains a reserve of mature and maturing elements in the depot and organs of the immune system. With the restoration of psychophysiological functions, if the stage of exhaustion has not set in, and the sympathetic department of the nervous system dominates, with relaxation or active correction, normalization of the immune system occurs. It is very important to correct the work of the immune system in a timely manner. Although genetically most people have a health program embedded in them, implemented by immunity, capable of coping with almost any disease, the influence of adverse factors of modern society, environmental factors, chronic stress, malnutrition, and inattention to numerous viral diseases disrupt this program, primarily through oppression. protective forces. Dysfunctions and various somatic diseases occur only after the suppression of the body's resistance. When choosing a method of healing, it is natural to assess the state of the immune system, and to include in the complex therapy the means necessary for its restoration - these measures to a large extent allow improving the results of treatment.

When a person experiences a surge of emotions, for example, fear, anger, grief, the body releases adrenaline, which is a fast-acting stimulant. In isolated cases, the released so-called fear hormones have a stimulating effect on all body systems, increasing efficiency and endurance. However, a protracted stressful situation, when hormones are stored in high concentrations, has a negative effect on health, various deviations develop. What diseases are caused by stress? First of all, the production of thyroid hormones is disrupted, and since they are assigned the main role in regulating the functioning of the body, a whole cascade of deviations occurs in the work of internal organs.

How stress affects organs and systems

The situation is familiar when stress appears discomfort in the stomach and esophagus, appetite changes, nausea appears, stool disorder? But any process in the body, including digestion, is controlled by the nervous system. Under stress, under the influence of signals received through the nervous system, changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract. The blood supply to the intestines worsens, the secretion of digestive enzymes and the absorption of nutrients decrease. Such a reaction will certainly lead to an inflammatory process. Such patients are often diagnosed with diseases such as gastritis, gastric ulcer, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, as well as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome.

Another common disease today is rheumatoid arthritis- in 40% of patients it is also the result of a nervous shock. Often the first attack occurs after an emotional shock, in response to which the immune system starts the process of damaging its own tissues. As a rule, with strong emotional shocks, a reaction from the hormonal system is possible, as a result of which the likelihood of an autoimmune response of the body increases. There are even scientific works that prove the role of emotions in the appearance of rheumatoid arthritis. By the way, American scientists in the course of research at the beginning of the 20th century noted the features of a person prone to the development of this pathology: emotional restraint, a negative outlook on life, a feeling of guilt experienced for a long time.

Skin diseases as a reaction to stress is one of the most common problems in dermatology. Due to the lack of nutrients and oxygen delivered by the blood, there is increased dryness, peeling, redness of the skin, loss of its elasticity. Patients turn to the doctor, as a rule, about rashes and itching. In addition, due to the increased work of the sebaceous glands and clogged pores, acne often appears in patients. As for such serious diseases as psoriasis or eczema, the cause of their appearance, along with others, is constant nervous tension. In the future, exacerbations of these ailments are associated with a stressful situation.

In a prolonged stressful situation, almost more often than others suffers the cardiovascular system. A person is worried about increased heart rate, palpitations, arrhythmia, jumps in blood pressure. And debilitating headaches and dizziness are familiar to almost every worker who daily suffers from overstrain: both physical and psychological. Angina pectoris, hypertension, myocardial infarction, even the development of heart failure - all these diseases may well be a consequence of prolonged stress. However, the negative impact of stressful situations on the body is very diverse and is not limited to damage to a particular organ or system. In most cases, a "bouquet" of diseases appears.

How to recognize danger

Where is the line that separates ordinary fatigue from stress? In order to take the necessary measures in a timely manner, it is important to know the symptoms of an impending danger.

Irritability, tearfulness, lack of concentration, distrust of others

Sleep disorders

Persistent feeling of fatigue, apathy, depression

Difficulty remembering information and concentrating

Lack of appetite or sudden onset of intemperance in eating

The appearance of obsessive habits, nervous twitches, etc.

How to prevent the effects of stress on the body

Of course, it would be ideal to eliminate stress from your life. Unfortunately, this is almost impossible to do. Therefore, you need to learn how to deal with it and its consequences. In a difficult situation, you need to take a deep breath and count to ten. The pause will serve as a kind of tranquilizer and will allow you to assess the situation, avoiding impulsive actions. But how to prevent the deterioration of health due to a long stressful situation? By the way, it has been proven that stress can also be caused by quite positive events. And so that a joyful event, for example, a wedding or winning the lottery, does not end with an exacerbation of a chronic illness, it is better to take care of prevention in advance. No matter how trite it sounds, but a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the effects of stress. Here are a few suggestions that might help:

• Balanced diet and introducing foods rich in selenium into the diet. In addition, you can include seafood, olives in the diet. By the way, the inhabitants of the Mediterranean are less likely than Europeans to become victims of stress, perhaps due to the fact that these products are present on the table almost every day? You can also stimulate the production in the body of the so-called hormones of happiness and pleasure: endorphin and dopamine. Try eating a piece of dark chocolate, a banana, an avocado, almonds - these foods will help get rid of piling up emotional problems. More in the section:

• Physical activity help you get over depression. If it is difficult to allocate time during the day, then morning exercises will take a minimum of time, especially since it is an excellent means of prevention for many other diseases. Examples

• Yoga and breathing exercises. It is not necessary to study yoga perfectly, it is enough to master the basic provisions of this teaching. According to experts, with the help of yoga, you can develop a positive approach to events, the result will be noticeable in two months if you practice twice a week. Jump: Yoga exercises

• Relaxation- everyone has their own way of getting rid of tension: listening to music, a warm bath with aromas, a leisurely walk, doing what you love. Apathy rolls in or do you feel a sense of loneliness? Put aside everything and take care of yourself! This is interesting:

And most importantly, don't be too critical of yourself. It is impossible to be demanding of yourself all your life, strictly following the intended goal. You also have the right to rest. Due to the busy schedule for the coming weeks, you do not have an extra minute at all, and your only desire at the moment is to get a good night's sleep? Look through the list of scheduled tasks, for sure there will be those that can be postponed for a while. After all, a timely respite can prevent deterioration in health, the result of which may be hospitalization. And recovery will take much longer.

Oksana Matias, general practitioner

Illustrations: Anastasia Leman

Doctors say: “You need to be less nervous,” but they don’t tell you how to do it. Today in the section "Healthy lifestyle" we talked with a psychotherapist about how stress and nerves affect our health.

Anastasia Sergeevna Pereira

psychotherapist, Gestalt therapist

Is it true that all diseases are due to nerves?

No, but there is some truth in this. Our body is a single system, the psyche and physical state are interconnected. Every emotion, every feeling is reflected in our body. A banal example is anxiety, in which our hands sometimes shake, our heart rate quickens, and sleep is disturbed.

Initially, emotions were needed to protect us, but over time, we began to push them out, suppress them, and they needed to go somewhere. They began to go into bodily manifestations - hence the concept of diseases due to the nerves. And yes, stress can cause devastating illnesses. But it is unlikely that you will develop a genetic disease if you are nervous.

What happens to me when I'm stressed?

The chain is like this:

The stressor (irritant) through the receptors acts on our peripheral nervous system,
- stimulation of receptors activates autonomic nervous system, mostly sympathetic department, which enhances the formation of releasing factors in hypothalamus,
- the latter stimulates the production of hormones in the anterior lobe pituitary gland,
- the reaction reaches adrenal cortex, stimulated and secreted cortisol- stress hormone.

In parallel with this stress reaction, a number of other hormonal changes occur, a “stress-limiting” system is launched, which prevents tissue damage under the influence of an excessive concentration of certain hormones in the body.

In general, stress is a normal and everyday reaction of the body, it makes us react to stimuli, adapt, find ways out of unpleasant situations and conditions.

The term "stress" was introduced by the scientist Hans Selye. In his opinion, stress is a non-specific reaction of the body to extraordinary circumstances, stimuli, and it has three stages.

First - anxiety when the body goes into shock, reacts to the irritant, begins to mobilize its forces to fight it. Second stage - resistance: we are looking for ways out of the situation and resolve the conflict. And often beyond this stage, stress does not go, the body returns to normal. But if the stress is too strong and prolonged, then the third stage comes - exhaustion.

So stress can literally kill me?

It all depends on its intensity, duration and frequency of exposure - in this case it will be called distress. If a person is in a constant state of stress, his adrenal glands produce hormones for a long time, the body begins to deplete. At one point, he can no longer cope - hence the illness and, in the worst case, death.

Sometimes a person cannot cope with the first stage of stress - anxiety, the mechanisms of the body are so activated that it is incomparable with life. This can happen, for example, if you really frighten a person.

With chronic stress and depression, a person fades away. Remember the grief of loss. It happens that in an elderly couple who have lived together for a long time, first one person dies, and then, after a few months, another. The fact is that when the meaning of life is lost, the body sees no reason to continue working normally.

What diseases can appear due to stress and nerves?

Whatever - a person can very creatively adapt to stress. For example, children may respond differently to stress caused by an angry kindergarten teacher. One child will suffer from enuresis, the second will complain of a headache, the third will simply start fighting with other guys. It all depends on the type of personality, lifestyle, conditions in which a person grew up and is now.

But there are diseases, the so-called "Chicago Seven" in which the main cause of occurrence will be mental problems. These are arterial hypertension, duodenal ulcer, ulcerative colitis, bronchial asthma, thyrotoxicosis, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodermatitis.

It is important to understand that not in all diseases the fundamental factor is mental, but at the same time it is present in any of them, just its percentage is different, and in this "seven" it is predominant. Even if a person suffers from cancer, there is such a factor. And if this person wants to go to psychotherapy, then the doctor can at least help him accept his illness, adapt, realize what is happening. Of course, we will not cure cancer like that, but we will help a person live this life with a better quality, because a stable mental state can reduce the intensity of symptoms.

How can I stop being nervous?

I'm always surprised when they say "we need to be less nervous." I will be happy for a person if he has a working scheme that calms him in one second so qualitatively that nothing comes back again, but I don’t know such. It is important to remember here that it is normal to experience emotions and feelings, albeit strong ones. There are no good or bad, positive or negative among them, our body needs them all. You only aggravate your condition by trying to force out and suppress some kind of emotion.

Emotion is a symptom, which is stupid to remove without finding a replacement. If you yourself can not cope with the cause, find it, go to a specialist. And now, when they say "stop being nervous", do not take it as a guide to action, remember: it's normal to feel.

What if you need to calm down right now?

Remember what helped you to be distracted, to cope with unpleasant emotions for you, and try to switch to it.

In addition, in psychotherapy there is medication, and we can help a person achieve a stable emotional state. In addition, psychotherapy is not indicated for everyone, and even if it is needed, we first stop the sharpness and only then conduct psychotherapy sessions.

And if I'm nervous in life (nervous)?

If you want to deal with this, good psychotherapy can help here: we need to know the cause of the problem, the purpose of the changes, and how to deal with it. The direction in which you would like to engage is your personal choice.

Often it comes from the family, from childhood: a person needs such a protective mechanism to cope with an unpleasant situation. And here it is important to understand that we do not change the personality, but we will help the person to better understand what is happening to him, why he became like this - due to this, the reaction to stimuli will also change.

How to actually deal with stress?

Everyone wants an easy way, but it doesn't work that way. Banal things help in the fight against stress: do what you want, not what you need, do what you love, go to your favorite job, live in your favorite family, relax, listen to your own body and its needs. And of course enter into your life physical exercise: not to build muscle, but to keep yourself in good shape. It doesn't matter whether you choose the gym or dancing - the main thing is to have fun.

It is also important to live in the moment, here and now, to recognize and accept yourself as different. Meditation practices are very good, but they need to be approached carefully. For many psychotic disorders, meditation can only hurt, so first make sure that it is not contraindicated for you. And find a good teacher.

Is there a cure for mental illness? What can I do to maintain mental health?

All that I have listed above, plus observe the daily routine and nutrition, regularly visit doctors and not start physical illnesses, and also learn foreign languages ​​to prevent dementia.

It is important to live emotions with high quality, no matter how difficult they are, not to crumple them, not to hide, not to throw them away. If you live the emotion for real, and even better next to someone, it will let go faster.

We teach our children not to cry, not to get angry, and then I see them in therapy with their parents, we learn to get angry again, take offense, express emotions. By the way, in the overwhelming majority of cases, they turn out to be not so scary, for many it’s enough just to tell the person that he upset them.

What psychological trauma do we most often receive?

Any emotion can be considered a psychological trauma if a person cannot cope with it, if it worsens the quality of his life. This is about individuality: one person will successfully forget about bullying at school, another will take it with him for life, and the third will even come to suicide.

We face trauma every day, but we adapt. And the category of people who were protected from everything from childhood is much more prone to injury than children who were allowed by their parents to meet with stress. When you know what will hurt you, you either avoid such situations, or you already prepare and endure them much more calmly.

And how to deal with such injuries?

We live in society, and our emotions are born from contact with another person. It is very important, when something happens to us, to come to someone who is important to us, who is interested in us, who wants to be near, with whom we can share experiences. It is important to talk about your experiences.

Secondly, it is important to reflect, to live emotions. If you want to cry - cry, this is a normal reaction of the body. If you start swallowing tears, it will only get worse: bad dreams, nausea, problems jamming, etc. Are you angry? Shout, hit the pillow.

How to help a person if he came to me with such a problem?

Listen actively. You don't need to "turn on the lifeguard" and think that you should tell the person how you should help. When a person feels bad, he does not always want to get advice and the standard “everything will be fine”. Moreover, he may react aggressively to this.

It is important to be with a person, to endure the whole palette of his emotions and feelings, perhaps just to sit, looking into his eyes. You can say what is happening to you at this moment, what you feel: not “oh, I (great aunt) had a similar situation”, but “I see how much it hurts you, and this makes me sad, I sympathize with you ". No need to give advice, so we leave the person and his experiences, we run away.

What if I don't feel anything?

It's important not to lie. A person may not say that he does not believe you, but he will definitely leave with the feeling that something has not happened. In this situation, it is important to be honest at least with yourself, not to try to squeeze emotions out of yourself.

The best thing you can say in such a situation is: “I don’t know how it is, I can’t be in your place, it doesn’t work, but I definitely see how bad it is for you, and I can be with you now.” And sometimes that's really enough.

Here is a gymnastics for the body, which is advised to do every day. Is there one for the psyche?

I think that this can be attributed to meditative techniques. There is another exercise that might work well. Before going to bed, remember what you did during the day, what was good, what emotions you experienced and why, what you liked and what you didn’t, etc. A light analysis of what happened during the day, the truth improves the quality of life: we do not just spin in a string of events, but we realize what the day was like.

Stress often appears in our head in the form of anxiety or fear. However, such anxiety or perhaps even panic extends beyond our brains. Under the influence of stress, the human body begins to produce stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine.

This production of hormones is the beginning of the body's response to stress. Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, it builds up strength and speed until you are ready to repel an attack.

Adrenaline, for example, raises the heart rate, causing the heart to beat faster and ultimately raising blood pressure. Cortisol can interfere with the function of the lining of blood vessels, causing arteries to clog, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

In addition, the brain communicates with the intestines, sending signals to it that you are suffering from stress. Of course, the intestine responds to such signals by changing the processes taking place in it so that all organs of the human body can work in unison and cope with the inevitable stressor (similar processes occur even in cases where the stressor is not in reality).

This response of the body to stress can be very useful if, for example, you need to escape from a predator or memorize educational material in a short time in order to successfully pass an important exam. It must be remembered that if you feel stressed all the time or most of it, things can go wrong.

While the response to intermittent stressful conditions is a normal and even healthy response, this is not the case for a permanent state of stress. On the contrary, a person may begin to suffer from chronic diseases or acute infections.

What happens under the influence of chronic stress?

In the video above, Sharon Bergquist, a professor of medicine at Emory University, demonstrates what happens in the body when a person is under chronic stress. Let's say you lost your job or are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to childhood abuse.

The body too often releases excessive amounts of stress hormones. His response to stress becomes unbalanced; such a reaction does not help to cope with a difficult situation. As a result, the immune system suffers and rapid epigenetic changes begin.

Stress causes non-specific systemic inflammation, which is likely to result in a sudden increase in blood pressure, an asthma attack, or a prolonged cold. It may seem to you that the cut on the leg is not even going to heal, and the skin is in just a terrible state.

You may also have trouble sleeping, and on an emotional level, you feel like you're approaching burnout. It is at this point that you notice that you have gained extra weight and you have problems with digestion. Even in intimate life there were some difficulties.

Stress directly affects every system in the body, but according to neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky in the documentary Stress: Portrait of a Killer, the following conditions caused or exacerbated by stress are the most common:

• Cardiovascular diseases
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Anxiety
• sexual dysfunction
• Infertility and irregular cycle
• Frequent colds
• Insomnia and fatigue
• Problems with concentration
• Memory loss
• Appetite changes
• Digestive problems and dysbacteriosis

How stress affects bowel function

Chronic stress (and other negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and sadness) can cause symptoms and severe bowel disease. Here's what Harvard researchers have to say about it:

“Psychology is inseparable from the physical factors that cause pain and other symptoms of bowel disease. Psychosocial factors also influence gut physiology as well as symptoms. In other words, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect the motility and contractions of the gastrointestinal tract, cause inflammation, or make a person more susceptible to infections.

In addition, research shows that some people with functional gastrointestinal disorders perceive pain more acutely because their brains misregulate pain signals from the gastrointestinal tract. Stress can make existing pain even more unbearable."

The stress response causes a number of unpleasant processes in the intestines, including:

• Decreased absorption of nutrients
• Decreased oxygenation in the intestines
• Blood flow to the digestive system is reduced up to 4 times, which leads to a deterioration in metabolism
• The production of enzymes in the intestines is reduced by 20,000 times!

There is a continuous exchange of signals between the intestines and the brain

One of the reasons mental stress can harm the gut is because the gut and brain communicate with each other, and the process never stops.

In addition to the brain, which is located inside the skull, the intestinal wall contains the enteric nervous system (ENS), which can function both independently and together with the brain.

This communication between "two brains" occurs in two directions. This is how the foods we eat affect our mood, and this is why feelings of anxiety can, for example, cause stomach pain.

Jane Foster PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at McMaster University, described on Medicine Net several ways in which microorganisms in the gut interact with the brain and the possible role of stress.

“… [C]intestinal bacteria can affect the functioning of the immune system, which in turn can affect brain function. Gut bacteria are also involved in digestion, and the substances they produce when food is broken down can affect the brain.

Under certain conditions, such as stress or infection, potentially disease-causing gut bacteria or bad organisms can enter the bloodstream through the intestinal wall. As a result, these bacteria, microorganisms, and the chemicals they form begin to communicate with the brain through the cells in the walls of the blood vessels.

Bacteria can also communicate directly with cells in certain areas of the brain, including those near areas involved in stress and mood responses…"

If you are stressed, your brain and heart suffer

Prolonged stress can also damage brain cells, making it impossible for you to remember information. The size of the brain cells of rats that were placed under stress conditions are significantly reduced. This is especially true for the cells of the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory.

Stress disrupts the neuroendocrine and immune systems and appears to be the cause of a degenerative process in the brain that can lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Due to stress, weight can also increase. This is usually associated with an increase in fat deposits in the abdomen, which are considered the most dangerous due to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

During times of high stress, the body releases hormones such as norepinephrine, which can even cause bacterial biofilms to disperse from arterial walls. Due to this dispersion, plaques from the walls of blood vessels can suddenly separate, which can cause a heart attack.

In addition, when stress becomes chronic, the immune system becomes more desensitized to cortisol, and since inflammation is partly regulated by cortisol, the decreased sensitivity increases the inflammatory response, causing inflammation to spiral out of control. Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of heart disease and many chronic diseases.

Everyone should learn to control their stress, because it is very important for good health. Some, for example, try not to associate with negative or overly stressed people. Also, if you get very upset while watching the evening's news, it's probably a good idea to stop watching it, and that way you'll prevent empathic stress.

Ultimately, only you can decide what is the best way to relieve stress for you. Ways to manage stress must be acceptable and, more importantly, they must work. If you need kickboxing to get rid of frustration, do it. If meditation suits you better, that's fine too.

Crying is sometimes helpful, as tears, in response to certain emotions, such as sadness or extreme happiness, contain high concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), a stress-related chemical.

According to one theory, when a person who feels sad cries, through tears, their body gets rid of some of the excess chemicals that cause stress. Thus, tears help to calm down and relax.

You can watch my interview with James Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy. In this interview, he will talk about meditation and other stress relief techniques (as well as motivation, which is important because chronic stress can also kill her).

One way he suggests is that the first session of meditation should be done while still in bed, when the mind is in a calm state (although some find it easier to meditate in other places, such as in the shower).

In addition, you become more vulnerable to the negative effects of stress if you feel out of control, hopeless, things are only getting worse, and other people's help is not enough. If you don't have friends or family you trust, consider joining a local support group or even try an online forum.

You can also seek professional help and use the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). This technique can help you deal with emotional trauma that is negatively affecting your health. Chronic stress is similar to emotional scarring in that it can also damage your cells if left untreated.

In addition, it is extremely important to ensure that you get good sleep, because lack of sleep significantly impairs the body's ability to cope with stress. Good sleep, regular exercise, and a healthy diet are fundamental to helping your body recover from a stressful event.

Stress- a term literally meaning pressure or tension. It is understood as a human condition that occurs in response to the influence of adverse factors, which are commonly called stressors. They can be physical (hard work, trauma) or mental (fear, frustration).

The prevalence of stress is very high. In developed countries, 70% of the population is in a state of constant stress. Over 90% suffer from stress several times a month. This is a very worrying number, given how dangerous the effects of stress can be.

The experience of stress requires a lot of energy from a person. Therefore, prolonged exposure to stress factors causes weakness, apathy, a feeling of lack of strength. Stress is also associated with the development of 80% of diseases known to science.

Types of stress

pre-stress state anxiety, nervous tension that occurs in a situation where stress factors act on a person. During this period, he can take measures to prevent stress.

Eustress beneficial stress. It can be stress caused by strong positive emotions. Also, eustress is a moderate stress that mobilizes reserves, forcing you to more effectively deal with the problem. This type of stress includes all the reactions of the body that provide an urgent adaptation of a person to new conditions. It provides an opportunity to avoid an unpleasant situation, fight or adapt. Thus, eustress is a mechanism that ensures human survival.

Distress- harmful destructive stress, with which the body is not able to cope. This type of stress is caused by strong negative emotions, or physical factors (injury, illness, overwork), which affect for a long time. Distress undermines strength, preventing a person not only from effectively solving the problem that caused stress, but also from living fully.

emotional stress- emotions accompanying stress: anxiety, fear, anger, sadness. Most often, it is they, and not the situation itself, that cause negative changes in the body.

According to the duration of exposure, stress is usually divided into two types:

acute stress The stressful situation lasted for a short period of time. Most people bounce back quickly after a brief emotional jolt. However, if the shock was strong, then dysfunctions of the NS are possible, such as enuresis, stuttering, tics.

chronic stress Stress factors affect a person for a long time. This situation is less favorable and dangerous for the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system and exacerbation of existing chronic diseases.

What are the phases of stress?

Alarm phase- a state of uncertainty and fear in connection with an approaching unpleasant situation. Its biological meaning is to “prepare weapons” to deal with possible troubles.

Resistance phase- the period of mobilization of forces. A phase in which there is an increase in brain activity and muscle strength. This phase can have two resolution options. In the best case, the body adapts to new living conditions. At worst, the person continues to experience stress and moves on to the next phase.

Exhaustion phase- a period when a person feels that his strength is running out. At this stage, the body's resources are depleted. If a way out of a difficult situation is not found, then somatic diseases and psychological changes develop.

What causes stress?

The reasons for the development of stress can be very diverse.

It should be noted that the reaction of the body does not depend on what cause caused the stress. And the body will react to a broken arm and a divorce in the same way - by releasing stress hormones. Its consequences will depend on how significant the situation is for the person and how long he is under its influence.

What is susceptibility to stress?

The same impact can be evaluated differently by people. The same situation (for example, the loss of a certain amount), one person will cause severe stress, while the other will only be annoyed. It all depends on what meaning a person betrays this situation. The strength of the nervous system, life experience, upbringing, principles, life position, moral assessments, etc. play an important role.

Individuals who are characterized by anxiety, irritability, imbalance, a tendency to hypochondria and depression are more susceptible to the effects of stress.

One of the most important factors is the state of the nervous system at the moment. During periods of overwork and illness, a person's ability to adequately assess the situation decreases, and relatively small impacts can cause serious stress.

Recent studies by psychologists have shown that people with the lowest levels of cortisol are less susceptible to stress. As a rule, they are harder to piss off. And in stressful situations, they do not lose their composure, which allows them to achieve significant success.

Signs of low stress resistance and high susceptibility to stress:

• You can't relax after a hard day;
• You experience excitement after a minor conflict;
• You repeatedly scroll through an unpleasant situation in your head;
• You can leave the business you started because of fears that you will not be able to cope with it;
• Your sleep is disturbed due to the excitement experienced;
• Unrest causes a noticeable deterioration in well-being (headache, trembling in the hands, rapid heartbeat, feeling hot)

If you answered yes to most of the questions, this means that you need to increase your resilience to stress.

What are the behavioral signs of stress?

How to recognize stress by behavior? Stress changes a person's behavior in a certain way. Although its manifestations largely depend on the nature and life experience of a person, there are a number of common signs.

• Binge eating. Although sometimes there is a loss of appetite.
• Insomnia. Sleep superficial with frequent awakenings.
• Slowness of movement or fussiness.
• Irritability. It can be manifested by tearfulness, grumbling, unreasonable nit-picking.
• Closure, withdrawal from communication.
• Unwillingness to work. The reason lies not in laziness, but in a decrease in motivation, willpower and a lack of strength.

External signs of stress associated with excessive tension of certain muscle groups. These include:

• Pursed lips;
• Tension of chewing muscles;
• Raised "squeezed" shoulders;

What happens in the human body during stress?

Pathogenetic mechanisms of stress- a stressful situation (stressor) is perceived by the cerebral cortex as threatening. Further, the excitation passes through the chain of neurons to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Pituitary cells produce adrenocorticotropic hormone, which activates the adrenal cortex. The adrenal glands release large amounts of stress hormones - adrenaline and cortisol - into the blood, which are designed to provide adaptation in a stressful situation. However, if the body is under their influence for too long, is very sensitive to them, or hormones are produced in excess, then this can lead to the development of diseases.

Emotions activate the autonomic nervous system, or rather its sympathetic department. This biological mechanism is designed to make the body stronger and more resilient for a short time, to set it up for vigorous activity. However, prolonged stimulation of the autonomic nervous system causes vasospasm and disruption of organs that lack blood circulation. Hence the violation of the functions of organs, pain, spasms.

The Positive Effects of Stress

The positive effects of stress are associated with the impact on the body of the same stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Their biological meaning is to ensure the survival of a person in a critical situation.

It should be noted that the positive effect of hormones is observed with a short-term effect on the body. Therefore, short-term moderate stress can be beneficial for the body. He mobilizes, forces to gather forces to find the optimal solution. Stress enriches life experience and in the future a person feels confident in similar situations. Stress increases the ability to adapt and in a certain way contributes to the development of the personality. However, it is important that the stressful situation is resolved before the body's resources are exhausted and negative changes begin.

The negative effects of stress

The negative effects of stress onpsyche due to prolonged action of stress hormones and overwork of the nervous system.

• The concentration of attention decreases, which leads to memory impairment;
• Fussiness and lack of concentration appear, which increases the risk of making rash decisions;
• Low performance and increased fatigue may be the result of a violation of neural connections in the cerebral cortex;
• Negative emotions predominate - general dissatisfaction with the position, work, partner, appearance, which increases the risk of developing depression;
• Irritability and aggression, which complicate interaction with others and delay the resolution of a conflict situation;
• The desire to alleviate the condition with the help of alcohol, antidepressants, narcotic drugs;
• Decreased self-esteem, disbelief in one's own strength;
• Problems in sexual and family life;
• A nervous breakdown is a partial loss of control over one's emotions and actions.

Negative effects of stress on the body

1. From the side of the nervous system. Under the influence of adrenaline and cortisol, the destruction of neurons is accelerated, the well-established work of various parts of the nervous system is disturbed:

• Overstimulation of the nervous system. Prolonged stimulation of the central nervous system leads to its overwork. Like other organs, the nervous system cannot work in an unusually intensive mode for a long time. This inevitably leads to various failures. Signs of overwork are drowsiness, apathy, depressive thoughts, cravings for sweets.
• Headaches can be associated with disruption of the brain vessels and deterioration of blood outflow.
• Stuttering, enuresis (urinary incontinence), tics (uncontrolled contractions of individual muscles). Perhaps they occur when the neural connections between nerve cells in the brain are disrupted.
• Excitation of parts of the nervous system. Excitation of the sympathetic division of the nervous system leads to dysfunction of the internal organs.

2. From the immune system. Changes are associated with an increase in the level of glucocorticoid hormones, which inhibit the immune system. Susceptibility to various infections increases.

• The production of antibodies and the activity of immune cells are reduced. As a result, susceptibility to viruses and bacteria increases. There is an increased risk of contracting viral or bacterial infections. The chance of self-infection also increases - the spread of bacteria from foci of inflammation (inflamed maxillary sinuses, palatine tonsils) to other organs.
• The immune defense against the appearance of cancer cells decreases, the risk of developing oncology increases.

3. From the endocrine system. Stress has a significant impact on the work of all hormonal glands. It can cause both an increase in synthesis and a sharp decrease in hormone production.

• Failure of the menstrual cycle. Severe stress can disrupt the functioning of the ovaries, which is manifested by a delay and soreness during menstruation. Problems with the cycle can continue until the situation is completely normal.
• Decreased testosterone synthesis, which is manifested by a decrease in potency.
• Slowdown in growth. Severe stress in a child can reduce the production of growth hormone and cause a delay in physical development.
• Decreased synthesis of triiodothyronine T3 with normal levels of thyroxine T4. Accompanied by increased fatigue, muscle weakness, fever, swelling of the face and extremities.
• Decreased prolactin. In lactating women, prolonged stress can cause a decrease in breast milk production, up to a complete cessation of lactation.
• Violation of the pancreas responsible for the synthesis of insulin causes diabetes mellitus.

4. From the side of the cardiovascular system. Adrenaline and cortisol increase heart rate and constrict blood vessels, which has a number of negative consequences.

• Blood pressure rises, which increases the risk of hypertension.
• The load on the heart increases and the amount of blood pumped per minute triples. Combined with high blood pressure, this increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
• The heartbeat accelerates and the risk of heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmia, tachycardia) increases.
• The risk of blood clots increases due to an increase in the number of platelets.
• The permeability of blood and lymphatic vessels increases, their tone decreases. Metabolic products and toxins accumulate in the intercellular space. Tissue swelling increases. Cells are deficient in oxygen and nutrients.

5. From the digestive system disruption of the autonomic nervous system causes spasms and circulatory disorders in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. This can have various manifestations:

• Feeling of a lump in the throat;
• Difficulty swallowing due to spasm of the esophagus;
• Pain in the stomach and various parts of the intestine caused by spasm;
• Constipation or diarrhea associated with impaired peristalsis and secretion of digestive enzymes;
• Development of peptic ulcer;
• Violation of the digestive glands, which causes gastritis, biliary dyskinesia and other functional disorders of the digestive system.

6. From the side of the musculoskeletal systems prolonged stress causes muscle spasm and deterioration of blood circulation in bone and muscle tissue.

• Spasm of muscles, mainly in the region of the cervicothoracic spine. In combination with osteochondrosis, this can lead to compression of the roots of the spinal nerves - radiculopathy occurs. This condition is manifested by pain in the neck, limbs, chest. It can also cause pain in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe internal organs - the heart, liver.
• Bone fragility - caused by a decrease in calcium in the bone tissue.
• Decrease in muscle mass - stress hormones increase the breakdown of muscle cells. During prolonged stress, the body uses them as a reserve source of amino acids.

7. From the side of the skin

• Acne. Stress increases the production of sebum. Clogged hair follicles become inflamed on reduced immunity.
• Violations in the work of the nervous and immune systems provoke neurodermatitis and psoriasis.

We emphasize that short-term episodic stresses do not cause serious damage to health, since the changes they cause are reversible. Diseases develop over time if a person continues to acutely experience a stressful situation.

What are the ways to respond to stress?

Allocate three strategies for dealing with stress:

Rabbit- a passive reaction to a stressful situation. Stress makes it impossible to think rationally and act actively. A person hides from problems because he does not have the strength to cope with a traumatic situation.

a lion- Stress makes you use all the reserves of the body for a short period of time. A person violently and emotionally reacts to the situation, making a "spurt" to solve it. This strategy has its drawbacks. Actions are often thoughtless and overly emotional. If the situation could not be resolved quickly, then the forces are depleted.

ox- a person rationally uses his mental and mental resources, so he can live and work for a long time, experiencing stress. This strategy is the most justified from the point of view of neurophysiology and the most productive.

Stress Management Techniques

There are 4 main strategies for dealing with stress.

Raising awareness. In a difficult situation, it is important to reduce the level of uncertainty, for this it is important to have reliable information. Preliminary "living" of the situation will eliminate the effect of surprise and will allow you to act more efficiently. For example, before traveling to an unfamiliar city, think about what you will do, what you want to visit. Find out the addresses of hotels, attractions, restaurants, read reviews about them. This will help you worry less about your trip.

Comprehensive situation analysis, rationalization. Assess your strengths and resources. Consider the difficulties you will face. Prepare for them as much as possible. Shift your attention from the result to the action. For example, analyzing the collection of information about the company, preparing for the questions that are asked most often will help reduce the fear of an interview.

Reducing the importance of a stressful situation. Emotions make it difficult to consider the essence and find an obvious solution. Imagine how this situation is seen by strangers, for whom this event is familiar and does not matter. Try to think about this event without emotions, consciously reducing its significance. Imagine how you will remember the stressful situation in a month or a year.

Strengthening the possible negative consequences. Imagine the worst case scenario. As a rule, people drive this thought away from themselves, which makes it obsessive, and it comes back again and again. Realize that the probability of a catastrophe is extremely small, but even if it happens, there is a way out.

Setting for the best. Constantly remind yourself that everything will be fine. Problems and worries cannot go on forever. It is necessary to gather strength and do everything possible to bring a successful denouement closer.

It must be warned that during prolonged stress, the temptation to solve problems in an irrational way increases with the help of occult practices, religious sects, healers, etc. This approach can lead to new, more complex problems. Therefore, if you cannot find a way out and situations on your own, then it is advisable to contact a qualified specialist, psychologist, lawyer.

How to help yourself during stress?

Various ways to self-regulate under stress help to calm down and minimize the impact of negative emotions.

Autotraining- a psychotherapeutic technique aimed at restoring the balance lost as a result of stress. Autogenic training is based on muscle relaxation and self-hypnosis. These actions reduce the activity of the cerebral cortex and activate the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. This allows you to neutralize the effect of prolonged excitation of the sympathetic department. To perform the exercise, you need to sit in a comfortable position and consciously relax the muscles, especially the face and shoulder girdle. Then they begin to repeat the formulas of autogenic training. For example: “I am calm. My nervous system calms down and gains strength. Problems don't bother me. They are perceived as touching the wind. Every day I get stronger."

Muscle relaxation- skeletal muscle relaxation technique. The technique is based on the assertion that muscle tone and nervous system are interrelated. Therefore, if you manage to relax the muscles, then the tension in the nervous system will decrease. With muscle relaxation, it is necessary to strongly strain the muscle, and then relax it as much as possible. Muscles are worked in a certain order:

• dominant hand from fingers to shoulder (right for right-handers, left for left-handers)
• non-dominant hand from fingers to shoulder
• back
• stomach
• dominant leg from hip to foot
• non-dominant leg from hip to foot

Breathing exercises. Breathing exercises for stress relief allow you to regain control over your emotions and body, reduce muscle tension and heart rate.

• Belly breathing. While inhaling, slowly inflate the stomach, then draw air into the middle and upper sections of the lungs. As you exhale, release the air from the chest, then draw in the stomach a little.
• Breathing for a count of 12. While inhaling, you need to slowly count from 1 to 4. Pause - at the expense of 5-8. Exhale for a count of 9-12. Thus, the respiratory movements and the pause between them have the same duration.

Autorational Therapy. It is based on postulates (principles) that help to change the attitude towards a stressful situation and reduce the severity of vegetative reactions. To reduce the level of stress, a person is recommended to work with his beliefs and thoughts using well-known cognitive formulas. For example:

• What does this situation teach me? What lesson can I take?
• “Lord, give me the strength to change what is in my power, give me peace of mind to come to terms with what I am not able to influence and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.”
• It is necessary to live "here and now" or "Wash the cup, think about the cup."
• “Everything passes and this will pass” or “Life is like a zebra”.

Psychotherapy for stress

Psychotherapy for stress has more than 800 techniques. The most common are:

Rational psychotherapy. The psychotherapist teaches the patient to change his attitude to exciting events, to change the wrong attitudes. The main impact is aimed at the logic and personal values ​​of a person. The specialist helps to master the methods of autogenic training, self-hypnosis and other self-help techniques for stress.

Suggestive psychotherapy. The patient is instilled with the right attitudes, the main impact is directed to the subconscious of a person. Suggestion can be carried out in a relaxed or hypnotic state, when the person is between wakefulness and sleep.

Psychoanalysis under stress. It is aimed at extracting from the subconscious mental trauma that caused stress. Speaking out these situations can reduce their impact on a person.

Indications for psychotherapy for stress:

• stressful condition disrupts the usual way of life, making it impossible to work, maintain contact with people;
• partial loss of control over one's own emotions and actions against the background of emotional experiences;
• the formation of personal characteristics - suspiciousness, anxiety, grumpiness, self-centeredness;
• the inability of a person to independently find a way out of a stressful situation, to cope with emotions;
• deterioration of the somatic condition against the background of stress, the development of psychosomatic diseases;
• signs of neurosis and depression;
• post-traumatic disorder.

Psychotherapy against stress is an effective method that helps to return to a full life, regardless of whether it was possible to resolve the situation or have to live under its influence.

How to recover from stress?

After the stressful situation is resolved, you need to restore physical and mental strength. The principles of a healthy lifestyle can help with this.

A change of scenery. A trip out of town, to the country house in another city. New impressions and walks in the fresh air create new foci of excitation in the cerebral cortex, blocking the memories of the stress experienced.

Switching attention. Books, films, performances can serve as an object. Positive emotions activate brain activity, encouraging activity. Thus, they prevent the development of depression.

Complete sleep. Get as much sleep as your body requires. To do this, you need to go to bed at 22 for several days, and get up without an alarm clock.

Balanced diet. The diet should contain meat, fish and seafood, cottage cheese and eggs - these products contain protein to strengthen immunity. Fresh vegetables and fruits are important sources of vitamins and fiber. A reasonable amount of sweets (up to 50 g per day) will help the brain restore energy resources. Nutrition should be complete, but not too plentiful.

Regular physical activity. Especially useful are gymnastics, yoga, stretching, Pilates and other exercises aimed at stretching the muscles to help relieve muscle spasm caused by stress. They also improve blood circulation, which has a positive effect on the state of the nervous system.

Communication. Connect with positive people who charge you with a good mood. Personal meetings are preferable, but a phone call or online communication will do. If there is no such possibility or desire, then find a place where you can be among people in a calm atmosphere - a cafe or a library reading room. Communication with pets also helps restore lost balance.

Visiting the spa, baths, saunas. Such procedures help to relax muscles and relieve nervous tension. They can help you get rid of sad thoughts and tune in a positive way.

Massages, baths, sunbathing, swimming in ponds. These procedures have a calming and restorative effect, helping to restore lost strength. If desired, some procedures can be carried out at home, such as baths with sea salt or pine extract, self-massage or aromatherapy.

Techniques for increasing stress resistance

Stress resistance- This is a set of personality traits that allows you to endure stress with the least harm to health. Stress tolerance may be innate in the nervous system, but it can also be developed.

Increasing self-esteem. The dependence has been proven - the higher the level of self-esteem, the higher the resistance to stress. Psychologists advise: form a confident behavior, communicate, move, act like a self-confident person. Over time, behavior will develop into internal self-confidence.

Meditation. Regular meditation several times a week for 10 minutes reduces the level of anxiety and the degree of reaction to stressful situations. It also reduces the level of aggression, which contributes to constructive communication in a stressful situation.

Responsibility. When a person moves away from the position of the victim, and takes responsibility for what is happening, he becomes less vulnerable to external influences.

Interest in change. It is human nature to be afraid of change, so unexpectedness and new circumstances often provoke stress. It is important to create an attitude that will help you perceive changes as new opportunities. Ask yourself: “what good can a new situation or life change bring me.”

Striving for Achievement. People who strive to achieve a goal experience less stress than those who try to avoid failure. Therefore, in order to increase stress resistance, it is important to plan your life by setting short-term and global goals. Orientation to the result helps not to pay attention to minor troubles that arise on the way to the goal.

Time management. The correct distribution of time eliminates time trouble - one of the main stress factors. To combat the lack of time, it is convenient to use the Eisenhower matrix. It is based on the division of all daily tasks into 4 categories: important and urgent, important non-urgent, not important urgent, not important and non-urgent.

Stress is an integral part of human life. It is impossible to completely eliminate them, but it is possible to reduce their impact on health. To do this, it is necessary to consciously increase stress resistance and prevent prolonged stress, timely starting the fight against negative emotions.