Ways to relieve psycho-emotional stress

Experience shows that an effective means of preventing tension, preventing professional burnout syndrome is the use of methods of self-regulation and self-recovery. This is a kind of safety technique for specialists who have numerous and intensive contacts with people in the course of their professional activities. These techniques were and are being applied now in work with teachers during interactive classes at TMK, MBOU Secondary School No. 56, during individual and group work with clients. The information presented in this article is included in the information block of the program "Prevention of emotional burnout of teachers" and in the practice of self-regulation of the body.

Natural ways of body regulation and self-regulation

Human nature is such that he strives for comfort, for the elimination of unpleasant sensations, without thinking about it, not knowing what scientific words it is called. These are natural modes of regulation that turn on by themselves, spontaneously.

You probably intuitively use many of them. This is a long dream tasty food, communication with nature and animals, sauna, massage, movement, dancing, music and much more.

The following natural methods of body regulation are distinguished:

laughter, smile, humor;

reflections on the good, the pleasant,

various movements such as stretching, muscle relaxation;

observing the landscape outside the window;

examining flowers in the room, photographs, other things pleasant or dear to a person;

mental appeal to higher powers (God, the Universe, a great idea);

bathing (real or mental) in the sun;

breathing fresh air:

reading poetry;

expressing praise, compliments to someone just like that.

Try asking yourself questions:

What helps you to cheer up, to switch?

What can I use from the above?

Mentally, or better on paper, make a list of these methods. Think about which ones you can consciously use when you feel tense or tired.

Unfortunately, such funds cannot, as a rule, be used at work, directly at the moment when a tense situation has arisen or fatigue has accumulated. Are there any techniques that can be applied during work? Yes.

To begin with, it is important to figure out what natural mechanisms for relieving stress and discharge, increasing tone you own; realize them; to move from the spontaneous application of natural methods of regulation to a conscious one in order to control one's state.

Specialists dealing with the problem of regulation of emotional states, neuropsychic tension, to control them, use special techniques deliberately. It is they who are called methods of self-regulation, or methods of self-action, emphasizing the active participation of a person in them.

Self-regulation is the control of one's psychoemotional state, achieved by the influence of a person on himself with the help of words, mental images, control of muscle tone and breathing.

Thus, self-regulation can be carried out with the help of four basic means, used individually or in various combinations.

As a result of self-regulation, three main effects can occur:

calming effect (elimination of emotional tension);

recovery effect (weakening of the manifestations of fatigue);

activation effect (increased psychophysiological reactivity).

Timely self-regulation acts as a kind of psycho-hygienic means that prevents the accumulation of residual overvoltage phenomena, contributes to the full recovery of strength, normalizes the emotional background of activity, and also enhances the mobilization of the body's resources.

Bank of self-regulation methods

1. Methods associated with breathing control

All other vital rhythms of our organism are subordinated to breathing, to its rhythm.

Breathing plays an important role in our mental life. Mastering your breathing, its mechanisms is one of the ways to cope with psychological problems and neurosis. Conscious breathing control is one of the oldest ways to deal with stress and other psychological stress.

Breathing control is effective remedy influences on muscle tone and emotional centers of the brain. Slow and deep breathing (involving the abdominal muscles) lowers the excitability of the nerve centers, promotes muscle relaxation, that is, relaxation. Frequent (chest) breathing, on the other hand, provides high level activity of the body, maintains neuropsychic tension.

Correct breathing - attunement to the rhythm and emotions of thinking. You have probably noticed more than once how much this or that emotional condition, the rhythm of emotions, changes our breathing. Remember how it changed when you were excited, when you were expecting the result of some process important to you. How did you breathe when you learned some good news?

Each time, a special pattern of breathing appears, corresponding to your emotional state. If you are agitated, your breathing is shallow and quick. If you are calm, it is slow and deep.

There is also an inverse relationship. In a difficult emotionally tense moment for you, when the breath is broken and the heart beats somewhere in the throat, you can calm yourself with the help of, correctly, breathing. Slow and even breathing will help you cope with your emotions. Breathe in the way you would breathe in a state of deep rest.

To speed up the process, it is necessary, while maintaining the pattern of calm breathing, to slightly increase the depth of breathing and its intensity.

In the same way, by changing the rhythm of breathing, you can from a relaxed calm state go into a more active, vigorous. That is, by changing the pattern of breathing, we can transfer ourselves to ANY emotional state.

Of course, in order to consolidate this skill, it is necessary to consciously work out these transitions from one state to another. Practice leveling irritation and aggression with even, slow, deep breathing. And finally, feeling a lack of energy, being in a state of apathy, change the pattern of breathing, bringing it closer to what distinguishes an actively working person.

How to do it? When you are irritated or angry, try breathing the way a person who has barely woken up breathes. Imagine that you are in bed, you have just had a pleasant restful dream. Now you woke up, and your breathing is slow and calm. Take ten breaths, carefully monitoring the accuracy of the breathing of the newly awakened person (while increasing the depth and intensity of breathing, keeping his pattern!). There will be no trace of negative emotion.

Breathing can change more than just emotions. It has a powerful effect on thought, and therefore on the whole organism. Breathing is associated with thinking and concentration, more precisely with intellectual rhythm. Learning to breathe correctly can significantly improve your mental capacity. It is important to learn how to breathe normally and to control this process. Controlling the breathing process, you should not be zealous. But when you are experiencing emotional discomfort, just check how you breathe. And if you find out that something is wrong and the breathing is not working out, if it is frequent, superficial and ineffective (that is, not satisfying your needs), then take action.

When breathing naturally and fully, the body assumes a characteristic posture. On inhalation, the head slides backward, the shoulders move forward and upward, the stomach is pulled in, the pelvis moves forward, and the legs move apart by themselves. When you exhale, all of the indicated body parts move in the opposite direction, as if a person is preparing to group, but not group. All this is possible only if you surrender to the breathing process, which I wish you with all my heart, since natural breathing contains many resources for our mental and even physical well-being.

Mastering natural breathing. Try to inhale as fully as possible with the intercostal muscles, upper shoulder girdle muscles, and abdominals. Exhale equally deeply. "Breathe-nite" the remaining air two or three doses; only 3-4 consecutive exhalations without breaths. After a 3-5 second pause, try to inhale as fully as possible again. If necessary, carry out this complex 3-7 times. Focus on the result, you should feel that your breathing has become free and full. You should also feel that all three muscle groups (intercostal muscles, shoulder muscles, and abs) are working together to help each other breathe.

Full breathing check. To make sure that your breathing is truly full, strain as much as possible and hold the tension for as long as possible. Then take 2-3 deep, spontaneous breaths in and out. In addition, make sure that your breathing is not obstructed by any muscle blocks (feeling of muscle tension in one of three areas: chest, shoulders, abs). If you define a muscle block, get rid of it by additional tension of this muscle group according to the appropriate scheme.

It would be ridiculous to completely abandon the tools for maintaining mental well-being that are hidden in the breath. In the process evolutionary development a clear relationship has developed between deep and rapid breathing, on the one hand, and the activation of the body, on the other. At the same time, when breathing is reduced, the nervous system rests, while the body restores and accumulates energy resources. During inhalation, activation occurs mental state, and during exhalation, the whole organism is calmed and relaxed.

When anxiety arises, when you feel internal weakness or tension, immerse yourself in the here and now, concentrate on your breathing. Feel only your breath. Sit with your back straight and count your breaths: one for inhaling, two for exhaling, three for another inhalation, four for another exhalation, and so on. Continue counting only to ten, as counting breaths is difficult with large numbers. Go through two or three of these cycles. Focus on every count. Give your attention to exactly one, precisely two, precisely three, etc. Invest yourself in each number, follow your breath, follow your inhalation, exhalation, pause. Pay attention to the obstacles that prevent you from breathing in full measure and eliminate them. In the process of breathing, feel the currents that arise in the body under its influence.

With increased excitability, anxiety, nervousness or irritability, increase the time for all three phases of the respiratory process: inhale-pause-exhale. Start with 5 seconds. Inhale slowly for 5 seconds, pause for 5 seconds and exhale for 5 seconds. You don't need to breathe in such a rhythm for a long time. Track the result and be guided by it. If it's not difficult for you, you can gradually increase the duration of each phase (pause - no more than 10 seconds).

This exercise should not be performed before high activity work. It has a pronounced calming effect, so it can be effective before bed if you have difficulty falling asleep.

In order to raise the general tone, to gather strength, the alternation of the phases of breathing should be as follows: inhalation - exhalation - holding the breath for 5 seconds. Follow the result, be guided by it. You can increase the duration of the respiratory phases (each separately), but not much. Exercise should be done carefully.

For emergency activation internal resources: inhalation should be done less actively, and exhalation should be forced, rather abruptly, with artificially created difficulty. Sit with your back straight, bring your shoulders slightly forward, inhale calmly for 3 seconds and exhale forcefully for six. Create tension in the muscles of the tongue and throat to resist the passing air. Simultaneously with the exhalation, contract the muscles of the arms, chest and abdomen. More than 5-6 breaths should not be done in this way.

2. Methods associated with the management of muscle tone, movement.

Under the influence of mental stress, muscle clamps and tension arise. The ability to relax them allows you to relieve neuropsychic tension, quickly restore strength.

How to do it?

They say that they knock out a wedge with a wedge. And we will do just that. To achieve complete relaxation, you need to strain as much as possible.

What do we have to do? First, we will learn how to sequentially tense each muscle group. After that, it will be necessary to master their simultaneous tension, and only then we will talk about relaxation. Ready? Then let's get started.

To fully relax, you need to strain all muscle groups: hands - forearms - shoulders and shoulder blades - face - neck - press - buttocks - perineum - thighs - lower legs - feet.

So, we learn to relax.

1.Squeeze left hand into a fist as hard as you can. If you clench your hand well, you can see that your knuckles are white. If now you slowly open your fist, you will feel good how the muscles relax. This must be done with the rest of the muscle groups.

2. Bend your left arm at the elbow and contract your left bicep so that it becomes as arched as possible. Then relax your muscles completely. Let the arm hang freely along the side of the body.

3. Relax your right arm in the same way.

4. Tighten the muscles of the left moan. Bend your toes inward. After you feel a strong enough tension in the muscles of the foot, allow it to relax.

5. Tighten your calf muscles. Touch them with your hand - and you will feel how the muscles gradually become more and more firm. Stretch your toe out to tighten your muscles better. Then relax them.

6. Straighten your leg and push it away from you in one fell swoop. You will feel that the muscles in the front of your thigh are tense; they should be firm up to the hip joint.

7. Do the same with the muscles of the other leg.

8. Straighten your entire body, stretch upward, contracting the muscles of the buttocks. Then relax your muscles.

9. Tighten your abdominal muscles. Try to suck in your stomach as much as possible. Now abruptly relax and allow yourself? blur ?.

10. Take a deep breath and try to hold it for as long as possible by contracting your muscles. chest... Then exhale.

11. Straighten your shoulders and pull them back as far as possible, then quickly bring them forward. Finally, raise them as high as possible. Try to keep your head still and try to reach your ears with your shoulders. You probably won't be able to do this, but at least give it a try. Then relax and lower your shoulders.

13. Now relax the neck muscles. Tilt your head forward, then turn it first to the left, then to the right. Tilt your head back as far as possible. Relax your neck muscles. Feel your neck to make sure the muscles are really relaxed.

14. Raise your eyebrows up, then lower them. Do this several times, making sure you feel like facial muscles each time they tense up. Then relax those muscles.

15. Close your eyes as hard as possible. Imagine that someone is trying to get you to unclench your eyelids and open your eyes. Keep them tightly squeezed. Then, without opening your eyelids, relax your facial muscles.

16. Make several circular movements with the lower jaw. Grind your teeth. Wrinkle your forehead. Smile as wide as possible. Relax all of your facial muscles. Breathe slowly, deeply, and evenly during these exercises. As you relax, breathe as little as possible.

In a well relaxed muscle, you will feel the appearance of warmth and pleasant heaviness. If you cannot remove the clip, especially on the face, try to smooth it out with light self-massage with circular movements of your fingers (you can make grimaces - surprise, joy, etc.).

Having practiced the ability to relax each muscle group in turn, we proceed to the next stage. Tighten all muscle groups at the same time and in this position create maximum tension. Count to 10 mentally, concentrating not on counting, but on tension. On the count of 10, relax sharply, lean back and take a deep, calm breath. If necessary (determined independently), you can take an additional 2-3 deep breaths. Relax for a minute. The exercise should be repeated at least 7-10 times a day until you learn to freely, quickly and fully relax without prior stress.

This exercise should be used whenever anxiety arises, as a first aid and emergency aid. And also during bouts of inner stiffness, feelings of anger and stress. And it is best to practice it daily. The ability to relax is a must in your life. Moreover, it is better to spend most of the time in this state than in tension.

A warning

Exercise is contraindicated in infections, pregnancy, and in cases where physical activity is limited by a doctor (for example, with vascular or neurological diseases).

If muscle pains appear that are not associated with this or that chronic disease, give yourself a massage and continue the exercises as before.

It is likely that chronic muscle tension higher in some parts of your body than in others. For example, if you suffer more from anxiety, you may find it more difficult to relax your shoulders, neck muscles, and lower limbs. If in everyday life you have to restrain irritation and aggression to a greater extent, then pay special attention to the cheekbones, arm tension and in the back muscles.

It is not enough just to learn how to relax. It is necessary, first, to be able to voluntarily, at will, enter this pleasant and, of course, useful state of physical relaxation; secondly, do not forget to tone your muscles before exercising; and finally, make relaxation a natural state for yourself.

3. Ways associated with the impact of the word

It is known that the word can kill, the word can save. The second signaling system there is the highest regulator of human behavior. Verbal impact activates the conscious mechanism of self-hypnosis, there is a direct impact on the psychophysiological functions of the body.

Attitude formulas are a wonderful means of self-regulation. The formula-attitude is positive, that is, the assertion we need. It looks like a white paint on top of a dirty stain. If it covers the entire stain with a thick layer, then the dirt will not be visible - it will disappear, and the sheet will be clean again. As a result, there will be no problems in our life caused by our erroneous beliefs. The thicker the paint layer, the more reliably we are protected from the emergence of our erroneous beliefs. If the layer of paint is thin, then the stain can appear through it and again ruin our lives. That is why mindset formulas need to be repeated long enough and as emotionally as possible. The time and energy invested in them is proportional to the amount of paint that will cover the dirty spot.

When you first utter the formulas-attitudes, it may seem to you that this method is hopeless. Imagine that you have planted a seed. It first germinates, then takes root, and only after that the sprout breaks out. It will take time for the sprout to develop into an adult plant. It is the same with attitude formulas. Be patient.

In order to get rid of erroneous beliefs and idealization, it is necessary, using the technique of self-programming, to drive them out of consciousness and replace them with positive and useful statements.

Variants of working with mood formulas Rewrite by hand at least 100 times. You can rewrite no more than 5 times a day, so it will take about a month.

Memorize positive affirmations (or write them down and carry them with you) and repeat them mentally. The total repetition time is 3-5 hours in total. It turns out to be very effective to record on a cassette the formulas-attitudes pronounced by you. Listen to them before bed. Strengthen your new positive attitude formulas in any way you can: in your thoughts, in your conversations with yourself or others, with the help of entries in your diary.

Remember the rule - the formulations of self-hypnosis are built in the form of simple and short statements with a positive focus (without the particle "not").

Self-orders. This is a short, abrupt order made to oneself. Use self-command when you are convinced that you need to behave in a certain way, but have difficulty in doing it. Talk calmly !, Be quiet, do not give in to provocation! - it helps to restrain emotions, behave with dignity, comply with the requirements of ethics and work rules.

Formulate a self-order.

Repeat it mentally several times. If possible, repeat it aloud.

Self-programming. In many situations, it is advisable to look back, remember your successes in a similar situation. Past successes tell a person about his capabilities, about hidden reserves in the spiritual, intellectual, volitional spheres and instill confidence in his abilities. Think of a situation when you faced similar difficulties.

Formulate the text of the program, to enhance the effect, you can use the words "today":

“Today I will succeed in everything”; “Today I will be the most calm and self-possessed”; “Today I will be resourceful and confident”; "It gives me pleasure to conduct a conversation in a calm and confident voice, to show an example of self-control and self-control."

Repeat it mentally several times.

Self-approval (self-encouragement). People often do not receive a positive assessment of their behavior from the outside. This, especially in situations of increased neuropsychic stress, is one of the reasons for the increase in nervousness and irritation. Therefore, it is important to encourage yourself.

In case of even minor successes, it is advisable to praise yourself,

mentally speaking: Well done !, Clever girl !, It turned out great !.

Find an opportunity to compliment yourself at least 3-5 times during your workday.

4. Methods associated with the use of images

The use of images is associated with an active influence on the central nervous system of feelings and ideas. We do not remember many of our positive feelings, observations, impressions, but if we awaken the memories and images associated with them, then we can relive them and even strengthen them. And if with a word we mainly affect consciousness, then images, imagination give us access to powerful subconscious reserves of the psyche.

To use images for self-regulation:

Specially memorize situations, events in which you felt comfortable, relaxed, calm - these are your resource situations.

Do this in three basic human modalities. To do this, remember:

1) visual images of the event (what do you see: clouds, flowers, forest);

2) auditory images (what sounds do you hear: birdsong, the murmur of a stream, the sound of rain, music);

3) sensations in the body (what do you feel: the warmth of the sun's rays on your face, splashing water, the smell of blooming apple trees, the taste of strawberries).

When feeling tense, tired:

1) sit comfortably, if possible, with your eyes closed;

2) breathe slowly and deeply;

3) remember one of your resource situations;

4) relive it, remembering all the visual, auditory and bodily sensations that accompanied it:

5) stay inside this situation for a few minutes;

6) open your eyes and get back to work.

We wish you success in mastering these techniques and good luck!

Educator-psychologist

Not everyone knows how to relieve stress quickly and effectively. But back in the 11th century, the great scientist Avicenna established that nervous tension in no case should be accumulated in oneself. You need to start getting rid of it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, a person runs the risk of getting a violation of the nervous system, nervous breakdowns or cause heart disease. How to remove emotional stress and what you need to do to regain pep, you will learn from this article.

How to get rid of stress

According to doctors, our nervous system is able to cope with emotional stress if the negative emotion that we experienced is short-lived. But with prolonged nervous tension, our psyche, unfortunately, is unable to cope on its own.

If you get a lot of stress at work, spending a lot of strength and vitality, your body needs help. Therefore, in order for our psycho-emotional background to recover, it is necessary to help the recovery process by applying a set of measures aimed at relieving the symptoms of nervous and psycho-emotional stress.

• Walk in the fresh air

To relieve nervous tension, outdoor walks are recommended. You need to change your usual home environment and go outside. When walking down the street, alternate between the pace of your movement and the width of your stride. You will soon notice how your emotional state is bouncing back.

This is how it all works: firstly, due to the flow of oxygen into the blood, the brain begins to work more intensively and fruitfully, the endocrine system begins to function more correctly. And secondly, during the alternation of the tempo and step width, special biochemical processes that switch your brain activity from the psycho-emotional state of a person to the provision of the physical processes of the body.

Internal stress will go away even faster if, for example, you divert your attention to contemplation of wildlife or good memories.

If you do not know how to relieve nervous tension, good old physical education is always glad to come to your aid. Absolutely all doctors claim that physical activity copes with stress very well. Here are some exercises to help you eliminate internal stress, restore all your inner strength and return a positive attitude:

1. Sit on a stool or chair. Grasp the seat with both hands and pull it up with all your might. Try to hold the chair for at least 10 seconds in this position.
2. Starting position - hands locked behind the head closer to the area cervical... Press with your palms that there is urine on your neck, and with your whole body try to resist this pressure.
3. Sit on the very edge of a chair or stool. Let your arms hang freely, and your head will be raised slightly upward. Spend 7 seconds in this position. Then take a deep breath, and as you exhale, bend over and hug your knees. Wake up in this position for a few seconds, inhale and slowly begin to return to the starting position.

If you have a responsible and stressful job, and at the end of the shift you feel emotionally drained, then you absolutely need to include physical activity in your daily routine. You can do fitness, yoga, Pilates, dancing, athletics, in general, whatever. The main thing is that it should be systematic, and after classes your emotions were on the rise, and your mood was positive.

• Letting off steam

To relieve nervous tension when emotions are overwhelming and to keep the brand of a balanced and calm person is no longer strong, the following techniques will help to cope with internal tension:

1. Go to a secluded place and shout your strength. It can be a forest, a remote park or a deserted wasteland. Find such a place and have a full blast there. Shout that there is urine. You can yell at your “beloved boss,” a bored neighbor, or a crazy client who took out your entire brain in a day. Shout your head enough, and you will immediately notice an emotional upsurge and a surge of vitality.
2. You can take out the accumulated negative at home. For example, you might smash a pillow, throw things around, or smash a couple of old plates. Just do not overdo it, otherwise in the morning you may not find a mug with which you drink your morning coffee.
3. By the way, English scientists have proved that ladies who scream and break dishes during family strife are much less likely to suffer from heart disease. And they also carry out a kind of prophylaxis against stroke and heart attack.

• Breathe with all your chest

It is a medical proven fact that with proper breathing, chronic migraines can be cured and internal stress relieved. The main thing is to learn to breathe correctly.

Place your hands in the starting position at your waist. Breathe in as deeply as possible through your nose, while inflating your stomach and counting to 10. Then exhale slowly through your mouth, counting to 15. In this case, your tongue should be pressed against the palate as if hissing the letter "sssss". This exercise must be repeated 5 times.

Exhaling through effort and relaxation relaxes the muscles and relieves spasms. Such exercises can not only defeat internal stress, but also relieve fatigue and blues.

• Work your belly

Abdominal exercises will relieve psycho-emotional stress. Everything is simple here: they inflated - pulled in strongly, relaxed - strained, imagined that the stomach is an ocean and made a wave. The exercise should be done for at least 15 minutes.

• Painstaking work with your hands is what you need

You can sort out small things: beans, buttons, coins, etc. Make a bracelet out of beads or beads, type on a computer, play with an anti-stress toy. The point is that our fingertips are equipped with big amount nerve receptors, and their stimulation is able to cope with internal and emotional stress.

• Burning food

A pod of hot pepper will help relieve internal stress. If you are not complaining about your health and the work of the digestive tract, you can use this extreme method. Scientists in the United States have proven that this spicy product is capable of causing a rapid increase in endorphins in the human body. But, as you know, endorphins are the main hormones of joy.

• Hug

It has long been known that inner tension recedes before a warm and friendly embrace. Remember how we calmed down in childhood when our mother hugged us. Believe me, hugs are not only calming for children. They can help an adult to cope with fears and nervous overexcitation.

• Making love

Such activities act as Ambulance and, like no other activities, they are able to eliminate nervous tension in a matter of minutes. The hormones released during love "exercises" have the best effect on our nervous system. In addition, they relieve muscle spasms who are eternal allies of internal tension.

• Making faces

Mimic gymnastics can weaken nervous tension. It will remove the emotional stress and, in addition, will cheer you up. Of course, the main masters of mimic gymnastics are children. We think that the crumbs, in this way, are simply playing pranks and indulging, but in fact, in this way, they get rid of the inner emotional stress and negativity accumulated during the day.

So we take an example from the kids and start making faces. Well, of course, we are adults and grimacing with a work colleague is not very comme il faut, so we will “play pranks” at home in front of a mirror.

• Yawn

Have you ever noticed that when you get tired of the work process, you start to yawn? And this is not just that. It is our nervous system, having noticed something wrong, trying to help us relieve nervous tension. Our psyche knows exactly how to get rid of negative external influences. And our task is to help her by causing yawning in an artificial way.

The fact is that yawning improves blood flow and tone our body. In addition, yawning speeds up metabolic processes and helps remove carbon dioxide. All these processes have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the nervous system and normalize brain activity.

• Tea ceremony

Tea is a soothing tranquilizer given to us by nature itself. It copes well with emotional exhaustion, relieves stress and fatigue. And all because the tea leaves contain unique elements of their kind: catechins, flavonoids, carotene and vitamins. By the way, it is recommended to brew green tea to calm the nervous system.

• The power of soothing baths

Excellent prevention nervous disorders and stress are soothing baths. Sedative water water treatments should be comfortable for the body, about 40 degrees. Decoctions from such herbs and leaves are added to the water: sage, mint, birch leaves, yarrow, chamomile. Such baths can be taken daily, the duration of stay in the water should not exceed 15 minutes.

• Acupressure

This massage stimulates the production of serotonin, the hormone of joy. To do it, you do not need to go to massage parlor... You can handle it without outside help. Massage the center point of the chin in a circular motion 10 times clockwise and counterclockwise. Or flexing and stretching the middle fingers of both hands.

• More positive

And, the main thing that needs to be done is to smile and look at life more optimistically. Of course, it is not easy to smile when cats scratch their souls, but this must be done. Scientists have found that laughter therapy is a great way to get rid of negative influences from the outside, bad mood, stress and stress. Laughter launches in our body defensive reactions, improves blood flow, provides the brain with oxygen. Laughter is a natural remedy for tension.

Therefore, look at life with optimism, smile a lot and let those around you upset you less!

Psycho-emotional stress in teaching

The work of a teacher belongs to the professions associated with increased psycho-emotional stress. This is due to both content, essence teaching activities, and the background on which it is carried out.

The implementation of pedagogical activity occurs through interaction with a large number of people. These are students, colleagues, parents of students. Every day a teacher in the process of work must carry out tens, hundreds of professionally conditioned interpersonal contacts with a sufficiently high psycho-emotional stress. In most cases, these are emotional reactions that have a positive connotation. However, such a wide range of communication is fraught with the potential for the emergence of varying degrees of significance of conflict, stressful or traumatic situations, which is accompanied by the development of negative emotions, an unfavorable emotional background.

Often a teacher is forced to interact, communicate with a person who is "not very sympathetic" to him, with whom he has already had conflicts in the past or exists in the present. It can be a student and a colleague. A long-term situation can no longer give rise to a short-term emotional reaction, but a long-term psycho-traumatic situation.

In pedagogical activity, a discrepancy between the expected, predicted and actual results quite often arises (for example, the results of the control work of students, the academic quarter, etc.). The work of a teacher is fraught with danger and "mental satiety" due to a certain monotony, repetition in the process of performing their professional duties. This situation is especially common among teachers with little experience.

In addition, the psychological background on which the teacher's work is carried out is very peculiar. These are high public requirements for the general cultural, professional and moral qualities of a teacher. Increased interest in appearance, manner of speaking, in "personal life."

Even such a brief description of the psychological characteristics of pedagogical work indicates the possibility of both acute and chronic traumatic situations, the development of psychoemotional overstrain, which is considered as risk factors predisposing to the occurrence of certain neuropsychiatric reactions and psychosomatic diseases.

Under the influence of more or less prolonged mental trauma, leading to emotional overstrain, it can develop neurosis-like state or neurosis.

The disease begins gradually, gradually. The main symptom is hyperexcitability and slight mental and physical fatigue. A person becomes hot-tempered, irritated even for an insignificant reason. A similar increase in sensitivity to stimuli coming from internal organs and various parts of the body, it is possible to explain the complaints of such people about discomfort in different parts body (headache, dizziness, tinnitus, painful sensations in the heart, stomach, etc.). Such symptoms are called psychosomatic, because the reason for their occurrence depends on the characteristics of the person's mental status.

Increased excitability is expressed in mild occurrence vegetative reactions(palpitations, redness or pale skin of the face, increased sweating). Tremors (tremors) of the eyelids and fingers are common outstretched arms... Increased excitability is usually combined with rapid fatigability, which results in decreased ability to work. Often there are complaints of general physical weakness, lack of vigor, energy, endurance to the previously usual work regime. Long-term active tension of attention becomes impossible. Insufficient fixation of certain events is often associated with attention depletion. This explains the complaints about "bad memory", forgetfulness.

Increased excitability and fatigue are also manifested in the rapid onset of emotional reactions (sadness, joy, etc.) and at the same time in their short duration, instability. Intolerance appears, the waiting becomes unbearable. Sleep is disturbed, falling asleep is often difficult, sleep is not deep enough, with an abundance of dreams. In this case, awakening easily occurs under the influence of minor stimuli. After sleep, there is no feeling of cheerfulness, freshness, but on the contrary, there is a feeling of weakness, drowsiness. By the middle of the day, the state of health improves, and in the evening it worsens again.

The presence of unpleasant sensations from various parts of the body intensifies over time, giving rise to suspicion of any beginning serious illness. Anxiety appears, anxiety about your condition. Unpleasant and painful sensations in various parts and organs of the body and fear of illness with a pathological fixation of attention on the slightest changes in well-being are more and more intensified. And gradually, due to a violation of the innervation of internal organs, individual psychosomatic symptoms can develop into psychosomatic functional changes in organs, and later into severe psychosomatic diseases. Often this functional disorders and diseases of the cardiovascular system. At first, they manifest themselves as periodic unpleasant sensations in the region of the heart, the localization and nature of which are extremely diverse.

Pain in the region of the heart often accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the hands (more often to the left), a feeling of lack of air or even suffocation. Taking nitroglycerin (a pain reliever for angina pectoris) does not give any noticeable improvement. Psychogenic heart rhythm disorders can occur. At the same time, complaints of palpitations are characteristic not only with physical exertion, but also in the morning (at the time of waking up), when falling asleep and often at night (due to insomnia or superficial, intermittent, anxious sleep).

A neurosis-like state can cause a change in blood pressure in the direction of its increase or decrease. Most often this is a temporary increase in blood pressure under the influence of anxiety or a sudden sharp rise in blood pressure like a hypertensive crisis.

With an increase in arterial pressure there are unpleasant and painful sensations in the head (pressure, heaviness, aching pain, drilling, bursting, tingling), tinnitus, blurred vision (the appearance of fog in the eyes, flickering of colored dots, circles).

Under reduced pressure complaints can be unusually varied and include lethargy, apathy, a feeling of severe weakness and fatigue, lack of alertness in the morning even after prolonged sleep, memory impairment, distraction and instability of attention, decreased efficiency, feeling short of breath at rest, severe shortness of breath with moderate physical exertion, swelling of the legs and feet in the evening. Characterized by a headache (occasionally the only complaint), which usually occurs after sleep (especially during the day), physical or mental work. A dull, oppressive, constricting, bursting or throbbing headache often seizes the linotemporal or frontoparietal region and lasts from several hours to two days. In some cases, it proceeds as a migraine, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and disappears from the application of cold, after a walk in the fresh air or exercise. Periodic dizziness is characteristic with increased sensitivity to bright light, noise, loud speech, staggering when walking, and fainting.

A frequent companion of neurosis-like states - functional disorders gastrointestinal tract. These are not strong, but persistent painful sensations. different localization, often migrating throughout the abdomen. The most constant sensations of heaviness, fullness, tension, emptiness in the stomach. In some cases, complaints of nausea in the morning hours and periodic unbearable pain in upper divisions belly. Complaints of an unpleasant taste or bitterness in the mouth, heartburn and belching (more often with air, less often with food eaten or gastric juice) are very common throughout the day or only in the morning, before meals.

No less typical are complaints of appetite disorders - from poor or very capricious appetite to complete disgust or refusal to eat with loss of taste. There may be complaints of persistent constipation or constipation followed by diarrhea.

Other manifestations on the part of internal organs are possible with neurosis-like states and neuroses. In all cases of occurrence similar symptoms you should definitely consult a doctor.

There are three degrees of severity of emotional stress.

The first degree is the state of attention, mobilization, activity, characterized by an increase in working capacity, an increase in the function of organs and systems that ensure the solution of this problem. It arises whenever the task facing the body is not standard, requires concentration of attention, mobilization of intellectual and physical resources. This state is very useful, it trains the body, increases efficiency.

The second degree is the appearance of a sthenic negative emotion. Psychologically, this is a state of rage (anger, indignation) familiar to everyone, accompanied by an extremely significant (extreme) increase in the activity of organs and systems, which ensures the interaction of the organism with the environment. The working capacity of skeletal muscles significantly increases, attention is concentrated, the work of the heart increases, arterial pressure, breathing, oxidative and energy processes intensify, vascular spasm appears abdominal organs and the blood flows intensively to the muscles, brain, lungs and heart. The purpose of such a reaction is to maximize the body's resources and thereby achieve a solution to the problem that has arisen.

The third degree - asthenic negative emotion, arises if the task requires resources that are much higher than those available to the body even with the maximum mobilization of forces. Psychologically, it is experienced as a state of fear (horror, melancholy). There is a sharp decrease in intellectual and energy resources (from fear “hands give up”, “legs give way”, “mental abilities” are paralyzed, “vegetative storm” can turn into “chaos”).

The considered three degrees of the state of stress in the "pure" form are rare. Degrees of emotional stress are often observed, which can be characterized as intermediate (transitional) stages. So, for example, in the intermediate stage between II and III, suppression of only intellectual functions can occur with complete safety (and even increase) of energy resources. In this case, a person who is seized with fear and has lost his mind with gigantic energy commits meaningless acts (panic).

Transitional situations of another kind are also observed, when only energy resources are reduced: a person paralyzed by horror realizes the approaching danger, but is unable to make a single movement to avoid it.

The degree of stress that arises in a given situation is, among other things, determined by previous life experience. Lack of this experience, lack of skills necessary to overcome difficulties, contribute to the emergence of a state of tension of a higher degree.

In previous articles, I talked about methods for removing physical and emotional tension.

It is not always possible to relieve psycho-emotional stress with help. In such cases, it is necessary to master deep meditation, as well as relax while lying in shavasana and reprogram your thoughts, reaching a state of awareness.
Thus, the best way to deal with stress and relieve psycho-emotional tension is considered.

Thanks to relaxation, the body recovers strength, reboots and is able to function effectively.

Relaxation is achieved in meditation, in savasana and in changing the outlook on life, in the ability to control the lower part of consciousness - the ego.

Remember. Relaxation is subsiding and then a complete stop of our ego.

And it must be learned to stop it both during meditation, lying in shavassana, and in everyday life. Let me remind those who are not yet aware that the ego is the lowest part of our consciousness: memory, mind, the whole psyche, emotions and feelings. And the highest part of consciousness is our real I, real awareness.

Relaxation and release of psycho-emotional stress can improve your life, make it happier, more successful and more joyful.

Relaxation Technique Mechanisms

To correctly understand how you can achieve mental and physical relaxation, pay attention to the behavior of children. The child does not have established psychological patterns that prevent adults from being relaxed. Children interact harmoniously with the world around them and people, do not accumulate stress. They sleep, play, study without unnecessary emotional stress. The child physically and mentally switches from one type of activity to another, without burdening them with problems and negative experiences. Notice that when children fall asleep their muscles are completely relaxed. The body seems to adjust to the relief of the bed. This is an example of true relaxation.

The older we get, the more stressed, the less our ability to relax physically and mentally. Even after the completion of the case, we constantly scroll thoughts in our heads: what was the best thing to do, why we did not achieve what we wanted, what did others think. This is all the work of the ego. Over the course of time, such thoughts accumulate so much that our brain does not rest even at night during sleep. This leads to tension, and subsequently to emotional exhaustion and physical illness.

The first step to relaxation is to deny yourself the mental dilemma of things already done. Even if the situation is not the best and the problem has not been completely resolved, stop the flow of thoughts.

Trust your mind. After the brain has collected the necessary information on your problem, it will give you the right solution. This process happens unconsciously. You just need to let go of the situation, stop consciously trying to find a solution, which in most cases does not lead to positive outcome, but only causes tension. At the right time, you will receive an answer to all your questions, you can be sure.

The essence of the relaxation technique

Relaxation methods are based on the ability to distract from negatively charged thoughts and transfer your attention to emotionally neutral activities.

In this case, the ego stops.

You need to learn to be aware of your breath or body parts. One of simple ways relaxation - long time look at any part of the body and not think about anything else. Surprisingly, this kind of meditation leads to rapid physical relaxation and clearing the mind of disturbing thoughts.

But there is one problem here. If you by an effort of will force yourself to look at your chosen part of the body, then instead of relaxation you will come to even greater tension. What to do? One must learn to be in a special state called not doing oneself. Not doing is turning off the ego, and it begins with the fact that you stop doing something at all. After you completely relax and do nothing, you will wake up real conscious attention, which can already be directed to any part of the body. You can read about not-doing in detail in my article: and in my book: "Correct and full instructions on meditation ".

During relaxation, you also need to consciously force your muscles to relax. It is not as easy as it seems at first glance. This suggests that you need to learn to relax. During meditation or while relaxing in savasana, walk over the entire body and see which areas are still tense. To relax any part of the body, you need to move away from it and detachedly observe the area of ​​tension. Usually this is enough, if not, consciously, with an effort of will, relax the focus of tension.

Relaxation skills will improve with each meditation session, and you will immediately notice it. It will clear up in my head, the pressing problems will seem not so serious, a new positive outlook on life will appear.

This comes from the fact that more and more you begin to look at the world not through the prism of feelings and emotions of the ego, which usually distorts our view of things, but with a sober, correct view of true awareness.

When muscles are relaxed, sensory nerve fibers stop transmitting information to the brain. The brain, in turn, stops sending signals to the muscles along the motor nerves. A conditional separation of the body and the brain occurs, while the muscles, organs, bones of the skeleton and the nervous system rest. This helps the body recuperate and function properly. The body will rest from the unnecessary work of the ego.

Once you learn to relax, it will be possible to know your mind. Studying your psyche helps to get rid of psychological attitudes and patterns that are embedded in us since childhood. Often, psychological distortions interfere with properly coexisting with the surrounding reality and people, which leads to constant psycho-emotional tension.

Psychological programming

Mastering relaxation skills, unfortunately, does not yet guarantee complete relief from physical and mental tension. For example, you relaxed and found peace of mind, but when you went outside, you met an unpleasant person or found yourself in a difficult situation. Your brain will immediately react according to the "negative" pattern embedded in it, which will knock you out of balance and lead to the previous alarming level. How to be? The answer is simple, you need to learn how to reprogram your negative psychological attitudes.

Yes, of course, gradually meditation changes our psyche, and we begin to react differently to the environment. Stress is no longer afraid of us.

But we are all different. Someone's psyche will be rebuilt for a very long time, and in order to speed up this process, you need to consciously transfer the awareness gained in meditation into daily life... One must learn to control the ego not only during meditation, but everywhere and always.

The root cause of chronic tension is an emotional response to a situation or a person's behavior that is out of harmony with our psychological patterns. This causes emotional hyperreaction, contributing to tension, prolonged experience, mental scrolling in the head of the situation and ways to resolve it.

Such psychoemotional attitudes are fixed from childhood on the basis of experience and upbringing. The main task of the relaxation technique is to reprogram or completely get rid (if possible) of those patterns that interfere with happy life without emotional stress.

The True Cause of Tension

Physical and emotional stress arises from misperception of the environment. Interaction with people brings too many negative impressions into our reality, which "poison" our lives and lead to diseases. This is facilitated by fears and complexes that are embedded at the subconscious level.

In most cases, people don't even understand what is causing the tension. They only see and feel the result - chronic stress, nervous tension, deterioration of relations with loved ones, troubles at work, illness.

To permanently eliminate disharmony from life, you need to study your mind, the true reasons for this behavior. To do this, you need to meditate, relax your muscles, "clear" your head from negative thoughts. During meditation and deep relaxation, all negativity will come out, but only if certain conditions are created. Not doing oneself, stopping the ego and detached observation of any manifestations of the psyche, that is what is needed for this.

Gradually, thanks to meditation, clarity of thinking arises and the correct attitude to situations and people is developed, without an excessive emotional reaction, which causes tension.

The brain is a mental computer

Our brain is a cluster of over 10 trillion nerve cells(neurons) that establish communication with both the external and internal environment. Neurons receive, process, analyze, store and use the information received. This is how a person accumulates knowledge and experience throughout life. In addition, since childhood, we develop many psychological patterns that help us respond quickly in various life situations.

Psychological stereotypes are generated by the limbic system of the brain. She is one of the first to react to an external stimulus and gives the body a response emotional coloring... The limbic system compares the current situation with the previous experience stored in the formed patterns and gives a standard result.

Evolutionarily, the limbic system helped humans survive in harsh environmental conditions, when life-threatening circumstances lay in wait for people at every step. When a person was faced with an unfamiliar situation, it caused physical and mental stress for the most successful solution to the problem. IN modern world the function of the limbic system is justified in crisis life situations. In practice, any, even a minor problem, causes stress and psycho-emotional stress.

Those. we live like robots, according to certain programs inherent in us.

The world around us rarely matches the psychological template that is embedded in our brain. Therefore, the only way to get rid of tension is to eradicate negative emotional attitudes. You need to teach yourself to perceive any situation as positive or neutral. In each problem, it is correct to look for positive and instructive moments, which later will help us get out of the water in more difficult life situations.

All spiritual teachings of antiquity, be it yoga or others, in fact, teach the same thing - to be open to the world around, to love all manifestations of life, to respect people. It helps to get rid of tension, gives a state of calm and joy. A positive attitude towards reality creates harmony between the soul, body and society.

Any thought should be only good, any action should be taken calmly. Knowing his mind, a person gets rid of the negative in life forever: not the external, we cannot influence the circumstances, but the internal state. You can change your attitude to situations, circumstances and people, and meditation is an excellent helper on the way to this.

As the saying goes, in order to change the world around you, you must first of all change yourself.

Summarize

All of the above can be explained in a few words.

The only one correct method relaxation lies in the fact that we stop, disidentify and control our entire psyche, our entire mind, i.e. our ego. And this is achieved in meditation, lying in savasana and in awareness in daily life.

Why is that. Very simple. Relaxation, relaxation, this is calming down, or a complete cessation of the ego. The one who is more relaxed in life, the less restless thoughts and emotions rummage in his head, i.e. the ego works correctly (not strenuously, with anguish).

And the more you stop the ego during meditation and in savasana, the more correct and better it will work at any other time, everywhere and always.

I think I was convincing.

So, you already know how to meditate. If not already, read my article: and also ask questions.

It remains to learn to relax in and learn to control the ego in everyday life.

In the next article we will talk about.

Be healthy and happy. And relaxation will help you with this.

And finally, listen to the wonderful music of Ennio Morricone, which makes you think about the eternal. It is this kind of music that can well stop the ego and bare our beautiful and eternal soul.