Stress. How to deal with negative emotions in a stressful situation

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Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine

Kryvyi Rih Pedagogical University

Department of Physiology and Valeology

Report on the topic:

"Distress"

distress psycho-vegetative disturbance negative emotion

krivoy Rog

Distress (from the Greek. Dys - prefix, meaning disorder + English. Stress - tension) - stressassociated with pronounced negative emotions and having a detrimental effect on health, the author is a physiologist G. Selye.

Distress is a negative nonspecific reaction of the animal to any external impact. The most severe form of distress is shock.

A negative type of stress that the human body cannot cope with. It destroys a person’s moral health and can even lead to severe mental illness. Suffering from stress the immune system. In a stressful state, people are more likely to become victims of infection, since the production of immune cells decreases markedly during periods of physical or mental stress.

Of particular importance for a person is psychological stress, since many events lead to stress in a person, not because of their objective characteristics, but because a specific person perceives the event as a source of stress. This implies an important principle for overcoming psychological stress: it is easier to change a person’s view of the world than the world itself.

Symptoms of distress:

o headache;

o loss of strength;

o unwillingness to do anything;

o loss of faith in the improvement of the situation in the future;

o an excited state, a desire to take risks;

o partial memory loss due to a shock condition;

o unwillingness to ponder and analyze the situation that led to the stress state;

o changeable mood;

o fatigue, lethargy.

· What can be a source of stress:

o injury or crisis;

o small daily troubles;

o conflicts or communication with unpleasant people;

o obstacles that prevent you from achieving your goals;

o feeling of constant pressure;

o pipe dreams or too high demands on yourself;

o monotonous work;

o constant accusation, self-reproach that you did not achieve something or missed something;

o blaming yourself for all the bad that happened, even if it happened not through your fault;

o hard work;

o financial difficulties;

o strong positive emotions;

o quarrels with people and especially with relatives. (Observation of quarrels in the family can also lead to stress.);

o moving from one country to another.

· Risk group:

o elderly people and children;

o people with low self-esteem;

o extroverts;

o neurotics;

o people who abuse alcohol;

o people with a genetic predisposition to stress.

· Methods of neutralizing stress:

o Psychological (Autogenic training, meditation, rational psychotherapy, etc.)

o Physiological (massage, acupuncture, exercise)

o Biochemical (tranquilizers, herbal medicine)

o Physical (Bath, hardening, water procedures)

Manifestations of distress.

Distress manifests itself differently in all people, but there are universal characteristics. One of the obligate signs of distress is anxiety. A certain level of anxiety is characteristic of a particular individual, and each has its own optimal level of anxiety, which allows a person to function best. However, along with the productive anxiety that accompanies eustress, there is an unproductive anxiety characteristic of distress. Unproductive anxiety disrupts cognitive and autonomic processes. It worsens attention and memory, reduces performance, increases irritability, causes excessive muscle tension, reduces appetite, and disrupts sleep.

Distress and the formation of psycho-vegetative disorders

The huge role of distress in the formation of psycho-vegetative disorders. Vegetative changes following distress are very diverse and can occur in almost all organs and systems of the body. Symptoms from the cardiovascular system are often manifested by an increase in heart rate, a sensation of pulsation, an increase or fluctuation in blood pressure, a tendency to lipotymic conditions. On the part of the respiratory system, sensations of lack of air with the formation of a hyperventilation syndrome can be observed. From the gastrointestinal tract, nausea, retching, vomiting, loss of appetite, dyspeptic symptoms or constipation, abdominal cramps are not uncommon. Other vegetative manifestations are also characteristic of distress: increased sweating, chills, a feeling of heat or cold, a feeling of dizziness, and frequent urination. The important role of stress in the origin of panic attacks or vegetative crises is discussed. A panic attack should be attributed to the most striking manifestations of the psycho-vegetative syndrome, in which there is a polysystem of autonomic disorders and a vivid emotional accompaniment in the form of panic. Among the situations that can lead to the debut of panic attacks, the following stress-related events are distinguished: significant changes in life - a long illness or death of a loved one, divorce, separation from loved ones, etc .; events related to changes in one's own health - physical overload, prolonged fasting, pregnancy, abortion, childbirth, surgical interventions, somatic illness, and, finally, aggravated conflict situations provoked by stress.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, diseases related to stress appeared - this is a syndrome of chronic fatigue and karosh. Symptoms of CFS follow from its name. Karoshi, in translation from Japanese, means "death from excessive work." Both diseases, as a rule, affect people of working age.

In the post-Soviet space, stressful factors have even more detrimental effects on people than in the relatively stable western community. So far, huge masses of people have not been able to adapt to new conditions of existence. Some think in old categories and are constantly anxious in search of minimal means of subsistence. Others who have a good financial situation, get into stressful situations due to the conflict between imperfect laws, real life, their own conscience and the highest pace of modern life.

Destructive thoughts generate distress

According to the founder of the modern theory of stress, Hans Selye, “destructive” thoughts, feelings and emotions, such as envy, greed, hatred, anger, revenge, contempt, distrust, suspicion, fear, jealousy, etc., shorten life and weaken the personality. .d.

But not every stress is dangerous to health. There are moderate, activating personality - eustress and distress - strong, lasting, destructive and damaging. We will mainly discuss distress below. One of its first and main manifestations is a decrease in success in familiar activities.

Growling is normal!

The body responds to any effect with adaptive responses. Hormones and other biologically active substances are released into the blood. The lungs begin to intensely saturate the blood with oxygen, the heart contracts faster, blood pressure rises, the muscles prepare for immediate work, the brain for a quick response. These reactions are the same for animals and humans. An animal in a threatening situation growls, runs away, defends itself, attacks and thereby avoids the damaging effects of stress. If an animal is placed in “human” conditions, when it cannot react in a natural way for itself, then it will develop stress with all the consequences.

Stress selects the target organ and stays with you forever

A person cannot react to a conflict or dangerous situation, like an animal. Therefore, in any conflict or extreme situation, if there is no constructive activity aimed at overcoming it, there is tension or weakness in the muscles, trembling in the body, frequent heartbeats, rapid breathing, etc. These are physical manifestations of stress, they are usually accompanied unpleasant emotions. If the stressful situation was simultaneous and strong or prolonged, but not intense, then soon with one memory of it all the symptoms described above may appear. In the future, these symptoms may appear as if on their own - this is how neuroses arise. Over time, stress can “choose” a “target organ” for itself. At first, the pains in it are functional, and then organic changes appear. So a person earns hypertension, coronary disease, gastric ulcer, cholecystitis, colitis and many other diseases.

If you're out of luck, smile

Failure is just a response. If you want to be successful, develop a strategy and tactics to overcome failures. It’s important not what circumstances or people do with you, it’s important how you act in these circumstances. Convert distress to eustress.

How to avoid manifestations of stress, acquire resistance to it and remove its harmful effects?

Hans Selye believed that the main protection against stress are positive thoughts, feelings and emotions, such as love, respect, friendliness, disinterestedness, sense of humor, and many others - it is they who increase the vitality and strength of a person.

If you are experiencing difficulties in life - do not rush to give in to emotions, do not blame yourself, others or the circumstances for the problems that have arisen. Negative emotions do not create anything, but only destroy.

Neutralize adrenaline

If you are in an acute stressful state and experience discomfort in the body and negative emotions, then try to remove them as follows:

1. Sit back, close your eyes, and take ten deep breaths.

2. Sitting, rest your feet on the floor and slightly push away from it. Hold the voltage for 5-6 seconds. Then relax for the same time. Repeat the exercise two to three times.

3. Strongly clench your fists for 5-6 seconds, relax your hands for 5-6 seconds and repeat the exercise several times.

4. On a deep breath, raise and tension your shoulders high and hold them in this position for 5-6 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise.

5. Open your jaws, grit your teeth and frown for 5-6 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise.

6. Wide, as for a smile, open your lips and raise your eyebrows for 5-6 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise.

Relax completely, close your eyes and take 5-6 deep exhalations and boldly open your eyes. Excessive adrenaline after these exercises will be neutralized. If necessary, repeat the exercises after a while.

Resistance to physical manifestations of stress best increases jogging, as it not only trains the heart and blood vessels, but also perfectly alleviates anxiety. The whole civilized world in the morning runs from stress to longevity.

DISTRESS and insomnia

Unlike stress, distress is such a strong irritant that the body cannot quickly compensate with its own resources. Serious biochemical shifts occur in it, a blow to the immune system is inflicted, defenses are reduced and insomnia develops. Thus, it is not stress that is terrible, but distress. Especially often our futile expectations, efforts and actions lead to distress. They do not give success, because they are too high and lead to the collapse of our own hopes (frustration). Such emotional stress leaves behind noticeable biochemical consequences. Accumulating in the body, they wear out, age tissues and lead to insomnia requiring treatment. This condition is called post-traumatic emotional stress response. It must be remembered that emotional trauma is a serious violation of health and therefore one should have an idea about it in order to avoid insomnia. Sleep disturbances for one month after emotional trauma are one of the main criteria for making a diagnosis. The main situations in life that cause stress are job loss, worsening financial situation, loss of a loved one or information about your serious illness. In today's life, urgent problems consist in unsuccessful job search, family breakdown, loneliness, approaching unsecured old age, in raising children with disabilities, loss of their own health. All these circumstances cause distress. There is also persistent insomnia and other manifestations of the so-called post-traumatic stress disorder of the nervous system that occurs after psycho-traumatic events that go beyond the normal human experience. They would be a major shock to any person. Here are tips on how to overcome the post-traumatic emotional stress response leading to sleep disturbance, which you can try to cope on your own. - Tell your friends about your situation and listen to their opinion. Find people who are truly capable of supporting you. - Describe your situation in the first person, for example, like this: “It happened to me ... I think ... I worry ..., I feel ..., I behave ..." Describe in detail everything that is with you going on. Read the text again, make corrections. After that, describe this situation from a third party. For example: “Someone is experiencing a situation ... trying to deal with it ...” At the end, ask questions: - What does he (she) really want? - What can he (she) really change? - After you have formulated your thoughts on paper, try to relax: play with your child, go to the pool or gym, listen to your favorite music, walk with the dog, pet the cat, dream, remember the simple rules of autogenic training. - Before making a decision, you need to rest and relax, or, as they said earlier, “cool your head” and not make hasty decisions. Use the following relaxing tricks: 1) Take a few deep breaths to reduce nervousness and anxiety. Make yourself breathe slowly, feeling your stomach bulge out when you inhale and then fall off when you exhale. 2) Stretch to relieve muscle tension. 3) Massage the target muscles. Most people have special muscles that tighten sharply under stress, hardening due to the release of adrenaline. These muscles are located on the back of the neck and upper back in the shoulder area. Massage them for 2-5 minutes to relieve tension. 4) Press on the whiskey. Nerve acupressure in the temples indirectly relaxes certain muscles, mainly on the neck. 5) Do not grit your teeth. Open your mouth and move your jaw from left to right to relax your muscles. 6) Spread your chest to make it easier to breathe. Take a deep breath and exhale. Then, raise your shoulders up and back, and then relax. Take a deep breath (shoulders go back) and exhale while relaxing your shoulders. Repeat 4-5 times, and again take a deep breath - exhale. Perform this cycle 4 times. 7) Relax completely. Starting from the top of the head or from the toes, simultaneously strain the symmetrical muscle groups on the right and left, hold for a few seconds and relax. Work sequentially with the muscles of the legs, chest, arms, head and neck. 8) Keep your hands under a stream of hot water until you understand that the voltage is passing. 9) Rinse your face with cool water. Move, do exercises, because tired muscles are relaxed muscles. Chemicals that form under stress are burned from exercise. 10) Listen to soothing music. This is a very powerful stress management tool. There are cassettes with relaxing music on sale, although it’s enough to listen to any recording of a pleasant melodic nature. Thus, you do not need to go to a special lecture or classes and spend time to cope with stress. You are prepared enough for independent work. You can be sure that your decision after following these tips will be correct, and the result will be successful. Remember: "whatever your health, it will last for the rest of your life." Here are the alarming signals that indicate that stress threatens health and requires immediate medical attention: - chronic insomnia; - drowsiness; - insurmountable anxiety; - attacks of dizziness or loss of consciousness; - rapid pulse, which does not decrease; - sweating palms; trembling limbs and a feeling of internal trembling; - rash; - chronic or acute headache; - pain in the back or neck. The basic rule is that you need to see a doctor for treatment if you have never had such symptoms before, and their appearance is difficult to explain with a cause other than stress.

American scientists have found how emotional distress can cause heart-like symptoms.

Colleagues (Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore) found that stressful life events (such as a relative’s death, a car accident, speaking to an unfamiliar audience, etc.) can cause severe but, fortunately, reversible left ventricular dysfunction ( LV). Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is obviously one of the types of "stunning" of the myocardium due to sympathetic hyperstimulation. The authors observed 19 patients with LV dysfunction that developed after sudden emotional stress. Among the participants, women predominated (n \u003d 18); the average age was 63 years. Clinical manifestations included chest pain, pulmonary edema, and cardiogenic shock. In most patients, T wave inversion and QT interval lengthening were noted. In 17, troponin I levels were slightly elevated, but only one patient showed angiographic signs of coronary artery disease. Despite the significant severity of LV dysfunction upon admission, it quickly disappeared within 2-4 weeks. The mean ejection fraction increased from 20% to 60% (p<0.001). Пяти участникам была выполнена биопсия миокарда, выявившая мононуклеарную инфильтрацию и некроз сократительных мостиков. Уровни катехоламинов плазмы сравнивались у 13 больных со стрессогенной дисфункцией ЛЖ и 7 больных с инфарктом миокарда, классом III по Killip. В первой группе были достоверно выше уровни адреналина (1264 против 376 пг/мл), норадреналина (2284 против 1100 пг/мл) и допамина (111 против 106 пг/мл) (р<0.005). Признавая, что связь между симпатической стимуляцией и оглушением миокарда до сих пор мало изучена, авторы, тем не менее, предполагают, что стрессогенная ишемия может быть вызвана спазмом эпикардиальных коронарных артерий, спазмом микрососудов или прямым повреждением сердечной мышцы. При адекватной медицинской помощи на начальном этапе, прогноз при стрессогенной кардиомиопатии хороший. При необходимости терапия может включать вазодилататоры, диуретики, механическую циркуляторную поддержку. Прессоры и бета-агонисты лучше не назначать, ввиду массивного выброса катехоламинов при данной патологии/

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Emotional stress and mechanisms of its development

Human emotions as a factor in the regulation of behavior. The most studied in the field of psychological manifestations of stress is emotional stress. At the same time, it is impossible to understand the essence of emotional stress without understanding the essence of a person’s emotional manifestations. After all, emotions continuously accompany a person’s life, are powerful incentives in a person’s satisfaction of both social and biological needs. It should be noted that the majority of people (due to the socio-social nature of human activity) have achieved the greatest development of social needs, with which the majority of emotional experiences are associated. If the goal is achieved and the need is thus satisfied, positive emotions arise that contribute, as K.V. notes in his research. Sudakov, the cessation of purposeful activity and cause a "state of peace of mind."

If the need remains unsatisfied, then the occurrence of negative emotional states is quite natural.

As proved by physiologists and psychophysiologists, what kind of emotions a person experiences (positive or negative modality), his mental and physical state depends in many respects.

Turning to studies devoted to the study of the emotional sphere of personality (works of L.S. Vygotsky, V.P. Zinchenko, A.G. Kovalev, A.N. Leontiev, A.A. Lublinskaya, A.V. Petrovsky, P.M. Jacobson et al.) It should be noted that in their studies, scientists note that emotions and feelings are a special class of mental processes determined by environmental influences.

Studying the characteristics of the emotional-personal sphere, in their studies, scientists, first of all, try to give a definition to this concept. So, A.A. Lublinskaya notes that emotions should be understood as relatively short-term processes that are clearly expressed, i.e. vividly demonstrating a person’s attitude to various situations, to his activities, to actions, etc.

A.V. Petrovsky proposes to understand emotions as a direct, temporary experience of some more constant feeling and defines emotions as “emotional excitement, emotional movement”.

One of the fundamental studies of psychologists in the study of emotions and feelings is the study of P.M. Jacobson. Having studied the nature of the emergence of emotions and feelings, the scientist concludes that the root cause of their occurrence is needs (as we indicated earlier). The development and change of the need sphere entails changes in the sphere of feelings and emotions, and a change in human experiences. Of great importance is not only the strength of these experiences, but also their orientation. Experiences can often become a motivator, a motive for an act, active human actions.

The predominance of emotions is a positive or negative modality of emotions, according to S.L. Rubinstein will have an impact on all spheres of life and activity of the emerging personality, on the activation of the entire system of human relations with the world. Moreover, this researcher sees activity not only in the manifestation of the activity of thought, but also in the active manifestations of emotions and feelings. The scientist considers sensual knowledge not only as a starting point of knowledge, but also as its necessary component.

The position on the regulatory function of emotions adheres to L.S. Vygotsky, who notes that it is emotions that organize human behavior. According to the researcher, this happens by analogy with the "stimulus - reaction" mechanism. The scientist believes that emotions should be considered as a system of preliminary reactions that inform the body of the near future of its behavior and organize forms of this behavior.

In the studies of scientists, an attempt was made to determine approaches to the classification of human emotions and feelings (research by G.I. Baturina, B.I. Dodonov, P.M. Yakobson). So, P.M. Jacobson takes the idea that human emotions and feelings are a synthesis of individually-typical (innate) and sociocultural (acquired) experience. The scientist notes that a person’s feelings, being his personal “response” to the environment, are generated in their content primarily by the nature of that phenomenon, that side of reality that they are directed at. Then they are determined by the nature of the relationship that has developed among people to this side of reality in the process of prolonged social practice. And finally, they are determined by the nature of individual human needs. Based on this, the author suggests distinguishing feelings:

according to the object of reality to which they are directed (real, imaginary, etc.);

However, P.M. Jacobson suggests highlighting higher feelings in a separate category. To them he relates: moral, aesthetic, intellectual and practical.

The study of B.I. is devoted to the problem of classification of emotional states. Dodonova. The author divides all emotional states into specific ones, which reflect the nature and condition of a specific, definite need, and non-specific ones, which are a reflection of a person’s general condition and characterize his needs sphere as a whole. In turn, the scientist considers the following ten emotional states of a person to be among specific emotions:

1. Altruistic emotions. These are experiences that arise on the basis of the need for assistance, assistance, patronage to other people. As the author notes, it is possible that genetically this need originates from the “parental instinct”. People can experience altruistic emotions without really helping others, but only by identifying themselves in the imagination with one or another noble hero. An inventory of altruistic emotions is a desire to bring joy to others, a sense of concern for someone’s fate, caring, empathy with the luck and joy of another person, a feeling of tenderness or tenderness, a sense of devotion, a sense of participation and pity.

2. Communicative emotions. These emotions arise based on the need for communication. However, the author points out that not every emotion that arises in the process of communication can be considered as communicative. Communicative emotions should include only those that ensure the realization of the need for emotional closeness with other people. An inventory of these emotions stands out: a desire to communicate, share thoughts and experiences, find a response, a feeling of sympathy, disposition, a sense of respect, a sense of appreciation, gratitude, a sense of adoration, a desire to earn approval from relatives and respected people.

3. Emotions of self-affirmation and ambition. These emotions are associated with the need for self-affirmation, fame.

4. Practical emotions. As B.I. notes Dodonov, the term "practical feelings" was introduced by P.М. Jacobson, who proposed to name the experiences caused by the activity, its change in the course of work, its success or failure, the difficulties of its implementation and completion. Inventory of this type of emotions B.I. Dodonov identifies the following manifestations: a desire to succeed in work, a sense of tension, dedication to work, admiring the results of his work.

5. The emotions of the struggle. According to the author, these emotions come from the need to overcome danger, and the inventory of these emotions is a thirst for thrills, rapture with danger, risk, determination, a feeling of strong will and physical tension, mobilization of one’s physical and mental abilities.

6. Romantic emotions. According to the researcher, these emotions can be considered as a desire for the unusual, mysterious. However B.I. Dodonov notes that a sense of mystery as a typical "romantic emotion" appears in our connection not with any secret, but only where we vividly "feel" our inclusion in the number of objects that are affected by the mysterious factor, especially when it is attributed to the conscious will, spirituality. The sense of mystery almost always includes expectation: now something will happen. These emotions are manifested in the pursuit of the unusual, unknown; expectation of something unusual and very good, a feeling of special significance of what is happening, etc.

7. Gnostic emotions (or intellectual feelings). According to the researcher, these categories should not be ranked. The author notes that people connect gnostic emotions not just with the need for any new information, but with the need for “cognitive harmony”. Its essence is to find the familiar, familiar, understandable in the new, unknown, thus leading all available information to one common denominator. The tools of these emotions can be: the desire to understand something, to penetrate the essence of the phenomenon, a sense of surprise or perplexity, a sense of conjecture, etc.

8. Aesthetic emotions. Despite the fact that this category of feelings has been studied for a long time, as B.I. Dodonov, the question of nature and even the composition of aesthetic experiences to date remains far from clear. The complexity of the question, according to the researcher, is that the aesthetic attitude to the depicted is manifested through all other feelings: joy, anger, longing, disgust, suffering, grief, etc. However, it is not clear what constitutes an aesthetic feeling in its pure form, without those feelings that accompany it.

9. Hedonic emotions. This includes emotions associated with satisfying the need for physical and mental comfort. An inventory of these emotions is: enjoyment of pleasant sensations from delicious food, warmth, etc., a sense of carelessness, a sense of fun, etc.

10. Emotions of acquisition, accumulation. As the author notes, these emotions arise in connection with an interest in accumulating, “collecting” things that go beyond the practical need for them. Perhaps this passion is genetically related to animal instincts, prompting them to stockpile for the winter.

However, as B.I. points out Dodonov, this classification can be called open and, if necessary, supplemented with new categories of emotional experiences.

The result of psychological research was also the study of the properties of emotions: reactivity, that is, the ability to respond to stimuli; pungency and depth perceived and experiences; durability impacts when a person for a long time does not leave his strong feelings; sustainability, the result of which is the difficulty of replacing some emotions with others (especially for preschool children); differentiation.

Systemic organization of emotions and its role in human behavior. According to the theory of functional systems P.K. Anokhin, emotions play a decisive role in the organization of purposeful human behavior. Continuously “coloring” the different stages of behavior, emotions, first of all, as we noted above, mobilize the body to meet leading biological or social needs. The biological significance of emotions was not only preserved and entrenched by emotions, but also received the greatest development in the behavioral and labor activities of man. This is objectively determined, first of all, by the development of social forms of motivation for behavior and activity.

The biological meaning of emotions, as scientists believe, is as follows. Emotions make it possible to subjectively assess the need existing in the body, its magnitude, and qualitative characteristics, and in relation to biological or social needs, it is possible to determine both favorable and harmful factors for human life that affect his body. It is emotions that make it possible to single out the most significant ones from the diverse needs simultaneously existing in the human body and direct the person’s behavioral activity precisely to their satisfaction.

According to K.V. Sudakova, on the basis of the need in the human brain, motivation (excitation motivation) is formed, which is a specific informational neurophysiological equivalent of the existing need. Motivation as a specific state of the brain induces a person to act, that is, to the formation of purposeful behavior, which, ultimately, is designed to satisfy this need.

Theory of the functional system P.K. Anokhin characterizes different nodal mechanisms of human behavioral activity and allows you to determine those stages of behavior that are accompanied by distinct emotional reactions.

According to the scientist, the first stage of a behavioral act should be considered the most emotionally colored - afferent synthesisin which the complex of motivational, situational and triggering stimuli interacts in the central nervous system based on previous experience. According to the "information theory of emotions" P.V. Simonov, the severity of the emotional reaction depends on the predicted probability of meeting an existing need. According to the scientist, in the event that there is a lack of information and the previous experience of a person does not allow making a decision on an appropriate behavioral act guaranteeing the achievement of the desired result, then a negative emotional reaction appears, the severity of which will be inversely proportional to the probability of achieving the result.

In the case when, based on previous experience, when making a decision, the absolute possibility of achieving a useful result is predicted, emotional reactions do not arise and the behavioral act acquires an automated character.

Thus, when making a decision, the body predicts in the acceptor of the results of the action not only the parameters of the future result, but also the probability of its achievement.

As P.V. Simonov and K.V. Sudakov, an analysis of the subsequent stages of a purposeful behavioral act indicates that the most pronounced negative emotional reaction occurs when there is a “mismatch”, the discrepancy between the results obtained is predicted and necessary to meet a person’s biological or social needs. As K.V. Sudakov, the degree of mismatch and, consequently, the emotional reaction in this case depend on the initially predicted possibility of achieving the desired result using the implemented behavioral act. The lower the initial estimated probability of achieving the result, the less pronounced the mismatch reaction and the associated emotional manifestations.

Thus, it should be noted that in the stage of assessing the effectiveness of behavior, the greatest emotionality is manifested with maximum confidence in success.

Turning to the research of P.K. Anokhin, it should be noted that the scientist proved by his work that in a case favorable for the body, when the parameters of the achieved result correspond to the properties of the acceptor of the result of the action, an emotion of positive modality arises, which seems to “crown”, is the completion of a successful behavioral act, especially in the case when the original probability of an adaptive result did not exist and was predicted.

Strong negative emotions, therefore, arise in the process of formation of behavior with a low probability of meeting the needs and inefficiency of behavior or when certain obstacles appear on the way to the set goal. In this case, a conflict situation arises that does not allow leading to a positive achievement of a behavioral result.

At the same time, as scientists who study this problem believe, the stronger the negative emotions at the stage of formation and implementation of behavior, the more pronounced the positive emotions will be in case of successful completion of the behavioral act and satisfaction of the dominant need.

At the same time, it should be noted that emotions of a positive modality cannot arise without negative emotions preceding them. Under natural conditions, a person’s desire for positive emotions means the formation under the stimulating influence of negative emotions of such purposeful behavior, with which, despite a large number of obstacles, it is still possible to achieve the necessary or desired result.

The foregoing indicates that emotions accompany different stages of the systematic organization of behavioral acts: the process of afferent synthesis, decision making and assessment of the effectiveness of behavior (when comparing reverse afferentation from a result with an emphasis on action results). In the process of a targeted behavioral act, there is a certain relationship between positive and negative emotions. Emotions are a specific subjective state of a person, entirely (both qualitatively and quantitatively) depending on the nature of a social or biological need, the possibility and reality of its satisfaction with purposeful behavior and characterized by a complex of somatovegetative reactions. The main biological meaning of emotions is that they contribute to the achievement of a behavioral result and the associated satisfaction of a social or biological need. These ideas were the basis of the synthetic theory of the occurrence of positive and negative emotional reactions at different stages of behavior, developed by EA Yumatov.

Emotional stress: general characteristic . As noted above, for the first time, the concept of stress as a general nonspecific adaptation syndrome of the body was formulated in the works of G. Selye. According to the definition of a scientist, stress - this is a stress reaction that arises as a nonspecific response of the body to the action of extreme, adverse environmental factors - stressors - which are various pathogenic, toxic and foreign substances, physical factors, etc. According to G. Selye, stress has an adaptive nature in its biological nature and activates the protective mechanisms of the human body to prevent pathogenic effects on it from these adverse factors. As noted above, stress is characterized by a number of successive stages (states):

resistance;
exhaustion, after which the death of the body may occur.

Along with the general concept of stress in science, an idea was formed of emotional stress as the primary psycho-emotional reaction of the subject to the action of stressors, which is also characterized by a complex of non-specific (with respect to the initiating factor) manifestations.

The foundations of emotional stress were laid down by W. Kennon and subsequently developed by C. Levy. In their studies, it was shown that under emotional stress sympathetic-adrenal mechanisms are activated, which at a certain stage in the development of stress carry an adaptive function, and then, in the case of successive development of stress phases, go into their opposite, characterized by a violation of somatovegetative functions.

Thus, it should be noted that already in the first studies devoted to the study of emotional stress, its dual nature was revealed, which manifests itself, on the one hand, in adaptive and, on the other, in pathogenic value.

As for domestic research, it should be noted that the problem of emotional stress (the history of the formation and development of scientific ideas about emotional stress, its mechanisms, prerequisites for its development, etc.) is described in detail in the works of K.V. Sudakova and E.A. Yumatova. As a methodological basis of their research on emotional stress, scientists use the functional approach proposed by P.K. Anokhin.

In contrast to the reflex approach, the theory of functional systems fixes attention not on physiological reactions that occur in response to the action of relevant stimuli, but on the body achieving adaptive results. It is on the basis of the theory of functional systems that the concept of the decisive role of the conflict situation in the genesis of emotional stress is formulated. It should be noted that a conflict is understood as a situation in which the subject, if he has a strong need, cannot satisfy it for a long time. Systematic dissatisfaction with needs and the resulting dissatisfaction with the results of behavior, due to the lack of the ability of the subject to achieve an adaptive result, creates a long continuous negative emotional stress, which scientists designate as emotional stress. In this case, emotional reactions lose their adaptive nature and, as a result of summation, cause, stimulate the violation of the physiological functions of the body, which leads to the emergence of various psychosomatic diseases.

Thus, an analysis of studies on the psychology of emotions allows us to conclude that weak, short in time and a variety of emotions, leading to mild stresses, can have a positive effect on almost all organs and systems of the body. Scientists even coined the term “emotional organ massage”. At the same time, strong in magnitude and short in duration, as well as weak and long-term emotions can be considered as the cause of various functional disorders in the human body. So, intense anger can lead to liver damage; constant feeling of fear, sadness affects the kidneys; prolonged longing - lungs; a constant sense of anxiety causes organic changes in the spleen and pancreas; excessive, irrepressible joy, jealousy, or envy negatively affects the functioning of the heart.

Scientists also pay attention to the fact that it is emotions that are the most important stimuli of human behavior, and the behavior itself is maximally focused on achieving positive emotions. Being associated with the vital needs of a living organism, emotions, scientists believe, were formed in the process of evolution as an essential component of the survival of living beings.

At the same time, the rapid development of civilization, scientific and technological progress led, paradoxically, to undesirable disharmony in human life. As we noted above, a number of scientists consider technological progress as the main prerequisite for a significant increase in the psychoemotional loads that fall on a person. And this is no coincidence. Modern life is characterized by rapid pace, information overload, a decrease in physical activity, a certain monotony, on the one hand, and the need to work, sometimes in extreme situations, with an increased level of noise and social conflicts, etc. with another. Systematic dissatisfaction with oneself, uncertainty, and sometimes hopelessness in solving tasks, a socially determined need to restrain one’s emotions and feelings, etc. led to the fact that modern man rarely finds a state of peace of mind and psychoemotional balance. His modern life "leads" to an increase in psychoemotional stress, and as a result, to a change in the spiritual world of a person and emotional stress. A person, for no apparent reason, begins to prevail negative emotional states, he develops an imbalance between positive and negative emotions. In addition, emotional stress leads to impaired functioning of various organs and systems of the human body. The consequence of emotional stress, as modern studies show, is immunodeficiency, hormonal, oncological and other psychosomatic diseases. It is emotional stress that is considered by physicians and physiologists as one of the main causes of increased mortality.

By definition, O.V. Dashkevich, M.A. Kostyukhina, K.V. Sudakova, emotional stress is an integral state of the body, which is a "visceral syndrome" and is formed as a result of summing up the long-term negative emotional states generated by conflicting behavioral situations and characterized by a complex of somatovegetative disorders.

Social factors for the development of emotional stress . According to scientists, the basis for the emergence and development of emotional stress is always a conflicting behavioral situation in which a person cannot satisfy his social or biological needs (we already talked about this above).

The emergence of a conflicting behavioral situation is always subjective, since it depends on the individual having an initial need, motive, and the ability to satisfy and realize it in a particular environment.

Thus, the most important prerequisite for the development of emotional stress is the conflict between human needs and the real possibilities of meeting them. The conflict can be based on clashes of different public interests. Many conflict situations are provoked by the low sociocultural level of people, inability to defend their interests without resorting to emotions and feelings, unwillingness to reckon with the opinions of others, objectively evaluate the results of their behavior and control their emotions.

At the same time, one can single out a whole series of “internal” conflicts in which a person painfully experiences the already irreparable, dramatic events of his life, feels remorse, repentance, a certain dissatisfaction with his life.

The second prerequisite for the development of emotional stress is significant expansion of the spectrum of social communication. The intensification of socio-economic activity at the present stage of development of society has led to a sharp increase in interpersonal influences, activation and enrichment of the spectrum of forms of social communication, which involves a wide exchange of information, coordination with a large number of people, solving complex, often contradictory tasks, etc. All this required a sharp increase in the level of emotional activity of a person, gave rise to many conflict situations (leadership, rivalry, self-doubt, etc.).

Another significant factor in the emergence and development of emotional stress, tension is lack of time to solve critical tasks amid high interest in achieving set goals.

The next factor is inconsistency of modern production conditions with the physiological capabilities of man. For example, when working on a conveyor belt with complex technical installations, a person is forced to “adapt” to the rhythm of production imposed on him by a machine, which is not always individually optimal for him, which, of course, causes mental and physical overwork and, as a result, constant emotional strain.

This is also affected by the lack of a number of professions of fixed, ordered periods of rest; the load throughout the working day is constant and maximum.

It should also be noted that emotional imbalance and, as a result, stress causes a need (due to the specifics of professional activity) to constantly switch attention from one type of activity to another (for example, concentrated work with documents and forced distractions to phone calls).

As the next factor to be noted particular exposure to stressful conditions of the urban population. As we noted above, increasing urbanization, a rapid increase in information, countless forced contacts with other people, lack of time - all this dramatically reduces a person’s stay in a state of emotional balance, peace. Urban factors such as noise, air pollution, etc. also disturb peace. According to scientists like P.K. Anokhin, G.I. Kositsky, A.L. Myasnikov, E.I. Sokolov, K.V. Sudakov and many others, the accelerating rhythm of life, the complication of social relations, the violation of phylogenetically established biorhythms, the appearance of many chemical and physical factors that adversely affect the body, the need for quick adaptation to these factors also play a certain negative role in the development of emotional overstrain.

Scientists single out another stress factor a significant decrease in motor activity of modern people (hypokinesia). It has been established that hypokinesia, causing a decrease in energy metabolism, affects various functions of the body, including, reduces the possibility of an adequate physiological response of the human body to emotions.

Another factor contributing to the development of stress, scientists highlight personal dramatic events taking place in human life. Scientists have established a direct connection between prolonged psychological discomfort, neuropsychic trauma and the development of emotional overstrain.

It should also be noted that the development of emotional stress contributes to narrowing of the circle of communication, closure of a person on his own daily needs and interests.

Essential features of emotional stress. So, as a special mental state, stress is directly related to the origin and manifestation of human emotions and feelings. G. Selye, the founder of the scientific approach to the study of the stress problem, drew attention to this interconnection and interdependence, who singled out three types of emotions and feelings that underlie the manifestation of a stress reaction:

positive

negative

indifferent.

If we turn to the studies of various scientists, it should be noted that the term "emotional stress" is used to denote various conditions of the body and personality: from states that are within the physical and mental boundaries of psychoemotional tension, to states on the verge of pathology, mental maladaptation and developing as a result prolonged or repeated emotional stress.

In the research of G.N. Kassil, M.N. Rusalova, L.A. Kitaev-Smyk and other scientists under emotional stress refers to a wide range of changes in mental and behavioral manifestations, accompanied by pronounced nonspecific changes in biochemical, electrophysiological and other indicators.

Yu.A. Alexandrovsky associates emotional stress with the tension of the barrier of mental adaptation.

According to A.The. Woldman, M.M. Kozlovskaya, O.S. Medvedev in the phenomenon of emotional stress should be distinguished:

a) a complex of direct psychological reactions, which, in general form, can be defined as the process of perception and processing by a person of significant information contained in a signal (impact, situation) and subjectively perceived as emotionally negative (signal of a “threat”, state of discomfort, awareness of conflict etc.);

b) the process of psychological adaptation to an emotionally negative subjective state;

c) the state of psychological maladaptation caused by emotional signals for a given person due to a violation of the functional capabilities of the mental maladaptation system, which leads to a dysregulation in the behavioral activity of the subject.

The relationship of emotional state and stress state. As the results of experimental studies show, many people, due to certain objective (a person falls into an extreme situation) and subjective (individually-typical and personal characteristics) reasons, are prone to a rapid change in emotional states.

However, along with rapidly changing, operational, as they are called, emotions, higher animal organisms, to which humans also belong, have a system for providing sufficiently long emotional states, which are called “emotional background” and characterize a person’s mood. Stable emotional states arise as a result of response to long-term, unchanging, stable nature of the impact of the external or internal environment.

According to V.M. Crawl, mood is a certain constant component of emotions, that is, the amount against which emotional fluctuations occur. The scientist sees the role of mood in the process of regulating behavior in adding a rather long-lasting component of positive or negative modality to the magnitude of current operational emotional reactions.

It is customary to distinguish periods of a cheerful, cheerful, optimistic, elevated mood, emotional state, and periods of a sad, depressed, pessimistic mood that a person may experience due to certain circumstances.

A frequent consequence of long periods of depressed emotional background are stressful conditions. It is no accident that R. Lazurs says that psychological stress is an emotional experience caused by a “threat” that affects a person’s ability to effectively carry out his activities.

Thus, a direct, direct relationship between the emotional state and the stress response can be traced.

As the results of clinical studies have shown, stressful conditions, as a rule, develop as a result of prolonged exposure to a person's difficult living conditions, shock mental stress and emotional overload. Long-lived stress is considered as a cause of disorganization of human activity, nervous breakdowns, stable neurotic conditions and manifestations, various functional disorders of the activity of organs and systems of the human body. That is why stress by modern scientists is considered as one of the main risk factors, the attention of many scientists (psychologists, sociologists, physiologists, etc.) is drawn to the problem of stress.

However, scientists believe that the emotional response to stress in different people will be different. Turning to the history of psychological thought, it can be noted that even Hippocrates noted that with emotional excitement and frustration, some people are prone to manic, others to depressive behavior. Differentiation of individual differences of this series corresponds to the concept of two principles that is widespread in the East - “yang” and “yin” in a person. The first (“yang”) is realized in the activity of behavior, in the strength of character; the second ("yin") - in passivity or, with excessiveness of its manifestations, even in depression.

A similar dichotomous separation of individual differences in behavior can be found in the works of modern researchers. So, as evidenced by the results of V.A. Kitaeva-Smyk and his colleagues, one of the indicators of the state of emotional stress in people is a change in emotional and behavioral activity during stress, its strengthening or weakening. In this case, the purpose of active behavioral reactions is to contribute to the prevention of adverse development of a stressful situation through accelerated and enhanced protective (aggressive) actions. However, as the results of the study showed, excessive activation of behavior can lead to erroneous actions and even to complete disorganization of activities.

It should also be noted that activation of behavior under stress, as scientists note, can be both adequate and inadequate in solving the problem of overcoming a stressful situation and preventing the adverse effects of a stressor.

Questions for self-control

What is the statement of the problem of emotional stress related to?

What are the social factors that stimulate the occurrence of emotional stress.

Expand the essential features of emotional stress.

What is the relationship between stress and conflict?

What is the relationship between emotions and stress?

What determines the activity or passivity of a person’s behavior under stress?

There are effective means of self-help, which for centuries have become accustomed to under stress, irritation, frustration, in a situation when someone or something goes wrong.

These self-help tips were taught by physiotherapists, masseurs and sports instructors.

Here are some tips for dealing with stress and illnesses that can help calm down and stop getting nervous.

Method number 1

Get distracted by something

This way to relieve emotional stress is suitable in those cases when you are trapped, driven into a corner and cannot escape anywhere. For example, sit on a glider and listen to your boss, internally boiling. You can’t escape, but ... At the same time, distracting yourself from contemplating something extraneous, neutral and enthralling this outsider is the best way not to wind yourself up over trifles.

For example: “What, however, is Masha’s manicure ... I wonder how she did it?”

It only works if you yourself understand the benefits of such a strategy - do not look at disgust, do not listen to disgust. If you like to boil and get into disputes - this is your right.

Method number 2

Get out of the annoying situation

Did something sadden you at someone else's birthday? On picnic? You can’t stand any group, public, page on a social network? Do you dream to remove an unpleasant person from your friends list?

So, quickly left the group forever. They banned the provocateur-arguer, the troll, the boor, the fool. Removed your profile, if that.

They quickly called a taxi, smacked the hostess and drove home - away from the party, away from the barbecue, away from the situation annoying you.

Method number 3

Drink some water

Now this is a corona recipe for all ingenious physicians who do not trade in dietary supplements from pharmaceutical corporations.

A glass of water, drunk slowly, stops all known science attacks. The first thing they offer to a person who is twisted by something terrible is a glass of water. Drunk water starts the mechanism of self-rehabilitation of the body. Most often, people get sick for two reasons:

hysteria (sympatho-adrenal crisis in a different way),
dehydration of the body not noticed in time.

Since we don’t listen to our body and do not teach life safety, we drink tea, coffee and soda all day — we all have dehydration, and you also have it. Go, drink a glass of water right now, and then read on.

Method number 4

Get involved in an exciting, interesting business.

This method is suitable in a situation where you can not "let go". It is necessary to interrupt the jam on chewing such as "And they, And I, And yes, all of them" with something awesome, even if stupid and tasteless. Reading a detective. Computer game. Watching a comedy. By hunting and gathering. Travel. Any new and interesting business for you.

You must be involved in intrigue, in a detective story, in the rapid development of events, in hunting, in a game, in courage, in flight.

You yourself know what can amuse and amuse you. Each has its own, individual.

Method number 5

Physical discharge

Everyone is familiar with this method, but, as a rule, few people use it in practice. Rapid physical discharge, which includes:

walking
swim
general cleaning of the apartment (you can - someone else's),
sex,
trash destruction
work in the garden
dance,
mopping
hand wash

relaxes muscles twisted into a knot and relieves stress, frustration is fantastically effective.

Method number 6

Make contact with water

Washing dishes is a free session of hypno-psycho-therapy. The noise of pure running running water relieves our fatigue and carries with it all the “dirt”, not just household.

In addition to washing dishes, there is a well-known classic:

take a bath
take a shower
go to the bath
swim in the sea, river or lake
take a trip to the spring.

Method number 7

Positive stress reframing

A lot has been written about positive reframing. So just give an example:

“It’s so good that it turned out that this summer I will not go anywhere! Finally, I look like English courses, fitness, and even self-development courses! When else would I allow myself such “useless” luxury? Yes, and in summer the dead season is everywhere and around there are only discounts. So I’ll save too! ”

Method number 8

It could be worse, others are even harder

Are you not happy with the outcome of the event? Imagine that there could be an even worse outcome. Imagine how bad some people around you are.

Do you think your life is not arranged in terms of your material capabilities? See how people live in Most African countries. Are you unhappy with your appearance? Watch movies and stories about people with physical disabilities. Are you unhappy with your relatives? Watch one of the many TV shows on some families ...

If you master this art and stop turning your nose to this strategy, then you will not need any psychotherapy at all.

Method number 9

Laughter kills everything terrible and terribly important

Making fun of, reducing, vulgarizing something inflated and important is an old recipe for human culture, starting from the Neolithic. Thanks to grandfather Bakhtin for his term “carnival-laughter culture”. Read, take an interest.

Or watch one episode of SpongeBob SquarePants adventures. When he was panicky afraid to speak at a school seminar, a smart squirrel gave him super-glasses. Wearing these glasses, Sponge Bob saw all the students and the teacher ... in their underpants. That was funny! True, out of laughter, he never read out his report.

Method number 10

Score up to 10

Just read up to ten. Slow. Controlling your breathing in and out. To myself, not aloud. This is a recommendation from doctors and sports trainers.

Count as many times as you need to calm down.

Method number 11

Cry

Crying relieves stress. With tear fluid, the body leaves those toxic substances that are formed under the influence of stress hormones. You can’t cry about yours - come up with a compassionate topic and specially cry over it.

Method number 12

Verbalization of all that is in the soul

Speaking or verbalization - putting vague "something" in clear words. It will be even better if you do not just speak, but also write on paper what haunts you. You can even write a long letter to yourself, your offender, or some other important person.

Just do not send such a letter anywhere. The essence of the method is to speak out, but without consequences and the continuation of the situation!

Psychosomatics. Psychotherapeutic approach Kurpatov Andrey Vladimirovich

Stress is an emotion in action

The concept of stress was officially introduced into scientific use by G. Selye, who understood by “stress” the nonspecific response of the body to environmental influences. As you know, stress, according to G. Selye, proceeds in three phases:

· Anxiety reaction, during which the body resistance decreases (“shock phase”), and then the protective mechanisms are turned on;

· Stage of resistance (resistance), when the voltage of the functioning of the systems is achieved adaptation of the body to new conditions;

· The stage of exhaustion, in which the failure of protective mechanisms is revealed and the violation of the coordination of vital functions is growing.

However, the theory of stress by G. Selye reduces the mechanisms of non-specific adaptation to changes in the levels of adaptive hormones in the blood, and the leading role of the central nervous system in the genesis of stress was openly ignored by this author, which is in some ways even funny - at least from the height of the current knowledge of the stress phenomenon. Then G. Selye tried to get better by introducing the concept of “psychological” or “emotional stress” in addition to “stress”, but this innovation gave nothing but regular difficulties and paradoxes. And until the fundamental role of emotion in the development of stress was recognized in science, the theory was stamped on for a long time, accumulating and shifting empirical material from place to place.

The story of stress

Hans Selye is considered to be the founder of the theory of stress, having published on July 4, 1936, the article “Syndrome caused by various damaging agents” in the English journal Nature. In this article, he first described the standard reactions of the body to the action of various pathogenic agents.

However, the first use of the concept of stress (in the sense of “tension”) appeared in literature, albeit in fiction, in 1303. Poet Robert Manning wrote in his poem “Handlying Synne”: “And this torment was manna from heaven, which the Lord sent to people abiding in the desert for forty winters and under great stress. ” G. Selye himself believed that the word “stress” dates back to the Old French or medieval English word pronounced as “distress” (Selye G., 1982). Other researchers believe that the history of this concept is more ancient and it did not come from English, but from the Latin "stringere", which meant "drag out".

At the same time, the theory of stress itself was not inherently original in the presentation of G. Selye, since back in 1914 the brilliant American physiologist Walter Kennon (who was one of the founders of the doctrine of homeostasis and the role of the sympathoadrenal system in mobilizing the functions of the body fighting for existence) described the physiological aspects of stress. It was W. Kennon who determined the role of adrenaline in stress reactions, calling it "the hormone of attack and flight." At one of his reports, W. Kennon said that due to the mobilization effect of adrenaline in the face of strong emotions, the amount of sugar flowing to the muscles in this way increases. The day after this speech by W. Kennon, the newspapers were full of headlines: "Angry men are becoming sweeter!"

It is interesting that already in 1916 between I.P. Pavlov and W. Kennon began a correspondence, and then many years of friendship, which, one must think, had a significant impact on the further development of the scientific ideas of both researchers (Yaroshevsky MG, 1996).

At the same time, the fact that stress is always accompanied by emotion is indisputable, and emotions are manifested not only by psychological experiences, but also by vegetative and somatic (actually bodily) reactions. However, we are still not understanding correctly enough what is hidden behind the word “emotion”. Emotion is not so much an experience (the last without any reservations can be attributed to “feeling”, but not “emotion”), but rather a kind of vector that determines the direction of activity of the whole organism, a vector that arises at the point of agreement of external and internal environment, on the one hand, and the survival needs of this organism - on the other.

Moreover, such reasoning is by no means unfounded, since the place of the neurophysiological localization of emotions is the limbic system, which, incidentally, is sometimes called the “visceral brain”. The limbic system performs the most important role for the survival of the body, since it is it that receives and generalizes all the information coming from both the external and internal environment of the body; according to the results of this analysis, it is it that starts the vegetative, somatic and behavioral reactions that ensure the adaptation (adaptation) of the body to the external environment and the preservation of the internal environment at a certain level (Luria A.R., 1973). By and large, all this aggregate reaction, triggered by the limbic system, is, in the strict use of this word, “emotion”. Even with the most serious and thoughtful study, we will not find anything in the “emotion” of the animal, except for vegetative, somatic and behavioral reactions designed to ensure the preservation of its life.

The role of emotion is the role of an integrator, and it is it, based on the intersection of paths (in the limbic system) that forces the body itself and all levels of mental organization to join forces to solve the main task of the body - the task of its survival. Even W. Kennon considered emotion not as a fact of consciousness, but as an act of the behavior of a whole organism in relation to the environment, aimed at preserving its life. Almost half a century later, P.K. Anokhin will formulate the theory of emotions, where he will show that emotion is not just a psychological experience, but a holistic response mechanism that includes “mental”, “vegetative” and “somatic” components (Anokhin PK, 1968). Indeed, simply worrying about danger is absurd and ridiculous, this danger should not only be evaluated, but eliminated - either by flight or by struggle. It is for this purpose that we need emotion, which, we can say, includes the entire arsenal of “means of salvation,” starting from muscle tension and ending with the redistribution of activity from the parasympathetic to the sympathetic system with the parallel mobilization of all the humoral factors necessary for these purposes.

Irritation of limbic structures, especially tonsils, leads to an increase or decrease in heart rate, increased and inhibited motility and secretion of the stomach and intestines, a change in the nature of respiration, secretion of hormones by the adenohypophysis, etc. The hypothalamus, which is generally considered to be a “place of dislocation” emotions, in fact, provides only its vegetative component, and not at all the totality of psychological experiences that without this vegetative component are frankly dead. If we begin to irritate the tonsils of the brain of an experimental animal, then it will present us with a whole range of negative emotions - fear, anger, rage, each of which is realized either by “struggle” or “flight” from danger. If we remove the tonsils of the animal’s brain, we will get a completely non-viable creature that will look restless and unsure of itself, since it will not be able to more adequately assess the information coming from the external environment, and therefore effectively protect its life. Finally, it is the limbic system that is responsible for translating the information stored in short-term memory into long-term memory; that’s why we only remember events that were emotionally significant for us, and we don’t remember at all what did not excite a living passion in us.

Thus, if there is a specific point of application of the stressor in the body, then this is precisely the limbic system of the brain, and if there is any specific reaction of the body to the stressor, it is an emotion. Stress (that is, the body’s response to the stressor), therefore, is nothing more than the same emotion that W. Kennon once called the "emergency reaction", which literally translates as "extreme reaction", and in Russian-language literature has received the name “Anxiety reactions” or, more correctly, “mobilization reactions”. Indeed, the body, faced with danger, must mobilize for the purpose of salvation, and it does not have a better tool than to do this along the vegetative paths.

As a result, we get a whole range of biologically significant reactions:

· An increase in the frequency and strength of heart contractions, narrowing of blood vessels in the abdominal organs, expansion of peripheral (in the limbs) and coronary vessels, increase in blood pressure;

· Decreased muscle tone of the gastrointestinal tract, cessation of digestive glands, inhibition of digestion and excretion;

Pupil dilatation, muscle tension, providing pilomotor reaction;

Increased sweating;

Increased secretory function of the adrenal medulla, resulting in an increase in adrenaline in the blood, which in turn has an effect on the functions of the body corresponding to the sympathetic system (increased cardiac activity, inhibition of peristalsis, increased blood sugar, accelerated blood coagulation).

What is the biological meaning of these reactions? It is easy to see that all of them serve to ensure the processes of "struggle" or "flight":

· Increased heart function with an appropriate vascular reaction leads to intensive blood supply to the working organs - primarily skeletal muscles, while organs whose activities cannot contribute to struggle or flight (for example, the stomach and intestines) receive less blood, and their activity decreases or ceases altogether;

· To increase the body’s ability to effort, the chemical composition of the blood also changes: the sugar released from the liver becomes the energy material necessary for working muscles; activation of the anticoagulant system of the blood protects the body from too much blood loss in case of injury, etc.

Nature foresaw everything and everything seemed to work fine. However, she created a system of response and behavior that is adequate to the biological existence of a living creature, but not of a person’s social life with its orders and regulation. In addition, nature, apparently, did not count on the ability arising only in man to abstraction and generalization, accumulation and transmission of information. She did not know that the danger could lurk not only in the external environment (as is the case in the case of any other animal), but also “inside the head”, where exactly the lion's share of stressors is located in a person. Thus, this peculiar "genetic mistake" turned this brilliant, so lovingly and talentedly crafted by nature mechanism of the "protection" and "survival" of the animal into the Achilles heel of man.

Yes, the conditions of a person’s “social dormitory” made a significant confusion in this nature-adjusted stress response scheme. The appearance of all of the above symptoms in cases where the danger is social in nature (when, for example, we have a difficult exam, speaking in front of a large audience, when we learn about our illness or about the illness of our loved ones, etc.) considered appropriate. In such situations, we do not need somatovegetative support for our attempts to “fight” or “flight”, because we simply do not use these options for behavior in conditions of such stresses. And it would be foolish to fight with the examiner, run away from the doctor, find out about your illness, etc. At the same time, the body, unfortunately, reacts properly: our heart is pounding, our hands are trembling and sweating, our appetite is worthless, our mouth is dry , but urination works, so inappropriately, is working properly.

Yes, oddly enough, not only the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system suffers, but also the parasympathetic. Strengthening of the first in response to a stressor can be accompanied by both suppression and activation of the parasympathetic department of the autonomic nervous system antagonistic to it (urge to urinate, upset stools, etc. may occur). It should be added that after the termination of the action of excitatory factors, the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system associated with the recovery process as a result of a kind of overcompensation can lead to an overstrain of the latter. For example, experimentally proven cases of vagal cardiac arrest during severe stress are well known (Richter C.P., 1957), as well as the manifestation of severe general weakness in response to a strong irritant, etc.

Psychogenic death

C.P. Richter in experiments on rats illustrated the phenomenon of vagal cardiac arrest. Tamed rats, lowered into a special cylinder with water from which it was impossible to get out, remained alive for about 60 hours. If wild rats were placed in this cylinder, then their breathing almost immediately sharply slowed down and after a few minutes the heart stopped in the diastole phase. However, if wild rats did not have a sense of hopelessness, which was provided by preliminary “training”, during which these wild rats were repeatedly placed and removed from the cylinder, then the duration of survival in this cylinder for tame and wild rats turned out to be the same (Richter C.P., 1957).

At the same time, one cannot fail to notice that a person - due to his mental activity, often leading him to a dead end - is able to experience a sense of hopelessness stronger than the mentioned rodents. It is no coincidence that even the mysterious “death of Voodoo” that occurs at the native after he learns about the shaman’s curse sent to him or when he violates the “deadly taboo” is explained by an overstrain of not the sympathetic, but the parasympathetic system, which results in vagal cardiac arrest (Raikovsky Y., 1979).

In addition, we, being “decent people”, do not consider it necessary (or possible) to show our emotions in such cases, that is, we forcibly restrain them. However, a somatovegetative reaction, as is known thanks to the work of P.K. Anokhin, from such a suppression of the "external component of emotion" only intensifies! Thus, our heart, for example, in such situations will beat not less, but more than the animal, if it turned out (suppose such an impossible possibility) in our place. But we won’t allow “shameful escape”, “we don’t go down to that level to sort things out with our fists” - we will restrain ourselves, and if we experience these feelings in the boss’s office or “in a reconciliation scene” with a spouse (wife) who has fallen on edge, we will restrain ourselves exclusively, suppress any negative emotional reaction. The animal, of course, would reasonably have retreated from the bombardment by such strong stressors, but we would remain in place, try to “save face” to the last, while experiencing a real vegetative catastrophe.

However, there is one more difference that essentially separates us from such “normal” animals, in comparison with us; and this difference consists in the fact that the amount of stress that an animal experiences is not comparable to the number that falls on a person’s share. The animal lives in "blissful ignorance", but we are aware of all the possible and impossible troubles that may, as it sometimes seems to us, happen to us because they happened to other people. We are afraid, among other things, of social assessments, the loss of such a hard-won position in relations with relatives, friends, colleagues; we are afraid to seem insufficiently knowledgeable, incompetent, insufficiently courageous or insufficiently feminine, not beautiful enough or too wealthy, too moral or absolutely immoral; finally, we are frightened by financial distress, unresolved domestic and professional problems, the absence in our life of “great and eternal love”, a feeling of incomprehensibility, in short, “their name is Legion”.

Monkey that became human (during the experiment)

Not the most humane, but more than indicative experiment, demonstrating the tragedy of suppressing natural reactions that occur in a stress situation, was carried out in the Sukhumi Department of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Yu.M. Repin and V.G. Stratov. The essence of this study was that the experimental monkeys were immobilized, and after that they were exposed to a “threat signal” that caused aggressive defensive agitation. The impossibility due to the immobilization of the implementation of both nature-programmed behaviors (“struggle” or “flight”) led to persistent diastolic hypertension. The developing disease had a chronic course, combined with obesity, atherosclerotic arterial changes, clinical and morphological signs of coronary heart disease.

Sympatho-adrenal activation of the initial period was gradually replaced by signs of depletion of this system in the stage of stabilization of hypertension. The adrenal cortex, which secreted significant amounts of steroid hormones during the formation of pathology, underwent pronounced changes during the chronicity of the disease, and a picture of “discorticism” was created, which is observed in a number of patients with arterial hypertension from the Homo Sapiens species.

All this allowed the authors to conclude that psychosomatic diseases (in this case, hypertension) are predominantly a human ailment that arises as a result of strict social regulation of behavior, which supposes the suppression (inhibition) of the external - motor components of the food, sexual and aggressive-defensive reactions (Repin Yu .M., Stratsev V.G., 1975). Indeed, immobilization, which in the experiment was forcibly and brutally applied to animals under stress, is our usual state in everyday life.

What strain we end up exposing our own autonomic nervous system to is hard to imagine! In general, autonomic reactions - from heart attacks to intestinal discomfort - are common in our lives, full of stress, anxiety, often unjustified, but still excellent fears. It was no coincidence that psychologists called the last — the twentieth century — “the century of anxiety”: for one half of it, the number of neuroses, according to the WHO, grew 24 times! But most people, of course, are traditionally fixed on their psychological experiences, and the vegetative components of these anxieties pass for them relatively without a trace. Another part of people (due to a number of circumstances, which will be discussed below) either simply do not notice their stressors, and therefore see only manifestations of “vegetative dysfunction”, or are fixed on these somatovegetative manifestations of their anxiety before they manage to understand that in a natural way dismayed for some completely extraneous reason.

How a person evaluates these reactions of his autonomic nervous system - largely depends on how high the level of his psychological culture, how well he is familiar with the mechanisms of formation and manifestation of emotions. Of course, for the most part in this spectrum the level of culture of our population is extremely low, therefore there is nothing strange in the fact that for a very large number of our fellow citizens these natural vegetative manifestations of anxiety mean nothing more than the symptoms of a "sick heart", "bad blood vessels" , and therefore - "imminent and imminent death." However, a specific role is also played by the specifics of a person’s perception of the “inner life” of his body. It turns out that the differences here are very significant - some people are generally “deaf” to their heartbeat, high (within reasonable limits) pressure, gastric discomfort, etc., while others, on the contrary, feel these deviations so clearly that they can cope with the arising horror regarding their occurrence, they lack power and common sense.

In addition, in special studies it was found that individuals reporting more vegetative changes during the experience of emotions objectively show greater physiological sensitivity to the action of emotional factors. That is, in people whose autonomic reactions are more distinct and well understood, the emotional process proceeds with greater severity than in those individuals in whom these reactions are less pronounced (Mandler G. et al., 1958). In other words, the impulses from the internal organs support the emotional process, that is, here - in this group of persons - we are dealing with a kind of self-winding machine. On the one hand, the emotional reactions of these people are accompanied by an excessive (“excess”) vegetative reaction, but, on the other hand, their sensation and awareness of the latter leads to an increase in the initial emotional reaction, and hence the inherent excessive vegetative component. Apparently, among our patients with vegetovascular dystonia (somatoform vegetative dysfunction) just these individuals with a special ability to feel their own “vegetative excesses” prevail. It is this particular sensitivity that predetermines the fact that these patients will consider their main problem not as anxiety or emotional instability, but as bodily (somatovegetative) manifestations of these emotional states, not realizing that it’s true that they were the victims of “emotions” rather than “bodies” .

In addition, witty experiments conducted to study human behavior after the administration of adrenaline (which causes a condition resembling a vegetative crisis) showed two possible options for the operation of such a "self-winding machine" (Schachter S., Singer J.E., 1962). In the first case, the psychological components of the emotional reaction fall into the "field of vision" of a person, and the further course of mental events comes to reinforce this emotion. In the second case, the person’s attention is concentrated on the bodily (somatovegetative) components of the emotional reaction, which leads to an increase in the latter due to the unconscious connection of the psychological components of this emotion to this process. And if the first way of responding will give us patients with a plot of “emotional disorders” (that is, those suffering from anxiety-phobic symptoms), where, as a rule, some external factors (for example, fear of public speaking or sexual contact) are taken into development, causing these reactions, the second method is the main "supplier" of patients with vegetovascular dystonia (somatoform vegetative dysfunction), because, having fixed their attention on the vegetative components of emotion, these individuals, on the one hand, were not conscious they feel their own emotions, and therefore they don’t look for “external causes,” on the other hand, they, not understanding the true reason for their autonomic paroxysms, begin to think that they have a “heart attack”, while in reality they simply “fell into affect” ". Fixation on this “heart attack”, supplemented by appropriate heart-rending thoughts, will strengthen this vegetative paroxysm, convincing these patients of the justification of their fears for their health.

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Emotions and emotional stress.

Emotions - a person's subjectively experienced attitude to various stimuli, facts, events,manifested in the form of pleasure, joy, displeasure, grief, fear, horror, etc. An emotional state is often accompanied by changes in the somatic (facial expressions, gestures) and visceral (changes in heart rate, respiration, etc.) spheres. The structural and functional basis of emotions is the limbic system, which includes a number of cortical, subcortical, and stem structures of the brain.

The formation of emotions is subject to certain laws. So, the strength of an emotion, its quality and sign (positive or negative) depend on the characteristics of the need and the likelihood of its satisfaction. An important role in the emotional reaction is played by the time factor, so short and, as a rule, intense reactions are called affects, and long and not very expressive - moods.

A low probability of meeting a need usually leads to negative emotionsprobability increase - positive.

Emotions perform an important function of evaluating an event, an object, and generally irritation. In addition, emotions are regulators of behavior, since their mechanisms are aimed at enhancing the active state of the brain (in the case of positive emotions) or its weakening (in case of negative). And, finally, emotions play a reinforcing role in the formation of conditioned reflexes, with positive emotions being the main factor in this.

A negative assessment of any impact on a person, his psyche can cause a general systemic reaction of the body - emotional stress (tension) due to negative emotions. It can arise due to exposure, situations that the brain evaluates as negative, because there is no way to protect themselves from them. Consequently, the nature of the reaction depends on the person’s personal relationship to the event.

Due to the social motives of behavior in modern people, emotional stress stresses caused by psychogenic factors (for example, conflict relationships between people) have become very widespread. It is enough to say that myocardial infarction in seven out of ten cases is caused by a conflict situation.

The mental health of modern man was markedly influenced by a sharp decrease in physical activity, which violated the natural physiological mechanisms of stress, the final link of which should be just the movement.

During stress, the pituitary gland and adrenal glands are activated, the hormones of which cause an increase in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn cause an increase in the work of the cardiovascular, respiratory and other systems - all this contributes to the growth of human performance. This initial stage of stress, the stage of adjustment, mobilizing the body to act against a stressor, is called " anxiety". During this stage, the basic systems of the body begin to work with great tension. In this case, if there is a pathology or functional impairment in any system, it may not be able to withstand, and a breakdown will occur in it (for example, if the walls of the blood vessel are affected by sclerotic changes, then it can burst with a sharp increase in blood pressure).

In the second stage of stress - " sustainability"- hormone secretion is stabilized, activation of the sympathetic system remains at a high level. This allows you to cope with adverse effects and maintain high mental and physical performance.

Both first stages of stress are a single whole - eustress -this is the physiologically normal part of stress, which contributes to the adaptation of a person to the situation through an increase in his functional capabilities. But if the stressful situation lasts a very long time or the stress factor turned out to be very powerful, then the adaptive mechanisms of the body are exhausted, and the third stage of stress develops, “ exhaustion"When performance decreases, immunity drops, ulcers of the stomach and intestines form. This is a pathological form of stress and is referred to as distress.

Reduce stress or its unwanted effects can traffic, which, according to I.M. Sechenov, (1863), is the final stage of any brain activity. The exclusion of movement noticeably affects the state of the nervous system, so that the normal course of the processes of excitation and inhibition with a predominance of the first is disrupted. Excitation that does not find a “way out” in movement disrupts the normal functioning of the brain and the course of mental processes, which causes a person to develop depression, anxiety, and a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. Such symptoms often precede the development of a number of psychosomatic and somatic diseases, especially stomach and intestinal ulcers, allergies, and various tumors. Such consequences are especially characteristic of highly active people who capitulate in a seemingly hopeless situation (type A). And vice versa - if you resort to movement under stress, then the hormones accompanying the stress itself are destroyed and utilized, so its transition to distress is excluded.

Another way to protect against the negative effects of stress is to change in attitude. To do this, it is necessary to reduce the significance of the stressful event in the eyes of a person (“it could have been worse”), which allows creating a new focus of dominance in the brain, which inhibits the stressful one.

Currently, a particular danger to humans is information stress.Scientific and technological progress, in the conditions in which we live, has generated an information boom. The amount of information accumulated by mankind approximately doubles every decade, which means that each next generation needs to acquire a much larger amount of information than the previous one. But at the same time, the brain does not change, which, in order to absorb the increased amount of information, has to work with increasing tension, and information overloads are developing. Although the brain has tremendous opportunities for the assimilation of information and protection against its excess, in conditions of a lack of time for processing information, this leads to information stress. In the context of schooling, a third is often added to the factors of the amount of information and lack of time - motivation associated with high demands on the schoolchild from parents, society, and teachers. Diligent children experience particular difficulties. No less information overloads are created by various types of professional activity.

Thus, the conditions of modern life lead to excessively strong psycho-emotional stress, causing negative reactions and conditions leading to disruptions of normal mental activity.

Stress. How to deal with negative emotions in a stressful situation

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Distress is a negative nonspecific reaction of the animal to any external impact. The most severe form of distress is shock.

Manifestations of distress.

Distress and the formation of psycho-vegetative disorders

In the last quarter of the 20th century, diseases related to stress appeared - this is a syndrome of chronic fatigue and karosh. Symptoms of CFS follow from its name. Karoshi, in translation from Japanese, means "death from excessive work." Both diseases, as a rule, affect people of working age.

Destructive thoughts generate distress

According to the founder of the modern theory of stress, Hans Selye, “destructive” thoughts, feelings and emotions, such as envy, greed, hatred, anger, revenge, contempt, distrust, suspicion, fear, jealousy, etc., shorten life and weaken the personality. .d.

But not every stress is dangerous to health. There are moderate, activating personality - eustress and distress - strong, lasting, destructive and damaging. We will mainly discuss distress below. One of its first and main manifestations is a decrease in success in familiar activities.

Growling is normal!

Stress selects the target organ and stays with you forever

If you're out of luck, smile

Failure is just a response. If you want to be successful, develop a strategy and tactics to overcome failures. It’s important not what circumstances or people do with you, it’s important how you act in these circumstances. Convert distress to eustress.

How to avoid manifestations of stress, acquire resistance to it and remove its harmful effects?

Hans Selye believed that the main protection against stress are positive thoughts, feelings and emotions, such as love, respect, friendliness, disinterestedness, sense of humor, and many others - it is they who increase the vitality and strength of a person.

If you are experiencing difficulties in life - do not rush to give in to emotions, do not blame yourself, others or the circumstances for the problems that have arisen. Negative emotions do not create anything, but only destroy.

Neutralize adrenaline

If you are in an acute stressful state and experience discomfort in the body and negative emotions, then try to remove them as follows:

1. Sit back, close your eyes, and take ten deep breaths.

2. Sitting, rest your feet on the floor and slightly push away from it. Hold the voltage for 5-6 seconds. Then relax for the same time. Repeat the exercise two to three times.

3. Strongly clench your fists for 5-6 seconds, relax your hands for 5-6 seconds and repeat the exercise several times.

4. On a deep breath, raise and tension your shoulders high and hold them in this position for 5-6 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise.

5. Open your jaws, grit your teeth and frown for 5-6 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise.

6. Wide, as for a smile, open your lips and raise your eyebrows for 5-6 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise.

Relax completely, close your eyes and take 5-6 deep exhalations and boldly open your eyes. Excessive adrenaline after these exercises will be neutralized. If necessary, repeat the exercises after a while.

Resistance to physical manifestations of stress best increases jogging, as it not only trains the heart and blood vessels, but also perfectly alleviates anxiety. The whole civilized world in the morning runs from stress to longevity.

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