Advice to a person who lives in anxiety. Using psychological tactics to deal with anxiety

Did you know that anxiety is the most common psychological problem? Women are sixty percent more likely to experience anxiety. Even if you are not familiar with this disorder, you probably know what stress is. All people worry from time to time. It would be useful to learn how to cope with constant stress.

What is anxiety?

Simply put, anxiety is the body's reaction to a dangerous or unfamiliar situation. She may appear before significant events such as a job interview, an upcoming exam, or a move. Often different people this condition manifests itself in different ways. In many cases, there are no outward symptoms. The most anxious people are often outwardly calm and able to control themselves. As a result, they don't realize how much they worry. Everyday anxiety can manifest itself through a variety of symptoms: agitation, inability to relax, frustration, rapid heart rate, sweating, rapid breathing, insomnia, trouble concentrating. In addition, anxiety is often accompanied by feelings of panic and fear that are difficult to manage. An anxiety disorder can take a toll on your life: you have to fight with yourself even to leave the house. If you recognize yourself in such a description, you should get acquainted with ways to resolve this situation.

Confess to yourself your feelings

It may seem strange, but admitting one's anxiety is more effective method fix the situation rather than trying to ignore what is happening. People with anxiety try to cope with their feelings, which only makes them feel worse. Allow yourself to experience your fear and it will disappear. It will empower you. If you always hide your feelings, you only exacerbate the problem. Anxiety is not your fault, you should not be ashamed of it.

get enough sleep

It is difficult to pinpoint the link between sleep problems and anxiety unambiguously. Anxiety can interfere with sleep, but insomnia can also cause anxiety. Researchers have found that sleep deprivation wakes up areas of the brain that cause anxiety. Good night sleep improves overall health and helps fight stress. Create a calming routine for yourself in the evenings to set yourself up for sleep. Try to get seven to nine hours of sleep every day.

Nourish your body

A healthy diet will not cure anxiety, but it may well make you feel better and lift your spirits. A diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and fruits is a great solution. Complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly, which means they help maintain a stable blood sugar level. When you eat also matters. Don't skip meals, as falling blood sugar can exacerbate anxiety. You will benefit from foods rich in magnesium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and B vitamins.

start moving

According to some studies, regular physical activity can work as effectively as medication in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Aerobic exercise reduces tension in the body and increases the level of protective substances. Physical activity can greatly help people with psychological problems. In addition, sports help the brain fight stress, reduce fatigue, help you concentrate and improve sleep. After five minutes of exercise, you will notice a positive effect. If you're starting to worry, try giving yourself a workout.

Give up alcohol

Often people with anxiety turn to alcohol for help. It can really help to forget about anxiety, but then it leads to problems such as alcoholism, if the cause of unrest is not eliminated. This method of self-treatment does not work. This is an attempt to fix everything with temporary measures, worsening the situation in the long run. People often do not seek the help of a psychologist because they are embarrassed. Instead, they use alcohol and drugs. A few hours after drinking alcohol, the feeling of depression only increases. If you drink daily, you should consult a doctor.

Go out into nature

People who live in the city are twenty-one percent more likely to experience anxiety and thirty-nine percent more likely to experience mood disorders. It turns out that the areas of the brain that regulate emotions are especially active in urban dwellers. Spending time in nature reduces stress, releases anger and fear, improves mood, and relieves pain. You do not even need to go to the park - just look at nature through the window. If you feel anxious, take a walk around.

Practice Mindfulness

When you're anxious, it's easy to give in to your thoughts. Try to be aware of the present. Studies have shown that this helps to shift the focus of attention from internal experiences to the world.
Anxiety can interfere with a person's ability to learn or perform various tasks. Meditation is very simple: you need to find a quiet place, close your eyes and focus on your breath.

Write it all down in a diary

You can also just express emotions on paper. It helps to solve the problem by giving some structure to the thoughts and organizing them. As a result, you will be able to sleep better, feel better, and lead a more fulfilling life. You don't even have to devote a lot of time to the diary to see a positive effect. Start with fifteen minutes a day, don't worry about grammar or punctuation. Just watch your emotions. The diary can then be thrown away or burned, or you can save it.

Laugh out loud

It turns out that laughter can be a real cure. Laughter relieves tension, increases the amount of oxygen in the body, lowers blood pressure and stimulates the production of endorphins. Just watch a funny video or spend time with kids who laugh more than adults.

Breathe deep

Your breathing greatly affects your condition. The rate of breathing allows the body to understand that something is wrong. If you are worried, you breathe faster and the body prepares for an alarming situation. Control your breathing, use the diaphragm when inhaling. This will help you think more clearly and be less anxious. Deep breathing fills the body with endorphins, slows the heartbeat and lowers blood pressure. Try placing your hand on your stomach, just above your belly button. After that, try to slowly inhale so that the stomach slowly increases. If you do everything right, neither your shoulders nor your chest will move when you inhale. Take a few deep breaths and you can feel yourself calm down. This is a simple technique that helps many people.

Ask for help

Think of these tips as simple instructions on how to take care of yourself. You can forget about yourself when you have a huge responsibility. This should not be allowed if you do not want to succumb to disturbing thoughts. If your anxiety is affecting your everyday life or makes you suffer, perhaps the disorder is too serious and all the above tips will not help to overcome it. In this case, you will need the intervention of a professional. If you simply cannot bear the anxiety, contact a crisis psychologist.

If the feeling of fear and anxiety arises about specific things and events, it is easier to deal with them. Of course, such fears are accompanied discomfort which bring inconvenience to life, but the object of fear is at least understandable.

A person feels completely different if an unreasonable fear rolls over him, for which there is no explanation. Some women, for example, are afraid to communicate with strangers. Or being alone in an empty apartment. There can be many manifestations of anxiety.

When unreasonable fear enters everyday life, it interferes with focus on business, bringing disappointment and contributing to failure in personal life.

If a person feels a threat to his existence, fear is the norm. Healthy anxiety is a natural reaction to danger, which allows you to mobilize in a critical situation and find a reasonable solution. The peculiarity of unaccountable fear is that it is very difficult to control it, since there is no apparent reason for its appearance.

Anxiety and fear are very similar. Even the reactions of the organism that accompany these phenomena are the same. And yet anxiety and a sense of fear have significant differences.

Anxiety is a vague feeling of fear that arises in response to an unknown threat. It is usually not the result of facing a specific and tangible danger. Life experience and intuition often help to anticipate a possible threat, even in situations where anxiety is pointless. Assumptions are usually the basis of feelings of anxiety and uneasiness.

But fear is a pronounced emotional reaction to the specific appearance of a threat. It appears when the danger is specific, real and has a clear object that causes negative emotions. When it comes to unreasonable fear, most often it means a feeling of vague and unconscious anxiety about the general life situation.

How to overcome anxiety and fear

Take a breather. It happens that the feeling of anxiety that has appeared does not allow to think soberly. Physiological signs of fear also interfere with this: under the influence of adrenaline, the heartbeat quickens, palms sweat, panic attacks may appear, thoughts begin to get confused and rush about.

It is at this point that you need to take time out to find peace on a physical level. To do this, just take a short walk near the house, take a soothing bath or drink a cup of fragrant and tonic tea.

If you can't control the panic right away, try taking deep, slow breaths. Place your palms on your stomach and take a few full breaths in and out, fully concentrating on them. A few minutes of such slow breathing can relieve the body's response to stress associated with anxiety and panic.

Now take a rational approach to solving the problem that your concerns relate to. If anxiety is related to a particular situation, the outcome of which is not entirely clear to you, try to imagine the worst-case scenario. If business meeting or a date with a young man will not go quite smoothly, will the world turn upside down from this?

Often, a rational understanding of the results of a future event can significantly reduce anxiety, relieve a panic attack and a sense of anxiety.

But fear is not always tied to a specific event or object. good remedy relieve the symptoms of unconscious fear and anxiety is controlled visualization. You will need to close your eyes and mentally imagine yourself in a quiet and safe place. It can be a seashore or a corner of a garden, a forest glade or a flowering meadow bathed in the sun. Positive emotions, which causes mental contemplation of yourself in such an environment, will allow you to feel more relaxed and calm.

If you are experiencing constant feeling fear, speak your feelings out loud. Share your fears and concerns with someone you trust. It is best if this is a qualified psychologist or psychotherapist who can assess the level of your situational and personal anxiety and offer professional psychological support.

Anxiety can rob you of sleep, peace, joy in life, and even health. Therefore, it is important to be able to suppress this feeling in yourself as best as possible, without giving it an outlet and further development. Some people may think that it is almost impossible to control their anxiety, although this is absolutely not the case. There are a number of pretty practical advice and ways to help manage feelings of anxiety.

It is important to understand that all methods can be radically different from each other, because some of them will help to cope with anxiety and anxiety quickly and effectively, while others will not have any effect. Therefore, if some technique, exercise or method did not affect you, it is worth trying something else until you find the maximum effective solution for you personally.

#1 - Self Control

It is hardly possible to completely get rid of the feeling of anxiety. In addition, this is one of the defense mechanisms of the psyche, which cannot be called completely bad or unnecessary. However, with an excessive increase in anxiety, when it covers you completely and develops into panic, nothing good should be expected. With this state you need to fight and the easiest way is self-control. Try not to allow further development of anxiety, although not all people manage to do this with one effort of will.

#2 - Deep breathing

Many films teach us how to cope with anxiety and anxiety, although not always people attach importance to such “advice”. However, the most simple and even banal way to calm down in almost any situation is breathing. Start inhaling deeply without holding back oxygen. Do this evenly and at the same pace, and after 30 seconds you will be able to see that all anxiety is gone, and thoughts become much clearer. Oxygenating the brain cells has a calming effect, which can be a great solution in many situations. Moreover, this method is completely simple and absolutely free.

#3 - The Asylum Principle

This method is based on psychic binding objects and works great for many people. Its essence is to associate the state of calm with some object, and it does not have to be physical. For some, it will be a favorite key chain, belt buckle, hair, or any other object or thing that contact will reduce anxiety. Psychologists call this "refuge." Moreover, for some people, such a “refuge” can be either a song or a counting rhyme, or some kind of fictional picture, for example, a deserted beach.

#4 – Use Exercises

Psychologists often recommend a number of different exercises that will help get rid of anxiety and unnecessary worries. Of course, most of them require at least a minimum of practice to master, but this method has long proven its effectiveness. There are dozens of such exercises, so you can always choose what you like.

#5 – Anxiety will not help you deal with problems

It often happens that instead of finding solutions to complex and problematic situations, people begin to feed their anxiety, further increasing it and worsening their condition. Although this method will not teach you how to get rid of anxiety in a matter of seconds, it will be a great solution for avoiding excessive anxiety.

Try to understand what anxiety is as a tool, and whether it can help in your case. Also try to imagine what consequences this feeling can lead to if you do not control it. In this way, you will be able to logically prioritize and realize that anxiety will only lead to a panic state, which is undesirable in any situation.

#6 - Visualization

This method does not work for everyone, but for some it will be a great helper in the fight against anxiety. Moreover, you can use it as you like, the main thing is that it works. To begin with, try to imagine the cause of your anxiety in the form of a material object that you can get rid of in your thoughts. If necessary, you can even imagine it in the form of a physical object, but only one that you can throw away without regrets. Also great for any cookware.

In addition to the psychological release of anxiety in the case of "tying" it to an object, breaking cups and plates in itself is an excellent stress reliever. Of course, breaking all the dishes is not worth it, but sometimes one plate can be sacrificed in order to preserve health, nerves and avoid many problems associated with growing anxiety.

#7 - Find the Root of All Troubles

This is truly universal advice for many problems related to the psycho-emotional state. Nevertheless, he has proven himself in practice. Try to start looking for the cause of what is causing you anxiety. As a rule, this is an uncontrollable feeling that grows only because the person allows it or even provokes it.

By trying to find the root of all problems, you can deal with it as efficiently as possible, and sometimes only understanding itself will allow you to achieve your goal. Therefore, in such situations, try not to lose your temper and think rationally, analyzing everything that happens to you. Of course, many people may not succeed right away, but over time, having mastered this method, you will forget about what anxiety over trifles is.

Today we will talk about what anxiety is and how to deal with it. If you often feel psychological discomfort, uncertainty about the future and your strengths, mood swings, anxiety, then you are probably faced with anxiety. But without correction of the condition, it can turn into anxiety. "What is the difference?" - you ask. Read on.

Anxiety is a stable personality trait, while anxiety is a temporary state (emotion). If traumatic situations are repeated frequently, negative factors constantly influence, then uncertainty and anxiety become permanent, which significantly worsens the quality of life. Anxiety is manageable and measurable. But as always, first things first.

Description of the phenomenon

The specificity of anxiety depends on age. At the heart of its occurrence is the dissatisfaction with the actual needs of the individual, which also differ from the age and worldview of a person.

So, for example, for an early age, the leading need is communication with the mother. For preschoolers - the need for independence. For elementary school - the need to be significant. For teenagers - to engage in socially significant activities and, according to other experts, interpersonal communication with peers. For young men and in the future - professional and personal self-realization.

Thus, the object of anxiety may differ depending on the age. So, for example, if at an early age a child is hard to endure separation from his mother, then in primary school anxiety can be provoked by failure in studies, and in adolescence - rejection by the class. However, the needs for food, safety, and sleep remain relevant for everyone.

In response to anxiety, protection and compensation mechanisms are always included. Unleashed anxiety provokes the development of states of panic and despair. It destroys personality.

By tradition, I want to outline a few key facts that will better convey to you the essence of the phenomenon:

1. Anxiety is a reaction to fear (real or potential), a situation that is dangerous for the individual (in his understanding).
2. Anxiety is a sign of unwell personality, internal discord.
3. Anxiety is accompanied by increased concentration of attention and excessive motor activity.
4. Anxiety can be situational (emotion) and personal (quality).
5. Anxiety is more prone to people with mental and somatic disorders, deviations in behavior or development; experienced a psychologically traumatic situation.
6. If it’s normal to experience anxiety sometimes, then anxiety needs to be dealt with.
7. If the object (darkness, loneliness) is clearly known, then it is fear. Anxiety has no clear boundaries, although it is closely related to the first definition.
8. Manifestations of anxiety are ambiguous, reactions are individual.
9. There is a concept of useful anxiety. This is her level necessary for the development of personality. We are talking, for example, about an attack on the values ​​of an individual, without which he will not be a person in his own mind. That is, speaking exaggeratedly, it will cease to live and begin to exist. Normal and useful anxiety occurs in response to a real threat, is not a form of suppression internal conflict, does not cause a defense reaction, can be eliminated by an arbitrary change in the situation or by one's attitude towards it.

It is worth noting that anxiety can only be a motivator in adolescence and older. Before that, it can only have a destructive disorganizing effect. At the same time, until adolescence, anxiety is more characteristic of a situational character (for example, fear of getting a deuce for a control), and starting from puberty, it is personal. That is, anxiety becomes a quality of personality not earlier than adolescence. If we talk about what is easier to correct, then, of course, situational anxiety.

At the level of neural processes in the brain, anxiety is the simultaneous activation of the ergotropic and trophotropic systems, that is, the simultaneous operation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The body receives simultaneously opposite reactions, for example, an increase in heart rate (sympathetic) and slowing down (parasympathetic). At the same time, the sympathetic system still somewhat dominates. From what phenomena arise:

• hyperreactivity;
• anxiety;
• salivation and so on.

Features of the behavior of a highly anxious person

The person himself is not always aware of the problem, and it is difficult to notice anxiety from the outside. Especially if it is masked, compensation occurs or turns on defense mechanism. However, there are several characteristic differences between an anxious person:

1. Overly emotional reactions to failure.
2. Decreased performance in stressful situations or on short notice.
3. Fear of failure overriding desire for success.
4. The situation of success serves as an incentive and motivation for activity, the situation of failure - "kills".
5. The perception of the entire surrounding world or many objects as dangerous, although subjectively this is not the case.

Low-anxiety personalities have opposite characteristics. So, for example, situations of failure serve as a greater motivator for them than success. However, low anxiety back side medals, it is also dangerous for the individual.

More obvious reactions of the body are somatic signs. At high level Anxiety is noted:

• skin abnormalities (itching, rash);
• changes in the functioning of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, tachycardia);
• respiratory dysfunction (shortness of breath, asphyxia);
• dyspeptic disorders (diarrhea, heartburn, flatulence, constipation, dry mouth);
• genital-urinary reactions (disturbance of the cycle in women, impotence in men, frequent urination, pain);
• vasomotor phenomena (sweating);
• problems of the musculoskeletal system (pain, lack of coordination, stiffness).

An anxious person tends to be professional and emotional burnout, more pronounced awareness of traumatic factors and dangers (for example, the profession of a surgeon); dissatisfied with oneself, life, profession; feels hopelessness, "cornered", "caged"; depressive.

Causes of anxiety

Anxiety often begins in childhood. Possible factors causing this phenomenon include:

• the inconsistency of the positions of parents, parents and teachers, management at work, their own attitudes and actions (the result in each case is an intrapersonal conflict);
• high expectations (setting the “bars” too high for yourself or excessive demands of parents, for example, the popular “study perfectly”);
• situations of dependence and humiliation (“If you tell who broke the window, then I will forgive you for last absenteeism from school and will not tell my parents anything”);
• deprivation, dissatisfaction of urgent needs;
• awareness of the discrepancy between capabilities and abilities;
• social, financial or professional instability, instability.

Types of anxiety

Every body reacts differently to constant anxiety. Based on this, several types of anxiety can be distinguished:

1. Conscious uncontrollable. Disorganizes a person's life.
2. Conscious controlled and compensated. Serves as an incentive to perform activities. But often it works only in familiar situations.
3. Conscious cultivated anxiety. A person uses his position and seeks profit, often it is about manipulation.
4. Unconscious hidden. Ignored or denied by the individual, may be manifested by separate motor actions (for example, curling hair).
5. Unconscious compensatory-protective. A person tries to convince himself that everything is fine. "I'm alright! I do not need help!"
6. Avoidance of situations of anxiety. If anxiety is all-encompassing, then often such a departure is immersion in a virtual network or addictions, subcultures, that is, a departure from reality.

School anxiety, ways to deal with childhood anxiety

During the period of receiving basic education, school anxiety is common. It may occur against the background of:

• incorrectly designed or designed educational environment (premises, zones, objects);
• dysfunctional relationships with classmates, teachers or other participants in the educational process;
• large loads within educational program, high requirements, frequent exams, rating-point system;
• lack of forces and time arising from the previous factor;
• incorrect behavior of parents (destructive parenting style, high or low expectations and requirements);
• school changes.

In adolescence (middle and senior school age), failures in social interactions (peers, teachers, parents) come to the fore. In younger children school age- problems in educational activities.

Correction of anxiety (both school and situational, personal) in children involves several areas:

1. Parent education. The purpose of the work is to improve their psychological and pedagogical literacy. It is important to understand the role of parenting style on anxiety, which refers to the nature of demands and expectations. Secondly, parents need to understand the influence of their emotional state on the emotions of the child. The third component is the parents' faith in the child.
2. Enlightenment and, if necessary, correction of the behavior of the teacher (the same is true for parents in home schooling). It is necessary to avoid public punishments, not to focus on mistakes as something terrible (one learns from mistakes, they are useful and necessary). As in the first paragraph, do not convey your anxiety, do not “pour out” rubbish and problems on the child. Interact with parents. Conduct action reflection.
3. Working with children themselves. Creating situations of success, working out mistakes and situations, discussing exciting topics.

Diagnosis of anxiety

1. For the diagnosis of adults, I want to advise the Spielberger questionnaire. The technique most accurately, in my opinion, allows you to deal with the nature of anxiety. You answer 40 judgments (“yes” or “no”, how true it is for you), and as a result you get a clearly measured level of personal and situational anxiety. At a high level, it is recommended to work on increasing confidence in one's own success, at a low level - on activity and motivation.
2. School anxiety can be measured using the Phillips questionnaire. This is an extensive diagnostic that identifies the factors (causes) of anxiety, which is very important for further work. The child answers the statements of the methodology (how true they are in relation to him), then the results are interpreted according to the “key”. The technique allows you to determine general anxiety, the experience of social stress at the moment, worries about an unmet need for success, fear of self-expression, fear of situations of testing knowledge, fear of not meeting the expectations of others, low level physical ability to withstand stress, problems in relationships with the teacher.

Anxiety Correction

In the fight against anxiety, it is important to take into account its nature (disorganizer or motivator), causes and type. At the same time, personality traits and the possibilities of its environment play an important role.

Dealing with anxiety on your own is difficult. Even when a specialist works with a client, a wall of resistance often arises, psychological barriers. Even if the client wants to get rid of anxiety, he still often resists. The desire to help is perceived as an attack on safety and the comfort zone, which, despite the name, means “the habitual zone”. In this case, familiar does not mean comfortable.

Anxiety is closely related to shyness and withdrawal. Usually the latter occur against the background of the first phenomenon. However, the opposite also happens.

Thus, to reduce the level of anxiety, you need to work on self-confidence, the formation of adequate self-esteem, getting rid of shyness. If you, dear reader, are forced to deal with anxiety yourself, then here are some general tips for you:

1. Don't worry about what didn't happen.
2. Cultivate a focus on compromise, cooperation, mutual assistance.
3. Take care of your psychophysical state. For example, make it a rule to do morning exercises, not to stay late at work, learn to say “no” or vice versa to help.
4. Love yourself. Do not be afraid to create comfortable conditions for yourself.
5. Improve your communication skills, learn how to communicate, how to overcome conflicts.
6. Learn self-regulation. A banal example is to count to yourself to 10.
7. Never shut yourself up.
8. Find an "outlet". Every person and even an animal should have its own place of safety and pleasure. You have to know that no matter what, you have this place (hobby, people). And even if everything “collapses” around you, there you will find peace and support.
9. Figure out what your anxiety is. Usually it is a complex of emotions, among which fear is a constant component. Options such as "fear, shame, and guilt" or "fear, guilt, and anger" may occur.

Please remember main principle anxiety. The more you worry, the more the quality of the activity suffers. This further develops anxiety. Yes, it's a vicious circle. It literally needs to be torn apart.

As part of the psychological correction of anxiety, an important role is given to self-regulation. The following methods are effective:

• switching (“it will be tomorrow, but today I will not think about it and read this book”);
• distraction (removal from the disturbing factor due to willpower);
• decrease in significance (“This is just a report. Yes, it is of a public nature, but I am confident in my abilities, I can explain every phrase and figure. This is just a story about the work done. The same as there have already been many on paper”);
• thinking over plan B (you can’t deviate from the goal, as they say, “there are 33 letters in the alphabet, which means you have 33 plans”);
• making additional inquiries (you were given an unfamiliar address - find it on the map, view the visualization of the streets, find landmarks);
• physical warm-up (sport relieves stress and fatigue, relaxes the brain, increases its activity, contributes to the development of new ideas and fresh views on the situation);
• temporary postponement of the goal with the modernization of the plan for its achievement, that is, the inclusion of new stages (for example, take courses to improve skills);
• playing previous situations of success and self-pride or just positive pleasant moments.

Well, one last thing. Look at anxiety as a waste of time, energy, and fantasy. If you want to invent - write, draw, compose. Or think of a new job.

Try to write down on a sheet of anxiety that you experienced at least six months ago. You probably don't remember. Or write down your current anxieties and read them in a month. Most likely, none of them will come true, and then you will realize that you thought up in vain.

There is no point in worrying, you need to solve problems or change your attitude. Toothache - cure, remove, it's snowing - put on warm shoes.

Results

Anxiety determines the behavior of the individual. The most dangerous consequence is the phenomenon of learned helplessness. That is, a person’s clear conviction of his own inadequacy (“I won’t succeed, and it’s not worth trying”, “I won’t be able to become an announcer, since I can’t even read well”). Personal and professional life suffers from this, a person cannot fully enter society and establish an independent life.

They seek to give their lives into someone else's hands and go with the flow. Often such people live with their parents or find someone for a "symbiosis". It is even worse when they take the role of a victim and tolerate a tyrant next to them, for example, in the form of a spouse. Against the background of anxiety, neuroses often also develop.

The main weapon in the fight against anxiety is self-awareness, that is, the self-concept. This is a person's idea of ​​himself. Thus, to get rid of anxiety, you need to work on yourself. The self-concept includes a cognitive, evaluative and behavioral component. You need to work on everything that has a "self" element:

• self-esteem,
• self-confidence,
• self control,
• self-regulation,
• self-guidance,
• self-acceptance,
• self-criticism,
• self-worth.

Thus, we are talking about personal growth and finding the meaning of life, identifying yourself and your place in society.

An indefinite and undecided person is more prone to anxiety. And it, in turn, destroys the “self” even more. To get rid of anxiety, you need to live, not exist. To be a unique person with clear beliefs, plans, guidelines. Thus, you need to work on your worldview, paint life plans (for a month, a year, five years, ten). Do not think whether it will work or not, what will happen. Just act, being confident in your strengths and capabilities (of course, plans and goals must be real). Difficulties will always arise, there is no perfect moment. But appealing to strengths all barriers can be overcome.

Thank you for attention! Good luck. I believe in you!

Surely, every person in this world is familiar with the feeling of anxiety.

• When an important presentation is at stake and it is vital to show yourself and your work from the best side ...
• When there is a serious conversation “to cleanliness” ...
• When you're late for an important meeting...
• When the situation at the moment seems so confusing that you absolutely do not know what to expect in the future ...

... in such and many other circumstances, as a rule, there is a feeling of tension, impending danger and uncertainty, nervousness and concern.

At such moments, it can be felt and experienced as fear (both on an emotional and bodily level), but in this case, anxiety and fear are pointless and generalized. After all, the threat is implicit. And nothing directly threatens our security at the moment! But we are not calm. All these experiences are called anxiety.

Anxiety: what is it?

Exists situational anxiety as a person's response to a certain life situation, which causes a feeling of uncertainty, anxiety about its outcome, etc., and personal anxiety, as certain personality traits called "anxiety" (the tendency to focus one's attention on possible troubles, difficulties, the inability to stay in the "here and now" situation, the mental living of situations in the future).

Both types of anxiety can have different levels of severity (from low to high) and bring different degrees of discomfort to a person.

How to get rid of feelings of anxiety?

Therefore, the purpose of this article is to consider existing methods deal with feelings of anxiety.

It is very important to be able to return yourself to the present, reducing the level of tension and not always justified anxiety.

As a rule, when asked how you cope with anxiety, people respond: “I drink a sedative”, “I start doing something fussy to distract myself, to occupy myself with something”, “I switch my attention to something else”, “I drink some alcohol. It's relaxing".

Perhaps these methods reduce anxiety, but, as a rule, their action is short-lived and in addition, they also have side effects and can only exacerbate the problem in the future.

more constructive and effective ways in the fight against anxiety are relaxation techniques.

They help to relax, restore the feeling of the body, which means bringing the “here and now” closer, letting go of the situation and feeling calm.

And now more about each of them.

• Breathing techniques

Usually, when we feel anxiety, our breathing, as with a feeling of fear, becomes uneven, then quickening, then interrupted.

Breathing techniques help to normalize it, making it even and calm.

They are also good because their implementation does not require any specific place and time. They can be used both in private and in public places.

The first exercise in this category is belly breathing.

To do this, you need to put one hand on your stomach and start breathing. When inhaling, the stomach should inflate, when exhaling, it should deflate.

Focus your attention on the hand that rises and falls with the breath. To regain a calm state, 40-50 such movements are enough.

The next exercise has a similar mechanism, but it is proposed to raise with the help of breathing not a hand, but a tennis ball, however, not in reality, but mentally.

With each inhalation, it is worth imagining how the ball rises, and when you exhale, it falls! Up down. The ball moves slowly and smoothly, then gaining height, then losing it.

Concentrating on what is happening inside and distracting from the outside world will also help conscious breathing.

Its essence is very simple, you need to close your eyes and mentally imagine how the air that you inhale is alternately inhaled by one or the other nostril, and the opposite is exhaled in turn.

At the end, imagine how both nostrils are involved in both inhalation and exhalation! And after a couple of minutes you will notice how you begin to calm down and feel relaxed.

Imaging technique

It is a way to relax by conjuring up a certain image.

Try to find in your memory such an image that brings you a feeling of bliss, joy, peace.

Perhaps these will be sea waves, which, either increasing or decreasing their amplitude, hit the shore or rocks. They accelerate, break out, and then again quietly go deep into the sea, becoming part of it.

Or maybe you imagine a field, endless. with high green, juicy grass. Soft and very pleasant. And behind it the sun begins to hide. Huge, bright red, but no longer scorching, but calm, giving its beauty goodbye.

It can be your individual image (flower, cloud, fluff, bird). Anything, but, most importantly, close to you.

Having called this image in your imagination, consider it. Try to pay attention to all the details, listening to your feelings.

Call this image as often as possible and at some point the body itself will relax as soon as you return to this image.

Nobody canceled muscle memory!

Relaxation through tension.

This technique is based on a simple physiological pattern: after muscle tension, their relaxation always follows.

To do this, you need to strain different parts of your body, and then release the tension.

Start with the following: tightly clench your hand into a fist and hold this tension for a while. Then let go.

Repeat the same with the elbow. Concentrate all your attention on this movement. Extend your arm very sharply. It should look like a thread that has hung. Pay attention to the sensations in your body.

Similar relaxation can be done with other parts of the body: for example, legs, shoulders.

To relax your legs, you need to take a sitting position and raise your legs, pointing your feet towards you. When you're tense, let go.

To relax your shoulders, pull them as high as possible towards your ears. Hold in this position for a couple of minutes - release.

The described techniques will help to “break the contact” of the body and consciousness and release the existing muscle clamps, normalize your internal state.

It is also important to remember that these are not the only relaxation techniques of their kind. You can and should look for those that will be most comfortable and effective for you.

And when you learn to use them without special efforts, and if you do it regularly, you will notice how much less time and effort you will spend on anxiety and worry, and how much more energy will appear in you.

When you are relaxed, you are in the present! In the moment "here and now"! And then, you can enjoy it, and not overshadow this moment with thoughts and feelings, intimidating yourself, scolding and horrifying from the expectation of something terrible and irreparable!

Choose real!