Five effective ways to relieve stress. Basic methods of dealing with stress

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Think about it and honestly tell yourself how susceptible you are to stress and how well do you deal with it? Identifying symptoms such as fatigue at the beginning of the working day, irritation, impatience, insomnia, anxiety over any little things, and anxiety in general will help clarify the answer. Do you often hear the phrase from friends and family: “It’s time for you to rest and relax,” but do not react to such remarks? If you easily recognize yourself in the previous sentences, it’s time to learn how to relieve tension through relaxation exercises.

And if this topic seems interesting to you, and you want to develop even more in it, we recommend, where you will learn real practical techniques for self-motivation, stress management and social adaptation in order to always control your emotional and mental state.

As you begin to practice various relaxation techniques, remember the following. Learning the basics of relaxation techniques is not difficult, but it does take time and some effort. Most experts recommend exercising at least 10-20 minutes a day. Those attending special sessions to relieve stress spend 30-60 minutes. Start small, and individual elements of the exercises can be performed right at your desk, in transport, at a bus stop.

Top 3 ways to relieve tension:

Complex 1. Breathing exercises

Deep breathing allows you to relax, regardless of the thoughts that overcome a person. It is not for nothing that in films, when police or doctors arrive at the scene, they advise victims to first of all breathe deeply and evenly. In stressful situations, breathing quickens and the body lacks oxygen. Deep breathing promotes the flow of this vital gas into the brain and all cells in the required volumes.

Exercises:

• Inhale and exhale slowly and deeply through your nose, counting from 1 to 4 as you inhale and exhale. This exercise is very easy to do, and it is especially effective if you cannot sleep.
• Try relaxing your shoulders and upper chest muscles as you breathe. Do this consciously with each exhalation. The fact is that in stressful situations, when a person is tense, the diaphragm muscles are not used for breathing. Their purpose is to lower the lungs down, thereby expanding the airways. When we are excited, the muscles of the upper chest and shoulders are more often used, which do not contribute to the full functioning of the respiratory system.
• Nadi Shodhana. A yoga exercise that helps you become more active and focused; According to experts, it acts like a cup of coffee. With the thumb of your right hand, you need to close the right nostril and inhale deeply through the left (for women, on the contrary, close the left nostril with your left hand and inhale through the right). At the peak of inhalation, you need to close your left (right for women) nostril with your ring finger and exhale.
• Sit up straight or lie on your back. Place one hand on your stomach, the other on your chest. Inhale air deeply through your nose, while the hand on your stomach should rise and the hand on your chest should move only slightly. Exhale through your mouth, while the hand on your stomach again drops, and on your chest practically does not move. In this case, breathing will occur using the diaphragm.

Complex 2. Muscle relaxation

The progressive muscle relaxation technique was developed by the American doctor E. Jacobson in the 1920s. It is based on a simple physiological fact: after tension of any muscle, a period of automatic relaxation begins. Taking this into account, a technique was developed according to which, in order to achieve deep relaxation of the body, you first need to strongly tense your muscles for 10-15 seconds, and then concentrate on the feeling of relaxation that arises in them for 15-20 seconds.

Exercises:

• Start by focusing on your breathing for a few minutes. Breathe slowly and calmly, think about something pleasant. After this, you can begin muscle exercises, working on different muscle groups.
• Hands. Squeeze your hand as tightly and tightly as possible. You should feel tension in your hand and forearm. Relax your hand as you exhale, concentrating on the feeling of relief that arises. Repeat the same for the other hand. If you are right-handed, you should start with your right hand, if you are left-handed, start with your left.
• Neck. Tilt your head back, slowly turn it from side to side, then relax. Pull your shoulder joints high towards your ears and in this position tilt your chin towards your chest.
• Face. Raise your eyebrows as high as possible, open your mouth wide (as if you are pretending to be very surprised). Close your eyes tightly, frown and wrinkle your nose. Clench your jaw tightly and move the corners of your mouth back.
• Breast. Take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds, then relax and return to normal breathing.
• Back and stomach. Tighten your abdominal muscles, squeeze your shoulder blades together and arch your back.
• Legs. Tighten the front and back muscles of your thighs, keeping your knee in a tense, bent position. Pull your foot towards you as much as possible and straighten your toes. Extend your ankle joint and flex your toes.

Do 3-4 repetitions of the complex. Each time you rest a newly tense muscle, notice how good it feels and how relaxed you feel. It helps many people cope with stress and anxiety.

Complex 3. Meditation

The most general definition of the concept of “meditation” in psychological dictionaries is: “a method of mental training in which intense, penetrating reflection occurs, immersion in an object, an idea, which is achieved by concentrating on one object.” The recommendations collected in this block concern how to conduct a visual meditation session on your own. Visual meditation is a variation of traditional meditation that is based on the use of not only visual meanings, but also the senses: taste, touch, smell and sound. When used as a relaxation technique, visualization involves imagining a scene in which you feel free from tension and anxiety.

Set of exercises:

1. Choose a quiet and secluded place, with nothing to distract you. Find a comfortable position. It is not recommended to lie down; it is better to sit on the floor, in a chair, or try sitting in the lotus position.
2. Select a focal point. It can be internal - an imaginary scene, or external - a candle flame. Therefore, the eyes can be open or closed. At the beginning, it is very difficult to concentrate and avoid distracting thoughts, so the focus point should have a strong meaning, understandable and clear, so that you can return to it at any time.
3. The focal point should definitely be something calming for you. It could be a tropical beach at sunset, a forest clearing, or an orchard in a village near your grandparents’ house, where you visited as a child. Visual meditation can be done in silence, or you can turn on relaxing music or an audio recording with meditation tips.
4. Try to use all your senses as much as possible. For example, your focal point is a forest. Imagine that you are walking through a clearing, and cold dew falls on your feet, you hear the singing of many birds, smell the pine, breathe in the clean air deeply. The picture should be as lively as possible. Meditate for 15-20 minutes.

Remember, relaxation will not save you from problems, but it will help you relax and distract yourself from unimportant details, so that later you can tackle the solution with renewed vigor.

Stress is the body’s defensive reaction to a difficult, uncomfortable situation. The condition is accompanied by internal tension, increased anxiety and a feeling of fear.

Relieve stress at home

They get rid of stress symptoms through psychoanalysis and techniques that patients perform at home, on the way to work or at the workplace. Folk recipes will help relieve nervous tension: safe tinctures and natural-based products do not cause side effects.

Stress and psycho-emotional tension

Stress is a state consisting of a complex of negative internal processes. Tension is individual moments that arise due to stress factors and entail serious consequences for the further development of a person.

These concepts indicate the psychological state of a person. Psycho-emotional stress causes physical and mental stress, characterized by a partial loss of control: in this state, a person overcomes difficulties without being sure of the result of his actions. Stress is the body’s reaction to factors that, for a number of reasons, the human mind perceives as overwhelming difficulties that cannot be overcome.

Types of nervous tension

Nervous excitation is characterized by a load on the central nervous system. In a state of stress, a person does not relax: at night he is tormented by nightmares, and in the morning he feels tired and apathetic. The nervous system does not recover. Mental stress changes the behavior of an individual, making a person aggressive and isolated from others. For convenience, there are two types of extreme mental stress:

1. The inhibitory type is expressed in a person’s low adaptation to new conditions, when he cannot adapt to the assigned tasks at work and the requirements in the family. His reactions are inhibited and inadequate in relation to the situation.
2. Excessive forms of mental stress (excitable type) are expressed in a change in the behavior of the individual: he withdraws from his usual habitat, becomes withdrawn and uncommunicative. Mental overstrain leads to rapid mood swings. This type of tension is characterized by increased aggression of a person who has experienced severe stress.
3. Excessive or prohibitive forms of mental stress arise due to hypermobilization of the body (a person experiences an emotional breakdown).
4. Exorbitant forms disrupt coordination of movement. Due to tension, confusion appears and concentration decreases.

Stress, tension, aggression

Symptoms of psycho-emotional problems

Nervous fatigue is reflected in a person’s behavior. His attitude to life, behavior and society changes. Symptoms of nervous tension:

• lethargy;
• apathy;
• inhibition of reactions;
• increased anxiety;
• depression;
• manic behavior (a person is focused on one task).

The symptoms and treatment of nervous tension are similar to stress relief methods. The primary goal is to reduce the level of anxiety and combat the main cause of this condition. Without medications, tension decreases gradually through an increase in a person’s activity and correction of his behavior.

Every symptom of nervous tension is accompanied by exhaustion of the human mind and body. Nutrition is disrupted, muscle tone decreases - the personality literally weakens before our eyes. A sign of problems in the body that arise against the background of mental stress: arrhythmia, hypertension, infectious diseases (malfunctions of the immune system), disturbances in the functioning of the intestines (constipation, diarrhea, increased flatulence).

How to relieve tension

Methods for relieving psychological stress directly depend on the condition of the affected person. Anti-anxiety pills and psychotropic medications are prescribed by a doctor in cases where exercise and regular techniques do not produce positive results. Psychocorrection is a safe technique for adults and children.

Psychological counseling and psychocorrection

The state of mental tension consists of physical reactions that can be learned to control. The method for home use is based on the correction of the body's reactions. Through breathing exercises a person learns to control fear, and exercises against tension help to concentrate.

Proper relaxation technique

The easiest way to relieve tension is to instruct the body to change its external reaction. To relieve stress and nervous tension at home after a working day, you should take a walk in the fresh air.

The benefits of walking

Walking alone with your thoughts allows you to understand the reasons for the current situation and take your mind off the problem. Changing the environment helps you quickly calm down, relax your muscles and reduce overexcitement. It is better to take a walk before bed to relieve mental stress and prevent insomnia.

Exercise to relieve tension

The mental stress associated with overcoming imperfection is expressed in the behavior of the individual. She is tense and complex: her injuries are reflected in a person’s appearance and demeanor. He is stiff, stooped and clumsy. Gymnastics are used to combat internal tensions.

Relieve tension and stress:

• starting position – standing against the wall with your back extended;
• feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended forward (palms pointing down);
• as you exhale, the body slowly pulls up; as you inhale, the weight of the body is redistributed over the entire foot.

The number of repetitions of the exercise depends on the physical fitness of the person. Psycho-emotional stress due to sudden changes at work or in your personal life is accompanied by panic attacks - this exercise will ease anxiety, and mental stress will disappear within 5-10 minutes.

Alternate body lifts with breath holds. A person needs to stretch out on his toes and tighten his abdominal muscles. As you exhale, the body relaxes and returns to its original position.

Breathing exercises

To quickly relieve stress or nervous tension, you need to calm your breathing. As a reaction to fear and stress, a person experiences shortness of breath, suffocation, chest pain and uneven breathing. With the help of simple breathing exercises, psychological stress is reduced, and the person returns to a normal state. Breathing exercises are suitable for both men, women and children.

Breathing exercises to relieve tension are easy to remember:

1. Starting position – sitting or standing. The person settles into a comfortable position with a straight, elongated back. It is important that the chest is smooth, straightened, and nothing interferes with calm breathing.
2. Closing your eyes helps you distance yourself from what is happening around you. The exercise is carried out at home, at work or on public transport.
3. The first breath is slow and deep. While inhaling, a person counts to himself to five. The air passes through the lungs, the stomach gradually rounds.
4. Exhale slowly. You should exhale gradually, tensing your abdominal muscles, then releasing your lungs. The complex of inhalations and exhalations is like a wave that first fills a person and then releases him.
5. You should inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
6. Between inhalation and exhalation, hold your breath for a few seconds.

Breathing exercises to relieve stress

A simple pattern of “inhale for 5 counts – hold your breath for 5 seconds – exhale for 5 counts” will help you relax your body and free your mind from anxious thoughts. Repeating the exercise helps to distract attention from the stress factor. Breathing exercises are performed for 10 minutes. The exercise is repeated 2-3 times a day.

Restoring the correct breathing rhythm normalizes a person’s mental state. Before going to bed, this exercise will help you fall asleep quickly and get rid of anxious thoughts.

Equipment for extreme situations

An effective method of relieving psychological stress in conflict situations is emergency measures. They use quick techniques to normalize the state in a stressful situation and to prevent a nervous breakdown. The “Boat” exercise helps a lot with a panic attack.

Starting position – sitting or standing. It is necessary to straighten your back and fold your arms in the shape of a boat (palms connected at chest level, elbows bent). In order to relieve stress and nervous tension, you should monitor your breathing for 3-4 minutes. At the fifth minute its frequency decreases. Calm, measured inhalations alternate with long exhalations. During inhalation, the lips are closed (inhale through the nose). After a few minutes, the body will relax and the mind will calm down.

Calming herbs and aromatherapy

You can relieve stress in a relaxed home environment. Soothing tea and essential oils, incense and scented candles will create all the conditions for relaxation of the body.

Herbal infusions that are stored all year round help relieve internal tension. The following herbs are selected as a natural sedative: St. John's wort, oregano, chamomile and motherwort. Dilute the herbal taste of tea with honey, cinnamon or syrup. The composition of the collection is selected individually.

Herbal tea with honey

Getting rid of nervous tension at home is easy if you take baths with pine needles and essential oils once a week. Use 10 drops of oils (orange, cedar and lemon tree) added to a warm bath. This way you can relieve fatigue. After a bath, it is recommended to drink freshly brewed chamomile tea or a decoction with medicinal plants (lemon balm and mint).

The beneficial properties of oils are used to improve blood circulation, in the fight against colds and stress. Incense helps to relax: with the help of an aroma lamp and essential oils you can calm the nervous system. With the help of lavender, geranium and frankincense oil, a woman can relieve severe pain during menstruation (hormonal imbalance causes increased nervousness and psycho-emotional stress).

Prolonged stress

The result of increased excitability (symptoms: irritability, apathy, confusion) becomes prolonged stress. A person has a headache, tremors in the limbs, joint pain, body aches - psycho-emotional problems lead to pathologies.

The attending physician prescribes medications that relieve physical symptoms. Psychoanalysis and work on lifestyle helps the individual get rid of stress and its consequences. The danger of a prolonged stressful state lies in the disruption of the central nervous system.

Mental disorders manifest themselves in people who have not struggled with constant emotional stress.

The right rhythm of life

You can avoid taking stress-inducing drugs if you plan your daily routine, create the right diet and take care of the health of your body. Remedies for stress cause drowsiness and affect human behavior, and folk remedies for stress are not dangerous. Useful habits developed while working on thinking and behavior will prevent stress in the future.

Sports activities

The following will help relieve internal tension:

• playing sports;
• new hobbies;
• trips out of town;
• new acquaintances and meetings;
• timely rest.

Working on your own thinking saves you from stress - the attitudes by which a person lives create his reactions. Stress resistance is developed through self-education and self-knowledge. If a person knows the cause of fear, he is not afraid of the future, he is not afraid of the unknown.

The daily routine is a balanced day, during which the body has time to rest and get the necessary load. The culture of food consumption allows you to get rid of such manifestations of stress as overeating or starvation.

Physical exercise

The ability to withstand stress is tantamount to the ability to control the body's spontaneous reactions. A tense body cannot relax and resist stress and its consequences. Physical activity is used to harden the body: running in the morning or in the evening before bed helps. While running, a person clears the mind and allows the body to release accumulated tension.

You can overcome stress if you cultivate resilience in the face of problems. Working on your body improves self-esteem. Development motivates an individual to new achievements, and group classes allow you to make promising acquaintances. Relieving stress through yoga is based on a combination of meditative techniques and physical exercise. A person learns to look at the world, people and the causes of stress differently. Relaxation is the key to harmony and well-being.

Finding new hobbies

Interests and hobbies are the foundation of a developing personality. The basis of art therapy (one of the best methods of dealing with prolonged stress) is the disclosure of a person, his fears and anxieties through art. Figures, compositions, paintings reveal the true traumas of the individual. Through art therapy, old emotional wounds can be soothed. A person who knows himself is not afraid of the world around him.

New activities bring impressions and positive emotions. Positive experiences save you from stress. They switch the personality away from the problem and make the experience less significant.

Rest and relaxation

Lack of rest ends in emotional burnout. The personality loses motivation and weakens. The less time a person devotes to rest, the more susceptible he is to external influence. Rest consists of distracted activities: picnics, going to the cinema, communicating with loved ones. Such activities give the body the necessary respite.

Relaxation is aimed at revealing the true desires of the individual. Away from work and family responsibilities, she can make the right decisions. A change of place is a signal of calm for the body.

Conclusion

Stress and psycho-emotional tension are similar concepts that describe a difficult state of an individual. Difficulties at work and at home exhaust a person, make him weak and susceptible. Stress is expressed through physical symptoms: daily routine, sleep and nutrition are disrupted. The longer this state lasts, the more difficult it is to get out of it.

Physical activity, conversations with friends and psychoanalysts help cope with tension and stress. An individual treatment program is a balance between a person’s desires and needs. For further development, he needs to get rid of stress, which distorts the perception of reality.

The modern world is characterized by a fast pace of life, in which psychologically stressful situations often arise. This has a negative impact on a person’s nerves and peace of mind. Information on how to relieve stress at home will help you overcome any troubles.

Stress and psycho-emotional tension

The concept of stress implies a state of strong mental tension that occurs in critical situations. At the same time, a person experiences rapid breathing, causing an influx of oxygen into the blood vessels and leaching of carbon dioxide. For this reason, muscle tissue overstrains (muscle tension) and vasoconstriction occurs. As a result, the brain forces a person to breathe even deeper and more often, which contributes to a further deterioration in well-being.

Therefore, recommendations from psychologists on how to relieve stress for a man or woman begin with advice on switching to slower and calmer breathing. Then the physiological processes in the body will normalize, and the mental state will improve.

The occurrence of muscle tension in people manifests itself in different ways, and the frequency of its occurrence depends on the emotional troubles experienced. The more often stressful situations occur, the more a person feels a deterioration in well-being.

Symptoms indicating severe nervous tension:

• constant irritability and short temper;
• sense of anxiety;
• worsening sleep;
• diffidence;
• indifferent attitude towards others.

It will be especially interesting to learn how to relieve stress for women who often have quarrels and conflicts in the family, at work, or problems due to their child’s performance at school.

How to calm your nerves and relieve stress at home

To get rid of negativity, it is not at all necessary to take a vacation or run to the SPA center for treatments. There are several simple and accessible ways to quickly relieve stress or nervous tension:

• conduct a meditation session - find a secluded corner in your home or office, sit down, close your eyes and relax for 5-10 minutes, while breathing deeply and evenly, imagining something beautiful and kind;
• do your favorite pastime at home (embroidery, knitting, listening to music and sounds of nature);
• perform a small set of physical exercises (squats, jumping, etc.), which will provide the necessary release;
• drink coffee with milk and snack on a piece of chocolate - caffeine will help raise the tone of the body, and sweets will have a positive effect on the brain and help get rid of tension;
• smell a citrus fruit, the aroma of which will raise the level of the “happiness hormone”;
• drink a cup of green tea - the L-theanine it contains has a relaxing effect and relieves fatigue;
• at home, taking a bath with aromatic oils will help you get anxious thoughts and problems out of your head.

Means of psychological defense against stressful situations

To reduce negative psychological stress and relieve stress, you need to learn how to independently protect yourself from their influence. To do this, you need to prepare yourself for the negative effects of stress factors and develop principles of protection against them:

• be able to recognize stress and determine its source (conflict in the family or at work, speaking in public, divorce, etc.);
• choose the optimal line of behavior (psychotherapy sessions, medication treatment, etc.);
• learn to use anti-stress remedies while working on yourself;
• be able to restore strength to prevent the impact of a negative situation.

Exercises to restore calm

Recommendations from psychologists on how to relieve stress and nervous tension begin with developing the right attitude towards a critical situation. Every person should learn to get rid of negative emotions in time and restore calm on their own.

Basic exercises:

1. Inner Light. It is performed sitting or standing in a comfortable position. You need to visualize a bright beam of light that slowly moves from your head down, relaxing your whole body. Finish with the words: “I have become a calm and confident person!”
2. Cargo. It is used before the onset of a traumatic situation (exam, unpleasant conversation, conversation with superiors). It is necessary to visually imagine the internal load that is in the chest and push it out, getting rid of tension and negative emotions.
3. Puddle. Used to relieve muscle tension and improve mood. You have to imagine that you are standing in a puddle in which you can jump. Then get out, shake off the water and go back in to feel all the fears and tension go away.

Calming herbs and aromatherapy

One of the methods for relieving stress is the use of infusions and decoctions of medicinal herbs (valerian, motherwort, chamomile, mint, etc.), as well as creating a favorable atmosphere in the room using aromatherapy. It is recommended to use essential oils of mint, pine, and lavender in the form of sprays, aroma sticks, or add them to aroma lamps.

Many people in critical situations turn to alcohol, but it is better to relieve stress without alcohol in healthier ways. After all, when drinking alcohol, the feeling of dissatisfaction worsens, and a surge in aggression is possible, which can lead to a worsening of the situation.

Medications for stress relief

Medicines can be used only in exceptional cases when all other methods of relieving psychological stress do not work. Doctors recommend taking herbal sedatives: tincture of valerian, motherwort, etc. In severe cases, antidepressants can be used, but only under the supervision of a doctor, avoiding addiction.

Development of stress resistance

For prevention purposes and as the best way to relieve stress, psychologists recommend:

• consciously develop a positive outlook on the world and others;
• increase confidence in your strength and ability to change any circumstances;
• understand that changes in life are necessary, guided by the saying “Everything is for the better!”;
• lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly;
• be optimistic and develop a sense of humor;
• carry out work according to a system of priorities (first - important things, then - minor ones).

Using the advice of psychologists and methods for developing stress resistance will help any person relax after a stressful situation and successfully cope with negative problems.

Recently, many have been experiencing anxiety and fear, stress and tension due to the instability of the world around us: all sorts of economic shocks, jumping exchange rates and a tense political situation prompt us to fear for our own future at the level of instincts. Naturally, this affects our well-being, mental and physical, and every day we are in the grip of negative emotions.

But, as Carlson said, “calm, only calm.” We spend too much time trying to control what we have no control over. So we offer a “package of anti-crisis measures”: simple exercises that will help you relax, forget about all the troubles and feel that very desired calm.

1. Vaccination against fear

Start now by choosing the three most stressful or anxiety-inducing tasks in your career or personal life. In the current situation, this could be the fear of being left without a job, without a livelihood, or the fear of not being in control of your life. Write them down. Then, mentally rehearse a situation in which you are faced with one of your most stressful work or personal problems. Observe and feel yourself in these conditions. Remember that it is extremely important that you feel discomfort, fear and self-doubt for several breaths in order to free yourself from phobias, fear of failure and bad habits.

The fear that you are trying to avoid can turn into a phobia -.

Close your eyes so you can better identify what's going on in your body and mind.

Notice how you react during the first five seconds. What is happening in your body (breathing, heart rate and areas of muscle tension), what are your thoughts or images, your feelings? How do you talk to yourself?

Notice your reactions without making judgments or comparisons. Simply observe and then make notes of your automatic reactions to stress and confrontation. And write down again:
a) physical sensations;
b) thoughts or images;
c) internal dialogue.

Stay in these stressful conditions for 30 seconds (that's 5-6 deep breaths) and get a “vaccination” that will help you become less susceptible to fears and stress in the future. When you decide to be alone with something that you have previously avoided, you are telling your primal reflexes that “a leader solves a problem, not runs from it.” Your brain and body will turn off the fight-or-flight response and provide you with calmer, more focused energy levels. Write down any changes you notice during the 30 seconds of mental rehearsal. How did your breathing, heart rate, muscle tension, thoughts and feelings change?

Repeat the mental exercise above for any of your three most stressful situations every day for one week. You'll soon discover your routine reactions (including shaky knees) and know when they're most likely to occur. As you build confidence, take on more frightening situations.

2. Concentration exercise

By doing this concentration exercise several times a day, you will find that feelings of worry and anxiety will gradually subside.

Sit on a chair with your feet touching the floor, place your hands on your knees or thighs and take 3-12 breaths in three steps as follows:

1) focus on breathing and inhale to the count of “one-two-three”;
2) hold your breath on the count of “three”, clench your fists and tense your leg muscles and pull your navel to the spinal column;
3) slowly exhale fully to the count of “four-five-six”, releasing muscle tension as you feel support from the chair and floor.

Feel the warmth and homeliness of an ordinary chair - .

Read the following instructions out loud and record them on your voice recorder. Sit down, play a recording, close your eyes and focus on calming your energy and easing the tension in your muscles.

• As you exhale, feel yourself touching the chair and the floor, which represents something stronger than your mind or your ego fighting alone. This something could be your strongest self, the support of the earth, the laws of the Universe, the deeper wisdom of the integrated left and right hemispheres of your brain, or, if you prefer, God or another higher power.
• As you bring your attention to your body and the sensation of contact with the chair after each exhalation, try to feel how the chair is supporting you. Feel the warmth of the chair in your buttocks and back. As you shift your attention to your feelings in the present, you are telling your mind and body, “It will remain safe to be here for the next few minutes. There is no urgent work waiting for you, and there is no need to rush anywhere. You can ease your tension. You can eliminate the need to work as hard as you can. I prefer to sit quietly here, in the moment - the only moment that exists."
• Welcome any thought or any part of yourself that tries to cling to the past or control the future. Bring that part of you and your time-traveling mind back to the present by saying, “Yes, I hear you. Now I'm here with you. You don't have to face the problems of the past or future alone. Come and be with me now, at this moment.”
• Recommit to protecting your body and life and treat every aspect of your self with compassion and understanding. With added power in your leadership role, bring all parts of yourself into this unique moment of respite from worries about the past and future. Focus your attention on what you can do now to improve your chances of achieving success and inner peace.
• Write down any physical and emotional changes you observe.

3. Drawing of fear

Take half an hour and jot down a list of your fears. Write the first thing that comes to mind. List thirty fears. Write down what you are worried about, what terrifies you so much that you are afraid to even write these words on paper. Take a pencil or felt-tip pen and make small drawings next to your most frightening feelings and thoughts. Depict each strong fear graphically. For example, once Olga Solomatina, the author of the book “How to Overcome Fear,” imagined her fear of getting into an accident in the subway and drew how cheerfully she walked along the sleepers with a flashlight.

Write down everything that worries you. Table from the book “How to overcome fear”

4. Expression of feelings

There is a fundamental difference between experiencing feelings and expressing them. Expressing all the emotions that arise is unhealthy, impolite, dangerous and stupid, so you need to experience them and then decide whether to express them. Considering how much relief it brings, it is surprising that many avoid expressing emotions not out of rational choice, but out of habit or fear.

If you have a loved one you can trust, it will be a little easier for you. It’s easy to agree with a partner and take turns doing the following exercise. But it can also be done alone, talking through feelings or pouring them out on paper.

Trust a loved one - .

Sit comfortably in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for half an hour. Freely and without hesitation in expression, express what is on your heart. Don’t worry if it turns out incoherent: just let yourself talk - about the events of the day, the problem that occupies your thoughts, memories, fantasies, etc. While telling, keep track of how your body feels. Are you sad? Are you dejected? Are you angry? Happy? Try to put these feelings into words. Or maybe you feel constrained? Concerned? Wary? Try to identify where these feelings come from and leave them in the past.

Your partner should listen sympathetically and very carefully. He can only make comments that further drain your emotions. The assistant should not interfere with his thoughts, ask for clarification, criticize or change the topic. This will teach you not to hold back your emotions, which means not to seal away fear, allowing it to destroy you from the inside.

5. Psychological Safety Safety Net

This exercise will give you a physical sense of how to create a psychological safety net for yourself that will relieve you of fear, stress, and help you work and live in peace.

Read the exercise and imagine (with your eyes open or closed) your feelings in each scene. Then notice how your mind and body responded.

Scene 1. Imagine that you need to walk on a board that is 30 cm wide, 100 cm long and 2.5 cm thick and you have all the abilities necessary to complete this task. Can you take the first step without fear or hesitation? Let's assume you answer yes.

Scene 2. Now imagine that you need to complete the same task and your abilities remain the same, but the board is located between two buildings at a height of 30 m. Can you walk along this board in such conditions? If not, what's stopping you? How much stress are you experiencing? In what part of your body do you feel tension (i.e., what are your reactions to danger and stress signals)? Most people answer that they are afraid of falling and getting seriously or even fatally injured. This is an understandable and normal reaction.

Scene 3. While you are standing on the edge of the board, trembling with fear and not daring to start or finish the movement, your boss, friends or relatives, who know full well that you are capable of handling this task, begin to accuse you of indecisiveness and advise you to just do it. what is needed. But you know it's not easy. When the stakes are this high, you know you have to execute every move perfectly—there's no room for error—or you'll die or be seriously injured.

Suddenly everything changes. You feel the heat behind you and hear the crackling of fire. The building, on which one edge of the board rests, was engulfed in fire! How will you now cope with your doubts and the fear that holds you back? How important will it be to complete the task perfectly now? Are you still afraid of falling? Do you tell yourself: “I work best under pressure and time pressure”? How do you let go of the fear of failure and push yourself to walk the plank?

Most people respond that self-esteem and perfectionism no longer concern them. They say that they are ready to move along the board even on all fours, just so as not to die in the fire - .

Regardless of the method you choose to move around the board, notice how you are freed from the paralysis caused by fear and become motivated to take any action that ensures your survival.

Scene 4. In this final scene, imagine that you still need to walk along the board at a height of 30 m, your abilities remain the same, there is no fire, and there are no strict time limits for you, but there is a strong mesh stretched 1 m below the board. Can you walk the board in this case? If so, what has changed for you? Notice that you may now make a mistake, fall, feel confused, or not execute the move perfectly. Write down the words and feelings you had after the safety net appeared. For example, you might tell yourself, “I won't die,” or “If I make a mistake, it won't be the end of the world,” or “I'm still afraid of heights, but knowing that the safety net exists allows me to just think about completing the task and not worry about a possible fall.”

It may be hard to believe, but creating a psychological safety net will actually eliminate much of what causes you stress. Using whatever words are appropriate, send yourself a daily message about the physical and psychological safety that an imaginary safety net provides you. Write down and carefully store your personalized message that communicates safety, dignity, and the presence of your strongest self.

According to some studies, Buddhist monks are the happiest people because they don't worry about anything. Of course, it is impossible to avoid worries in everyday life, but you have the power to resist their negative influence.