Ways of mental self-regulation. Mental self-regulation

Staying in a negative emotional state has a devastating effect on the body, since ancient times people have been looking for ways to control their mental state. Methods of self-regulation of emotional states are being actively studied, today a number of techniques have been developed to manage stress. Self-regulation is a system of certain actions aimed at managing one's psyche. Regulation techniques make it possible to consciously control one's behavior.

Approaches in psychology

In domestic psychology, the definition of emotional regulation occurs in the following contexts:

• self-regulation of the personality;
• regulation of behavior;
• mental self-regulation;
• self-regulation of states.

The mechanism of self-regulation and regulation of emotional states was considered by F.B. Berezin. In his works, the regulation of the body is associated with mental adaptation. Berezin argues that psychological defenses counteract anxiety and stress. The conducted research led Berezin to the conclusion that there are individual personality characteristics, it is they that help to successfully adapt to stress. This is the level of neuropsychic stability, self-esteem, emotional response in conflicts and others.

The well-known approach of R.M. Granovskaya. She divides all methods of emotional regulation into three groups:

1. Elimination of the problem.
2. Reducing the intensity of the impact of the problem by changing the point of view.
3. Reducing the impact of a negative situation through a number of methods.

Regulate the state of R.M. Granovskaya suggests using a weakening of motivation. For example, it is possible to reduce emotional tension when achieving a goal by concentrating not on the final result, but on tactics.

General principles

A number of mental states lead to disorganization, so they need to be regulated. There are two ways:

1. The use of influence on the psyche from the outside.
2. Self-hypnosis.

The concept of self-regulation refers to the second point, that is, a person helps himself to cope with a tense situation on his own. Methods of psychological self-regulation involve volitional participation, the personality of a person matters.

Mental self-regulation is the management of the emotional state by influencing oneself with the help of words, images, muscle tone, changes in breathing.

Psychological self-regulation allows you to eliminate, weaken the signs of fatigue, increase psychophysiological reactivity.

Modern self-management of the state is a kind of psychohygienic method that increases the resources of the body.

Classification

In psychology, there are several approaches to the classification of state self-government. L.P. Grimak identified the following levels of self-regulation:

• motivational;
• individual-personal;
• information and energy;
• emotional-volitional.

Motivational level

Any mechanisms of self-regulation begin with motivation. Regulation and self-regulation of mental states are closely related to achievement motivation. Motivation is what drives a person, and mental self-regulation is the ability to maintain the desired level of activity.

Individual-personal level

The level is mobilized when it is necessary to "remake" oneself, one's attitudes and personal values.

Regulatory qualities:

• a responsibility;
• self-criticism;
• purposefulness;
• strength of will.

Information-energy level

The level provides the necessary degree of energy mobilization for the optimal functioning of the psyche. Types of self-regulation at the level:

1. Catharsis. The shock of viewing works of art frees you from negative thoughts.
2. "reaction" reaction. Strengthening mental and motor activity.
3. ritual actions. The ritual is designed to set a person up for a good outcome of the event, to emotionally reinforce.

Emotional-volitional level

Volitional self-regulation makes it possible to control one's feelings, the ability to consciously maintain one's well-being in extreme situations.

Emotional self-regulation comes in two forms:

• arbitrary (conscious);
• involuntary (unconscious).

Involuntary regulation allows you to remove stress and anxiety intuitively. Conscious regulation is associated with target activity, a person uses special methods to restore emotional strength.

What methods are used

Methods of mental self-regulation were used in ancient times, for example, the technique of self-hypnosis went down in history as a practice of Indian yogis.

Known ways of self-regulation of the emotional state:

• self-hypnosis;
• autogenic training;
• desensitization;
• meditation;
• reactive relaxation.

Relaxation

The relaxation technique can be arbitrary (relaxation when going to sleep) and arbitrary. The free technique is evoked by taking a relaxed posture, imagining states corresponding to peace. Self-regulation skills with help allow you to perform a number of tasks:

• removal of muscle clamps;
• restoration of the energy balance of the body;
• getting rid of the consequences of negative interpersonal communication, restoring mental strength;
• recovery of the body.

Autogenic training

Methods of emotional self-regulation with the help of auto-training were proposed by the German doctor Schultz. Autogenic training is self-hypnosis, techniques are learned in the course of systematic exercises.

Most people can master the technique, under the influence of training, the emotional sphere normalizes, stress goes away, and volitional capabilities increase.

Examples of self-regulation using autogenous training:

1. The exercise is aimed at mastering the rhythm of breathing. Preliminarily, a feeling of warmth, heaviness is evoked, it is suggested that the heart beats easily and evenly. After preparation, the suggestion takes place: “I breathe quite calmly”, “I am calm.” Phrases are repeated 5-6 times.
2. Relaxation of the muscles is caused by a feeling of heaviness, filling the capillaries of the skin with blood - by a feeling of warmth.

Desensitization

Methods of psychological self-regulation with the help of desensitization can reduce fear and anxiety in frightening situations. This may be a fear of heights, flying, or memories of traumatic experiences.

Habitual methods of regulation are the elimination of anxiety through relaxation. Immersed in a state of complete rest, a person imagines disturbing situations. It is necessary to alternate approaching and moving away from the voltage source.

An effective technique is work with breathing. Holding free breath when faced with an alarming situation, you can regain freedom of action.

The principles of self-regulation using desensitization is the elimination of anxiety through a positive attitude. An example here is when a child sings a cheerful song about how a lion ate a man. The sound and tone of speech eliminates fear. (Song from the movie "Mary Poppins Goodbye"). The general cheerful mood eliminates stress. In this film, you can find effective methods of self-regulation and relieving psycho-emotional stress in children.

Meditation

The foundations of self-regulation are laid in meditation. The process of meditation allows you to fully relax and relieve fatigue. Enough 15-20 minutes a day. There are two types of meditation:

1. Deep reflection (meditation on something).
2. Meditative state.

The effect of meditation is beneficial to health, it can reduce the symptoms of physical diseases, and it has a beneficial effect on physiology. After practice, metabolism, respiratory rate improves.
Video: webinar "What is self-regulation and why is it needed?".

Methods of natural regulation

Methods of mental self-regulation are not only conscious, but also natural. These include:

• walks in the forest;
• visiting cultural events;
• classical music;
• positive communication with interesting people;
• physical relaxation, for example, intense training;
• writing a diary entry detailing the situation that caused more emotional stress;
• literary evenings.

Natural regulation helps prevent neuro-emotional breakdowns, reduce overwork.

A person uses some basic natural methods of mental regulation intuitively. This is a long sleep, communication with nature, delicious food, a bath, massage, sauna, dancing or your favorite music.

Many of the ways people use unconsciously. Experts advise moving from spontaneous application to conscious control of one's condition.

To avoid nervous breakdowns, it is worth using regulation methods. Self-management of one's condition can become the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and a condition for calm well-being. The main advice is regular use.

Video: webinar by psychologist Nina Rubshtein "Dependence, counter-dependence and self-regulation".

Our rapidly developing life very often puts us in a situation where there is no strength, desire or opportunity to do what requires these very strengths, desires and opportunities.

This condition is especially difficult for children. Often in the practice of schooling, teachers are faced with sleepy, tired or, on the contrary, overexcited children. Unfortunately, not many teachers can apply effective measures in this situation. Meanwhile, Nature has provided each person with the opportunity to change and correct their condition. It's about self-regulation.

Techniques and techniques of self-regulation help to cope with many unwanted mental states - emotional stress, sleepiness, affects, pain. These skills are necessary for any person to work with unwanted emotional states. It can be said that modern man can possess them as an element common culture. It is especially important to use self-regulation techniques in.

Self-regulation methods can be very different: sleep, water procedures, hobbies, change of scenery and switching attention, breathing exercises, muscle tone management (physical exercises, self-massage), reflexological methods, relaxation (autogenic training, meditation), organization of a diet, functional music and light effects.

In school practice, as elsewhere, the most suitable are breathing exercises, acupressure, physical exercises, functional music. These techniques are very effective and require mainly time to learn and automate their application.

Breathing exercises. We, people who have become detached from natural natural mechanisms, breathe mainly chest or even more superficial breathing. However, abdominal breathing is more natural and healing. It helps to relieve neuropsychic stress, restore mental balance.

There are different techniques. One of the simplest basic exercises that children can easily master is the following. The child is invited to fill the "ball" in the stomach through the nose and deflate it through the mouth / nose at a comfortable pace. 10-15 cycles will calm the child in case of overexcitation and give him energy if he is tired.

After learning this type of breathing correctly, children can use it at the first sign of fatigue or overexcitement. But for this it is necessary that it becomes a habit, which is possible only with the conscious attitude of parents and other adults who are next to the child. There are many varieties of breathing exercises, it is important to understand that no matter what situation a person finds himself in, breathing is the only thing that is available always and everywhere.

Physical warm-ups and exercises a lot is known, they are included in the mandatory set of actions in the lessons. Therefore, it makes no sense to write a lot about it. Only one thing is surprising: why don’t our children develop a strong habit of exercising and warming up if they do it all the time at school?

Point self-massage came to us from traditional oriental medicine. This is one of the varieties of acupuncture effects. Of course, not all points can be identified and correctly identified. However, there are a number of points that are easily identified and give the desired effect when exposed to them.

Such an impact in school conditions is pressure on a point with a finger. For example, by acting on the bridge between the thumb and forefinger, you can increase concentration and improve your condition. Kneading the area of ​​the nail hole of the thumb relieves headache, drowsiness. A very effective exercise is the "clarity of the head", which we learn with middle school students. It consists in punching certain points in the area of ​​the face and head in the sequence shown in Figure No. 1.

Fig.1. Points of influence for the exercise "Clarity of the head"

The soreness of the points when they are determined is a very indicative parameter that helps to accurately determine the place of application of efforts. With regular exposure to this point, the pain goes away. Feeling better. The impact on all points is made by circular movements of the fingertip 8 times clockwise and counterclockwise. In this case, the finger is placed on a point at an angle close to 90° and does not move.

• Point 1 - a small hollow between the eyebrows. Not everyone has it as a depression, but it can be determined by pain when pressed.
• Point 2 - steam room, located next to the wings of the nose. When pressed, the airway does not close, breathing is not interrupted. Regular exposure to this point will relieve a runny nose and can be used to prevent nasal congestion in the autumn-spring period.
• Point 3 - in the middle between the lip and chin. It is also recommended for the prevention of periodontal disease.
• Point 4 - temporal cavities, located on the mentally continued line of the eyebrows.
• Point 5 - a depression next to the ear, adjacent to the tragus (Figure No. 2).

Fig.2. Point 5

• Point 6 - on the back of the head, is pressed with three fingers from both sides, while the index fingers fall into the pits under the skull, the middle and ring fingers are located on the hillocks.
• Point 7 - a hole in the center under the cranium.

This exercise can be enhanced by the impact on the auricles - rubbing them, pulling them up, down, back. This complex is guaranteed to improve the well-being of the child for 4-5 hours. It will allow him not only to overcome lethargy and impotence in the classroom, but also ensure efficiency in the afternoon.

functional music can be used at breaks, in the classroom during the period of independent work of children. Recordings with the sounds of nature - the singing of birds, the sound of a stream, the sea surf - very well soothe overexcited children. Of course, you must first familiarize yourself with these sounds, so it’s better to introduce listening at breaks, encouraging children to actively listen, invite them to imagine themselves in the forest, against the backdrop of nature, ask “not to scare away the birds” with loud cries.

Water is an amazing substance. Most chronic diseases are based on dehydration of tissues and organs. Our body needs not just water, but better - water "charged" with the positive emotions of the drinker. The experiments of Massaru Emoto, repeatedly confirmed in different laboratories of the world, convincingly proved the influence of the state of the person using it on water.

The children were given this experiment one at a time. Take a sip of water, put the glass on the table, surround the glass with a ring of palms and say thank you to the water for this piece that was taken from it. At the same time, the child was asked to remember the state that he experienced when he was given the desired gifts, for example. Then take another sip.

Some children just followed the instructions, not quite understanding what was happening, while others felt that the second sip was tastier. The most sensitive were surprised that the water became "tastier than juice." At the same time, there was no pre-training children and assurances that the taste will change.

However, those who wish can repeat this experience. Preferably with children of elementary school or even preschool age when children are even more open and receptive. Thus, simply drinking water can be filled with new meaning and turned into a wonderful phenomenon for a child.

Of course, all the techniques described can be used not only by children, but also by adults. For teachers, as well as parents, this is no less important than for children. It's no secret that many adults struggle to control themselves and are often irritated and unable to control their behavior. The use of these simple but effective ways of self-regulation will be an excellent prevention of emotional burnout of teachers and educators.

In addition to those described, you can use other methods that are less applicable in school practice, but perfectly complement them. Let us briefly describe some of them.

Dream helps not only to relieve fatigue, relax, but also how to "sleep" certain experiences. Increased drowsiness of some people in those life periods that are associated with stress and high emotional stress is a very common phenomenon.

water procedures. Bath, steam room - relieve the effects of stress, increase vitality. A hot shower soothes, helps to relax. A cold or contrast shower helps to cheer up, overcome lethargy and fatigue.

Change of scenery, switch of attention. For many people, the change of scenery that occurs during a vacation or weekend, when they go to rest in the country, in the resort, is in the best possible way restore the necessary supply of physical and mental strength.

Muscle tone management . The constant experience of negative emotions leads to muscle strain and the occurrence of muscle clamps. Since there is a close relationship between the psyche and the body, just as mental tension causes an increase in muscle tone, so muscle relaxation leads to a decrease in neuropsychic excitation. You can reduce muscle tone through self-massage.

Normalization of the diet- a necessary condition for the life of the organism. It is well known that the lack of necessary nutrients by the body leads to a decrease in resistance and, as a result, contributes to the rapid development of fatigue, the emergence of stress reactions. Therefore, a balanced daily diet, the correct organization of the diet, the inclusion of raw plant foods in the menu is rightfully considered as one of effective ways prevention of adverse conditions.

The active attitude of any person to managing their condition is especially important. It is necessary to give people the opportunity to master these methods from childhood. These techniques can be used anywhere and do not require any special conditions. The use of self-regulation techniques helps to increase productivity in the workplace, reduce the number and frequency of diseases, avoid conflict situations, and generally make life more joyful!

PLAN-SUMMARY

To conduct a service training session for senior and middle command personnel

SUBJECT: Psychological preparation

TOPIC № 1.2.: "Methods and techniques of psychological self-regulation in the system of prevention of professional stress"

TIME: 2 hours

PURPOSE OF THE LESSON: to acquaint students with the methods and techniques of psychological self-regulation in the system of prevention of professional stress.

VENUE: meeting room

METHOD OF CARRYING OUT: presentation of new material, explanatory and illustrative, practicing exercises.

MAIN DOCUMENTS AND LITERATURE USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUMMARY:

1. Psychology in extreme situations for rescuers and firefighters / Ed. Yu.S. Shoigu M.: 2007.

2. Psychology. Dictionary / Ed. A.V. Petrovsky, M.G. Yaroshevsky. Moscow: Politizdat, 1990.

3. Methods of psychological self-regulation. Methodological guidance / T. Yu. Matafonova. M. CEPP EMERCOM of Russia, 2005.

Methods and techniques of psychological self-regulation in the system of occupational stress prevention.

The profession of a firefighter is associated with the action of various stress factors. The uncertainty of the current situation, the constant expectation of danger, the need for continuous logical and psychological analysis of rapidly changing situations, the intense work of attention, work with human grief have a powerful and ambiguous effect on the human psyche, require the mobilization of all his physical and mental capabilities for the effective solution of the tasks ahead.

A firefighter performs his professional duties, being in constant contact with people who are in a stressful situation, colleagues, often with minimal work experience, representatives of interacting bodies and services, and journalists. Human communication in such situations often tests the psyche "for strength", creates conditions for the emergence of tension, disruption of emotional balance. All this often leads to a dispersion of attention, transferring it to internal processes and states, a decrease in volitional readiness for immediate action and a negative impact on the performance of official tasks.

People have learned to more or less tolerably control the hygiene of their bodies, the work of their muscles, their thought processes; however, many remain essentially powerless in the area of ​​controlling their own emotions and passions. A person's inability to regulate his moods negatively affects not only relationships with others (conflicts, incompatibility, enmity, etc.), but also the quality of professional duties. A long stay in the power of negative emotional states (anxiety, expectations of the unknown, guilt, dissatisfaction, anger, etc.), the inability to reduce the severity of experiencing adverse effects is also fraught with the fact that it has a destructive effect on the body, physical and mental state.

Even in antiquity, a connection was noticed between a person’s emotions and his physical condition. It was believed, for example, that the need to constantly restrain emotions destroys the heart; envy and anger affect the digestive organs; sadness, despondency, melancholy - accelerate aging; constant fear damages the thyroid gland; uncontrollable grief entails diabetes mellitus. And long-term nervous stress can destroy the strongest organism, so it is extremely important for each rescuer to be able to notice the impact of stressful factors in time, quickly and effectively “discharge” the mental tension that has arisen, remove the negative emotional condition, reduce pain. No less important in his activity is the ability to instantly carry out volitional mobilization, to gather together all physical and mental forces. This can be achieved with the help of methods of mental self-regulation.

For millennia, people have been looking for effective ways to influence themselves. Particularly valuable experience in this respect has been accumulated in the martial arts schools of the East. Here, the main condition for an adequate response to rapid changes in the situation, adaptation in any extreme situation, achievement, preservation of physical health, rapid psycho-correction was considered the ability of a person to maintain his psyche in a state of “spirit like water” and “spirit like moon”.

According to the masters, “a spirit like water”, like a calm surface, is able to give an accurate mirror reflection of any object. But one has only to blow the wind, and small ripples will destroy the reflection, distort it beyond recognition. As soon as a person succumbs to fear, anger, excitement, and he will lose the opportunity to clearly control the situation, he will be defenseless in the face of danger.

Martial arts experts claimed that "a spirit like the moon" reveals any action of the enemy, any gap in his defense. But behind the incoming clouds, the moonlight dims. Excessive emotionality leads to a loss of composure and self-control, gives rise to inadequate situations of action.

The ideal state of a fighter was considered to be "empty consciousness", in which the warrior "does not expect anything and is ready for anything, at every moment of what is happening he is not connected with the past, does not depend on the future and lives only in the present, perceiving it with his whole being." For a person with an "empty consciousness", personal well-being and peace of mind rise to the understanding of "natural harmony and justice", and his actions take place, as it were, "beyond good and evil", "life and death".

To achieve such a state of mind, they used various methods. Among them, complex techniques were used: auto-training, active meditation, and rather simple methods of breathing, gymnastic, psychotechnical exercises. Many of them are widely practiced today in the system of psychophysical training in the schools of martial arts kyoko-shin-kai, choi, aikido, etc.

A good school of psychic self-regulation was passed by warriors in ancient Sparta, in some Indian tribes of North America. A unique system of self-control has been worked out in the teachings of yogis.

It is known that a person is able to influence himself using three ways:

A) changes in skeletal muscle tone and respiration;

B) active inclusion of ideas and sensory images;

C) the use of the programming and regulatory role of the word.

WAYS OF REGULATION OF EMOTIONAL STATES

The first method of self-action, which we will consider, is the control of breathing.

Breathing is not only the most important function of the body, but also an effective means of influencing muscle tone and emotional means of influencing the centers of the brain.

Slow and deep breathing lowers the excitability of the nerve centers and promotes muscle relaxation.

Frequent breathing, on the contrary, provides a high level of activity of the body.

Most people in everyday life use only shallow breathing, when only the tops of the lungs are filled. Full breathing, on the other hand, as stated in the Pranayama section of the teaching on breathing, includes filling the lower, middle and upper parts of the lungs. By changing the type, rhythm of breathing, the duration of inhalation and exhalation, a person can influence many, including mental functions.

To start mastering, you can master 2 types of breathing: lower (abdominal) and upper (clavicular).

Lower breathing is used when it is necessary to overcome excessive excitement, to overcome anxiety and irritability, to relax as much as possible for a quick and effective rest. Lower breathing is the most productive, because the largest number of pulmonary vesicles (alveoli) is located in the lower parts of the lungs.

Abdominal breathing is performed as follows: sitting or standing, it is necessary to relieve tension from the muscles and focus on breathing. Then 4 stages of a single breath cycle are performed, accompanied by internal counting to facilitate learning.

At the expense of 1-2-3-4, a slow breath is taken, while the stomach protrudes forward, the abdominal muscles are relaxed, and rib cage motionless. Then, for the next 4 counts, the breath is held and a smooth exhalation for 6 counts, accompanied by pulling the abdominal muscles to the spine. Before the next breath, there is a pause for 2-4 counts. It should be remembered that you need to breathe only through your nose and as smoothly as if a fluff were hanging in front of your nose at a distance of 1 - 15 cm, then it should not sway. After 3-5 minutes of such breathing, you will notice that your state has become noticeably calmer and more balanced.

If you need to cheer up after monotonous work, throw off fatigue, prepare for vigorous activity, then upper (clavicular) breathing is recommended.

It is carried out with an energetic deep breath through the nose with a rise in the shoulders and a sharp exhalation through the mouth. There are no pauses between inhalation and exhalation. Already after a few cycles of such breathing, a feeling of "goosebumps" on the back, freshness, a surge of vivacity will appear.

You can use the following exercises:

"Calming breath"

In the starting position, standing or sitting, take a full breath. Then, holding your breath, imagine a circle and slowly exhale into it. Repeat this process four times. After that, inhale again, imagine a triangle and exhale into it three times. Then exhale twice into the square in the same way. After performing these procedures, calm will surely come.

"Exhalation of weariness"

Lie on your back. Relax, establish slow and rhythmic breathing. As vividly as possible, imagine that with each inhalation, life force fills the lungs, and with each exhalation it spreads throughout the body.

3. "Yawn".

According to experts, a yawn allows you to almost instantly enrich the blood with oxygen and get rid of excess carbon dioxide. The muscles of the neck, face, and mouth that tighten during yawning accelerate blood flow in the vessels of the brain. A yawn, improving the blood supply to the lungs, pushing blood out of the liver, increases the tone of the body, creates an impulse of positive emotions. It is said that in Japan, workers in the electrical industry yawn in an organized manner every 30 minutes.

For the exercise, you need to close your eyes, open your mouth as wide as possible, strain your mouth, as if saying a low “oooo”. At this time, it is necessary to imagine as clearly as possible that a cavity is formed in the mouth, the bottom of which falls down. A yawn is performed with simultaneous stretching of the whole body. The increase in the effectiveness of the pharynx is facilitated by a smile, which enhances the relaxation of the muscles of the face and forms a positive emotional impulse. After a yawn, the muscles of the face, pharynx, and larynx relax, and a feeling of peace appears.

4. "Cleansing breath."

It is performed in any convenient position - standing, sitting, lying down. Promotes the rapid removal of fatigue, cleanses the blood of toxins, increases the body's resistance.

After a full inhalation, exhalation is carried out in small portions through a narrow gap between the lips, outwardly resembling attempts to extinguish the flame of a candle. Each subsequent portion should be less than the previous one. At first, the number of repetitions should not exceed three, and later it can be increased to ten.

5. Cleansing breath with the sound "Ha" has a tonic effect, helps to relieve nervous tension, release from a sense of inner unrest.

Starting position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart. With a slow breath, raise relaxed hands above your head, hold your breath for a few seconds and imagine yourself standing on the edge of a deep abyss, holding a vessel in your hands that contains everything that darkens life - sorrows, fears, physical ailments. Lean forward a little (with a straight back) and with the sound "Ha" with a sharp movement throw the vessel into the abyss. The sound should not be pronounced, but formed by the air coming out of the chest. After exhalation, remain in an inclination for some time, swinging your arms, until you feel the desire to take a breath. Repeat 2-3 times.

6. "Forge furs".

An exercise that has a refreshing effect on the entire body, increasing efficiency. Prevents and treats diseases of the nasopharynx.

Sitting in a comfortable position, take 10 quick and strong breaths and exhalations. Exhalations are carried out due to the work of the diaphragm. After completing the exercise, take a full breath and hold your breath for 7-10 seconds. to avoid hyperventilation. Repeat 3-4 times the whole cycle.

7. "Rhythmic breathing through one nostril." It is recommended for loss of strength, mental fatigue. Normalizes the work of the respiratory center. It is performed after preliminary mastering of full breathing:

After the next exhalation, close the left nostril with the middle finger of the left hand and inhale through the right nostril;

Hold the breath while inhaling, then close the right nostril with the thumb of the right hand and, opening the left, exhale;

After holding the breath while exhaling, inhale through the left nostril;

After holding the breath, close the left nostril with the middle finger of the right hand and, releasing the right nostril, exhale;

Hold your breath while exhaling.

Repeat the described breathing cycle 5 times. The duration of inhalation, exhalation and breath holding on inhalation and exhalation - 8 sec.

Breath concentration exercises.

(Before the exercises: imagine an inflatable ball or ball, remember how air comes out of them in a thin stream if the ball is untied or the ball is opened. Try to mentally see this stream of air. We will imagine each exhalation as the same stream of air coming out of the points, which we will open). Focus on your breathing. Breathe normally; notice your inhalation and exhalation. You can say with an inner voice: “Inhale”, “Exhale”. (30 sec).

Feel your knees. Inhale. Make your next exhalation through the points that you mentally “open” on your knees. (In fact, we exhale through the nose, but imagine that we exhale through the knees). Inhale, and exhale - through the points on your knees. (30 sec).

Feel your spine. Mentally "walk" on it from top to bottom. Find a random point at the very bottom of the spine. Inhale through the nose, and exhale mentally through the point that you yourself have identified on the spine at the very bottom. Imagine a thin stream of air coming out of this point during exhalation (30 sec).

"Climb" up the spine. Find a point in the middle of the spine. Inhale. Exhale - through a point in the middle of the spine. (30 sec). Mentally we try to "draw" your exhalation.

Rise mentally to the cervical spine. Inhale. Exhale through a point cervical region spine. Breathe like this. (30 sec)

Feel your arms, hands. Inhale, and then exhale through the points on the hands (30 sec).

Mentally rise to your elbows. Inhale, and exhale through the points on the elbows. Breathe like this, mentally imagining the outgoing air (30 seconds).

Rise mentally to the shoulders. And on the right shoulder and on the left, find the points through which we will “exhale”. Inhale and exhale through the points on the shoulders. Streams of air go up. We breathe, imagining these streams (30 sec).

We find a point between the eyebrows. Inhale, and exhale through the point between the eyebrows. (30 sec).

Exhale through a point at the crown. (30 sec).

Make the next exhalation through all the points that we have named. Breathe like this. Feel how the air passes through all the pores, through the entire skin (30 sec). Breathe calmly. Stay in this state for as long as you need. Come back rested.

(These exercises are useful for relaxing after hard work.)

Focusing exercises

Exercise 1.

Sitting with closed eyes. You give yourself the command: “Right hand!” and trying to focus on the right hand.

After 10-15 seconds, the next command: “Left hand!”, Then: “Right foot!” etc., focusing on different body volumes.

Gradually, you should move on to smaller volumes - a finger, a nail phalanx - and to more subtle sensations, for example, a pulse in the fingertip.

In the end, the whole body is in the field of attention, observed calmly, against the background of general relaxation.

Exercise 2.

Spread your arms at chest level, and then slowly bring them together, keeping your palms parallel.

After several repetitions, the palms begin to "spring", encountering the elastic resistance of the environment.

It is necessary to “mold” a ball from this invisible “field substance” and, helping with your hands, “absorb” it into yourself in the area of ​​the solar plexus.

Assess the difference in states: before and after the exercise.

Exercise 3

Performed in pairs. One of the participants closes his eyes, and the second, taking him by the hands, slowly leads around the room. It is very important that the "blind" feel safe, fully trusting his "guide".

The "guide" leads his follower along the wall, inviting him to evaluate the difference in the perception of space: to the left and to the right of him.

Swap roles in pairs. Emphasize the mutually compensatory role of visual, auditory and kinesthetic analyzers.

Note: all concentration exercises should be done with a fresh head, preferably 2-3 hours after eating. With any discomfort - headache, worsening of the emotional state - stop the exercise.

Formation of skills to relax the muscles of the face and hands

It is these parts of the body that have the largest representation in the cerebral cortex, and it is in these parts that most often occur muscle clamps, i.e. muscle groups are chronically in high tone even when a person is relaxed. Constantly sending activating signals to the brain, they do not give the psyche rest, including during sleep, threatening the internal balance of a person. Therefore, it is important to learn how to relax all muscle groups at least for a short time.

The work of the facial muscles begins with tension and relaxation of the muscles of the forehead (mask of surprise, mask of anger), and then the muscles of the cheeks, chewing muscles, and neck muscles.

Facial exercises:

Puff out your cheeks. Breathe out while mentally inflating the balloon. Repeat 5-7 times.

Put your hand on your forehead. Trying not to wrinkle your forehead, raise your eyebrows and eyes up. Repeat 5-7 times.

Close eyes. Close your eyes tightly. Feel like it's getting dark. Cover your eyes with your hands. Feel it getting darker. Imagine in front of you a dark bottomless well, black velvet, something black. To feel that it has become even darker, to see, to feel this darkness. Stay in it. Remove hands from face. Feel like it's brighter. Without opening your eyes, feel that it has become lighter. Slowly open your eyes. (Back to come back slower twice). The exercise is performed 1 time.

Make swallowing movements.

Raise the corners of the lips up, smile, feel how the pleasant sensations from the corners go to the ears.

Run your hand over the muscles of the neck and, if they are tense, make several inclinations and rotational movements head, massage the neck. Then it is easy to stroke the muscles from the shoulder to the ear, rub the behind-the-ear tubercles with the fingertips. This improves blood flow to the head, helps relieve nervous tension.

If the clamp cannot be removed, it can be smoothed out with a light self-massage in a circular motion with your fingertips. The end result is a “mask of relaxation”: the eyelids are lowered, all the muscles of the face are smoothed out, the face becomes somewhat sleepy, indifferent, the lower jaw of the face is lowered, the tongue is slightly pressed against the teeth, as if about to say “yes”.

Sound movement exercises

In such exercises, sound is used in combination with singing in order to vibrate certain organs.

It is believed that the sound “and” vibrates the pharynx and larynx, the sound “y” causes the vibration of the brain, “a” and “o” - the chest area, “e” and “ou” - the lungs, heart, liver, stomach. Sound vibration has a beneficial effect on all organs, especially on the cardiovascular system, enhances the protective and adaptive reactions of the body.

To relieve mental stress, negative emotional states, it is recommended to hum the sound combination “m-pom-peee”: “M-pom” is short, and “pee-ee” is stretched.

It is known that mimic muscles can influence the emotional mood of a person; therefore, it is necessary to accustom yourself to maintain a constantly kind, pleasant expression on your face.

To learn how to relax muscles, you need to have them, therefore, daily physical activity increases the effectiveness of muscle relaxation exercises.

The next method of self-action is to control the tone of skeletal muscles.

The ability to relax, relieve muscle clamps that occur under the influence of mental stress, allows the body to get a good rest, quickly restore strength and relieve neuro-emotional tension. As a rule, it is not possible to achieve full relaxation of all the muscles of the body at once. Therefore, it is recommended to consistently relax various muscle groups in compliance with a number of rules.

First, the task of the exercise is to recognize and remember the feeling of a relaxed muscle in contrast to its tension.

Secondly, each exercise consists of 3 phases: "strain - feel - relax."

In the initial phase, the tension of the selected muscle group increases smoothly, then the maximum tension is held for several seconds until the muscles tremble, and the tension is released (relaxation phase) abruptly. It should be borne in mind that a completely relaxed muscle, as it were, “sags”, and a feeling of heaviness arises in it.

Thirdly, slow inhalation also corresponds to slow tension, relaxation is synchronous with free full exhalation.

Each exercise is repeated 3-4 times.

Skeletal muscle is one of the strongest sources of brain stimulation. Muscle impulsation is capable of changing its tone over a wide range. It has been proven that voluntary muscle tension contributes to the increase and maintenance of mental activity, inhibition of undesirable reactions to the current or expected stimulus. To remove irrelevant or excessive mental activity, on the contrary, muscle relaxation (relaxation) is necessary. Experiencing negative influences, the body is maximally mobilized for intensive muscular work. This is the kind of work that needs to be presented to him. Sometimes 20-30 squats or the maximum possible number of push-ups from the floor will help relieve mental stress.

In other cases, differentiated auto-training according to the “express method” type will be more effective. It consists in the maximum relaxation of those muscles, the work of which is not required at the moment. So, if the muscles of the legs are mainly tense when walking, then you need to relax the muscles of the face, shoulders, arms. In a sitting position, you should relax the muscles of the face, arms, shoulders, legs.

Let's get acquainted with one of the unique methods of managing internal resources to unlock abilities, overcome stress and psychological barriers.

Reception 1. " Divergence of hands".

Hold your hands comfortably and give a mental command to your hands so that they begin to diverge to the sides as if automatically, without muscle effort.

Choose a comfortable image for this that helps to achieve this movement.

Imagine, for example, that they repel each other like unipolar magnets, or pick up some other image. How convenient. You can start with the spreading of the hands with the usual mechanical movement, and then - ideomotor.

In order for your will to “work” and your hands to begin to diverge, you need to remove the obstacle between the will and the body (create a connection between the will and the body), i.e. find a state of inner balance.

To do this, you need to relax internally, feel comfortable in yourself. Do what is more pleasant, go through the options (reject or bow your head, take a deep breath or exhale, hold your breath for a moment, etc.), the main thing is to find this feeling of inner comfort, in which your will will begin to influence the automatic movement.

Can be done with eyes open or closed. If your hands get tired, then lower them, shake them, then try again.

Reception 2. "Convergence of hands".

Spread your arms to the sides in the usual way, and now tune in to their reverse automatic movement towards each other.

Repeat it several times. Try to do the first reception - arms to the sides.

Repeat the divergence and convergence of the hands several times, achieving, as it were, continuity of movement. At the moment when the hands seem to get stuck, you can slightly push them. Or smile or sigh. Smiling relieves stress. If the desired state of inner relaxation has come, stay in this state in order to remember it.

Reception 3. "Levitation of the hand."

Hands down. You can look at the hand, then you need to do it inseparably, or close your eyes. Tune in so that the hand begins to rise, “float up”. Remember how astronauts' arms and legs "float" in weightlessness? If it doesn't work, go back to steps 1 and 2.

When the hand begins to float, there is a mass of new and pleasant sensations. For the first time, it will cause a feeling so unexpected that it involuntarily causes a smile.

Reception 4. "Flight".

If the hand began to "float", then after a few seconds, give the opportunity for the same "float" for the second hand.

Let your hands pop up. Let them rise like wings.

Help yourself with pleasant figurative representations. Imagine that the arms are wings! Wings carry you!

You are high - high above the ground! Clear sky! Towards the warm sun.

Let your breath open. Allow yourself to breathe freely. Allow yourself to feel the state of flight.

Reception 5. "Self-oscillations of the body."

When performing the Key Techniques, along with relaxation, the phenomenon of self-oscillation of the body usually occurs. This is natural - in a relaxed state, a person sways.

With self-oscillations of the body, hands can be lowered and simply sway on the waves of this harmonizing biorhythm, just like a child sways on a swing. You can close your eyes or leave them open, whichever you prefer.

This technique with self-oscillations of the body also trains coordination. A person with good internal coordination is more resistant to stress, less susceptible to external influences than others, has greater independence of thinking, quickly finds a way out in the most difficult situations. Therefore, exercises aimed at developing coordination also form resistance to stress.

Reception 6. "Head movements."

Standing or sitting, we lower our head, relaxing our neck, or we recline our head, as it is more pleasant, and, remembering the experience with ideomotor movements of the hands, we cause ideomotor turns of the head in a convenient direction.

If this does not work, we mechanically rotate the head in a pleasant rhythm along the line of pleasant turning points. This is such a rhythm in which you want to continue the movement, and neck tension weakens.

You can find a moment when you can sort of let go of the head, and then it will go ideomotor - automatically.

It is necessary to bypass painful or tense points, and if they appear, they should be lightly massaged. When you find a pleasant turning point when moving your head, where you sometimes want to leave your head like that. A pleasant turning point is a point of relaxation.

You can help yourself in finding relaxation and with the help of the movement of the eyeballs, horizontal or vertical, look for what is more pleasant for you.

If you perform these techniques before going to bed, then when you exit the state of self-regulation, tune in to a pleasant dream, exit the procedure with a relaxed feeling, with drowsiness, with a desire for sleep.

The exercise “Relaxation by Contrast” will help to discharge negative emotional states and maintain a cheerful mood. Here relaxation is achieved through tension. It is necessary to strain, for example, the hands, and then relax them as much as possible.

Exercises based on tension and relaxation

muscle groups

sitting. Stretch your arms forward, clench into fists (1 minute). subsequent relaxation.

Standing on tiptoe, we “grow” with the spine, pull our arms up. We “grow” into the floor with our heels (1 minute). Relaxation.

standing. Imagine that the buttocks squeezed the coin. We strain the hips, buttocks. "Holding a coin" (1 min). Relaxation.

sitting. The back is straight. The legs are extended forward. We press the heels into the floor, pull the toes up to the lower leg. (1 minute). Relaxation.

sitting. The back is straight. Legs on tiptoe. Heels are perpendicular to the floor. We press our toes on the floor. Raise your heels as high as possible. (1 minute). Relaxation.

sitting. Hands are extended forward. The fingers are outstretched. We strain (30 sec). Squeeze the brush into a fist. We strain (30 sec). Relaxation. Repeat.

sitting. We pull our shoulders to our ears. As high as possible. Feel warm (1 min). Relaxation.

Exercise to relax the muscles of the face.

Let's move on to a more complex method of self-influence - self-hypnosis.

Its essence lies in the use of special verbal formulas against the background of a special, different from the waking state of the psyche for changes in physiological or mental reactions. The power of the influence of the word, as a specific irritant inherent only to man, has long been known. No wonder folk wisdom says: "A word can kill and inspire a person." This power is most clearly manifested in hypnosis. But a person can use these phenomena without the participation of a hypnotist, if he knows the basic rules and elements of the autosuggestion technique.

First, it is necessary to achieve the emergence of a state of autogenic immersion, or, as it is called, a "neutral" state. It is characterized by a concentration of attention on the ongoing process and distraction from external stimuli, relaxation (drowsy state), inner confidence in success, a calm, somewhat detached attitude towards the process itself.

The preparatory stage consists in the implementation of two previously discussed techniques: achieving maximum muscle relaxation against the background of abdominal breathing. The next element is concentration training.

Attention ordinary person has an involuntary switchability from object to object. This is easy to check on the following test: if you carefully look at the truncated pyramid (top view), you will see that it will be visible either with its apex towards you, or away from you. This is an involuntary switch. But if, during self-regulation classes, your attention will also constantly switch to internal sensations, then to extraneous sounds, noises, abstract thoughts, then the success of the classes will become doubtful. Therefore, it is necessary to train the ability to keep attention on any object or sensation, gradually bringing it up to 4-5 minutes. It can be any point, your own finger, the feeling of your breath, etc.

In addition, attention management is valuable in itself and outside the autosuggestion procedure. Suffice it to recall an example when a person walks rather freely along a log lying on the ground. But as soon as the same log is raised to a 5-meter height, the picture changes dramatically. Human movements become constrained, because. increased cost of error. His attention is focused on every step, the position of the body. However, if he can concentrate his attention on the end goal, the opposite end of the log, and keep it there until the end of the path, he will pass almost as freely as on the ground.

Now for the two most important elements self-hypnosis techniques. When the state of autogenic immersion is reached, there is a redistribution of functions between the main substructures of the psyche - consciousness and subconsciousness, they become resultant. Each of them has its own communication tool, which must be used. In this case, it acts as a formula of self-hypnosis, which in its essence is the goal that you are going to achieve.

Therefore, these phrases must be thought out and determined in advance, before entering the "neutral" state.

There are a number of requirements that self-hypnosis formulas must meet:

You must be clear about what you want to achieve during a self-hypnosis session;

The formula should be clear, short, reflect the essence;

The phrase should be positive, without the content of the “not” particle, since the subconscious omits it.

The phrase should be pronounced in the rhythm of breathing, while its decisive part is at the exit;

It’s good if the phrase is somewhat ironic and cheerful in nature or rhymed in advance.

However, the power of the word is not always enough, and then it is significantly enhanced by another tool - a mental image. With it we associate the work of human representation and imagination.

Feeling the effect of the influence of images on the body is quite simple. Close your eyes and mentally say: "Let my mouth fill with saliva." Apparently, the result will be insignificant. Now imagine as vividly as possible that you have a freshly cut slice of lemon in your hands: you clearly smell it, see a drop of amber juice, put a slice on your tongue and feel its piercingly sour taste. Most likely. There is already a lot of saliva in the mouth.

Our time is special. Now the psyche, the cells of the brain are constantly affected by flows of the most diverse, sometimes unnecessary, and sometimes harmful information - this is on the one hand, and on the other hand, there are not enough hours in the day to truly understand everything that breaks into us to the brain through the channels of the organs of perception. In everything that we see, hear, touch, smell, what we feel, experience, what we cannot help but think about. Our time and our whole life is characterized by instability, uncertainty in tomorrow. That is why many are in a state of almost continuous and very peculiar psychophysical tension. For which, in the end, you have to pay. First of all, health. Extensive statistics inexorably states a rather sad situation - about half of all deaths in economically developed countries are caused by diseases of the heart and blood vessels. These diseases develop by no means in connection with physical overload, but mainly from chronic neuropsychic overstrain. First of all, it hits the cardiovascular system, which reacts very sharply to everything that happens in the world of our thoughts and feelings. And when we for a long time we are dissatisfied with something, we are afraid of something, we suffer or find ourselves under the influence of other negative, harmful emotions, all this is like insidious arrows, pierces our heart and injures it. Each person must learn to manage himself, his mental and physical state. Only under this condition can you withstand stressful situations. In other words, it is necessary for everyone to own the possibilities that are inherent in mental self-regulation.

Nature, creating people, endowed their body with a great ability for self-regulation. Thanks to this, the heart itself, without any intervention on our part, begins to beat more powerfully when, for example, we switch from walking to running. At the same time, blood pressure rises, breathing becomes deeper, metabolism is activated - and all this without our help, as if by itself, on the basis of the laws of self-regulation.

Nervous shocks can disrupt not only sleep, but also the work of the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory organs. Of course, you can resort to the help of medicines and use them to establish the processes of natural self-regulation, but medicines are not omnipotent and not safe.

When a person masters mental self-regulation, he acquires the ability to provide reasonable assistance to natural self-regulation. And then the armament in the face of all sorts of difficulties only increases, which sometimes one can only be surprised at the abilities that those who have learned to manage the mechanisms of self-regulation begin to demonstrate.

In conditions modern society often requires particularly clear self-control, high self-control, the ability to make operational decisions, manage work operations, behavior and emotions. The inability of a person to regulate his mental state and actions lead to negative and often serious consequences both for himself and for those around him (in the work of operators, pilots, drivers, while on guard duty, etc.).

Mood is the emotional tone in which the events of the external and internal life of a person are colored. Mood is a relatively long, stable mental state of moderate or low intensity. Depending on the degree of awareness of the causes that caused a particular mood, it is experienced either as an undifferentiated general emotional background ("high", "depressed" mood, etc.), or as a clearly identifiable state (boredom, sadness, melancholy, fear or, on the contrary, enthusiasm, joy, exultation, delight, etc.).

A relatively stable mood arises as a result of the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a person's essential needs and aspirations. The change of positive and negative moods is a natural and necessary process that contributes to a better and more adequate emotional differentiation of events.

emotional stress. Stress is a state of mental tension that occurs in a person in the process of activity both in everyday life and under special circumstances. Broadly speaking, stress. is any emotional reaction of a person to an activity. Stress in the narrow sense is an emotional reaction to extreme conditions. Stress can have both a positive, mobilizing, and negative impact both on activity (up to its complete disorganization) and on the human body.

Stress is our daily companion, so whether we like it or not, we must reckon with it. Even if we do not feel its impact at all, this does not give us the right to forget about it and the danger it represents. Unforeseen situations often arise during the working day. As a result, the latent tension grows and at a certain moment, when there are too many negative emotions, everything turns into stress. The internal state is reflected in the external appearance: the face becomes gloomy, the lips tighten, the head goes into the shoulders, the muscles tense up. It can be seen that the person is excited, nervous, i.e. is under stress. Prolonged stress can lead to accidents and even suicide.

trance states. In traditional psychology, trance is defined as a disorder of consciousness, manifested in automatic acts of behavior without awareness of the surrounding situation and the goals of one's actions. A person's behavior during trance may seem orderly, he is able to answer simple questions, perform habitual actions.

Affect is a strong, stormy, sudden, short-term emotional state that disrupts human activity, characterized by a narrowing of consciousness (perception), simplification of thinking, thoughtlessness of actions, reduced self-control and little awareness of what is happening. Affect is an emotional reaction to an impossible, unacceptable, vital situation incompatible with the position of the subject. Behavioral forms of affect can be numbness, flight, aggression. Sometimes affect arises as a result of repetitions of situations that cause one or another negative state. In such cases, there is an accumulation of affect, as a result of which it can be discharged in violent, uncontrollable behavior (affective explosion) and in the absence of exceptional circumstances.

Psychoregulation is an independent scientific direction, the main purpose of which is the formation of special mental states that contribute to the most optimal use of the physical and psychological capabilities of a person. Mental regulation is understood as a purposeful change in both individual psychophysiological functions, and in general the neuropsychic state, achieved through specially organized mental activity. This happens due to special central-brain reorganizations, as a result of which such an integrative activity of the organism is created, which directs all its capabilities in a concentrated and most rational way to solve specific problems.

Methods of direct impact on the functional state can be conditionally classified into two main groups: external and internal.

The group of external methods for optimizing the functional state includes: the reflexological method (impact on reflexogenic zones and biologically active points), the organization of a diet, pharmacology, functional music and light and music effects, bibliotherapy, a powerful class of methods for actively influencing one person on another (persuasion, order, suggestion, hypnosis). Let us briefly describe some of them.

The reflexological method, widely used in medicine for the treatment of various diseases, is currently gaining popularity outside of therapeutic practice. In recent years, it has been intensively used to prevent borderline conditions, increase efficiency, and urgently mobilize internal reserves.

Normalization of the diet, as a method of reflexology, is not directly related to psychotherapeutic procedures. However, it is useful to have information about the possibilities of using appropriate medical and physiological techniques and their role in optimizing the functional state.

It is well known that the lack of essential nutrients leads to a decrease in resistance and, as a result, contributes to the rapid development of fatigue, the emergence of stress reactions, etc. Therefore, a balanced daily diet, the correct organization of the diet, the inclusion of special products in the menu is legitimately considered as one of the most effective ways to prevent adverse conditions.

Pharmacotherapy is one of the most ancient and widespread methods of influencing the human condition. In recent years, there are more and more publications about the positive effect of the use of various kinds of drugs, special food additives that increase efficiency. For the prevention of conditions that do not go beyond the normal, the main focus should be on the use of the most natural techniques for the body.

Functional music, as well as its combination with light and color effects, has been widely used throughout the world. Specially selected musical programs are an effective tool for combating monotony, the initial stages of fatigue, and preventing neuro-emotional breakdowns. The experience of using bibliotherapy, the method of "healing reading", proposed by V.M. Bekhterev, is also interesting. Usually this method is implemented in the form of listening to excerpts from works of art (prose, poetry). Although the mechanisms of influence on the human condition of functional music and listening to passages of text are different, their effects reveal a significant similarity.