You've probably heard the saying: “Everything comes from the head.” This directly applies to anxiety, because it is there, in the brain, that it originates. Slowly, like a cunning spy, this feeling spreads throughout the body. Your palms are already sweaty, your legs are wobbly, and your tongue seems to be stuck to the roof of your mouth and doesn’t want to obey. When a person finds himself in an unfamiliar environment or encounters something unexpected, the limbic system is activated, which sends an alarm signal. The instinct of self-preservation kicks in - you need to urgently defend yourself! This means you need fast legs, strong arms and excellent heart function (to supply the body with oxygen). Therefore, blood rushes to the heart - and it begins to beat wildly.
As a rule, we have very little time to calm down. No one will postpone a public speech, reschedule an interview or exam... Therefore, you need to put yourself on full alert in a few minutes. And here's how you can do it.
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As a rule, during anxiety a person is very concentrated on what worries him. The world is literally converging on one point. We need to try to expand our horizons.
Close your eyes, open them and look out the window. If there is a wall in front of you, keep your eyes distracted and don’t concentrate on anything. Look as if through a wall. Then, after 1-2 minutes, on the contrary, focus on any insignificant object: a pencil, a button, a thumb. Examine the item in detail. Close your eyes and try to see it exactly.
To make the effect of the exercise stronger, close your eyes as you exhale, and as you inhale, look at the object again. Do the exercise for at least one minute.
Get rid of children's complexes
We owe many complexes to our parents. Trying to instill in us such important qualities as responsibility and a sense of duty, they often made us worry and feel a strong sense of guilt for every mistake. Overcoming complexes developed in childhood is difficult, but possible. To get started, start following four simple rules:
- stop blaming yourself for mistakes;
- do not attach importance to fictitious problems;
- get rid of fears;
- be yourself.
Constantly convince yourself that you are right and that your actions are correct. Even if errors occur periodically, their consequences are usually not so critical.
Fizkult-hello
When a person is worried, tension occurs in the body. Once you release muscle tension, your mind will calm down.
If possible, do some exercises. Actively stretch, make rotational movements with your neck, jump and squat.
In the event that you are limited in movement, tense and relax your gluteal muscles, actively clench and unclench your fingers and toes.
Immediately before an exciting event, be sure to go to the toilet and hold your hands alternately in cold and warm (almost hot) water.
Why be shy and timid? Learning to cope with anxiety and shyness Read more
Be prepared for anything
Often the cause of nervousness is an internal feeling of unpreparedness. It seems to a person that he is not good enough, has not understood everything, has not studied all the information, has not foreseen all possible risks. But procrastination usually does not improve the level of preparedness, but only makes us even more nervous.
Be prepared for anything. Try to anticipate possible stressors and don't view them as a failure. Calculate in advance how you will act if events do not go according to plan. Always think through several backup plans that provide for various errors and undesirable scenarios. By adopting this simple principle, you can stop worrying at any time and save a lot of nerve cells.
Plan the upcoming event, taking into account key points where deviations from the plan are possible. Think about what you will do in the event of unfavorable developments. It is necessary to identify several main blocks and provide for an unfavorable outcome for each. This will allow you to act with maximum efficiency, no matter how events develop.
Breath! Do not breath
During anxiety, people breathe quickly and shallowly. When we are in a calm environment and feel confident, breathing becomes deep and slow. So make your breathing measured - deceive the body, let it think that there is no reason for alarm.
Imagine that you have a small ping pong ball in your groin area. You inhale and the ball rises to the solar plexus area. You exhale and the ball drops back to the groin area. The ball should move smoothly, without jerking; for this you need to breathe deeply and calmly.
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When anxiety gets in the way of life
Worrying about trifles poisons the lives of many people. There are two ways out of this situation:
- Progressive.
- Regressive.
A person’s inability and unwillingness to cope with constant anxiety can lead to a worsening of the situation and the emergence of obsessive actions and special rituals and rituals. This is a regressive method that relieves internal tension, but does not relieve or cure a person completely from this condition.
Obsessive movements are a neurotic condition of a person in which he makes uncontrolled movements. Most often this is biting nails, clicking a pen, winding a strand of hair around a hand, scratching the ears, nose and other parts of the body, checking whether electrical appliances are turned off, whether the door is locked, performing such actions and movements a hundred or more times.
Rituals and rituals that relieve anxiety. A person who is often worried about trifles, even when doing the same work every day, develops certain rituals without which he cannot concentrate. He gives them a special meaning, believing that only by observing them is he guaranteed success. As a rule, this means arranging things in a certain order, washing hands a certain number of times, observing signs and others that a person invents for himself and observes without fail.
Here and now
During excitement, a real mental dump forms in the head. A person manages to simultaneously think about the past, present and future. He remembers mistakes, worries, and is horrified by the prospects. It is very important to stop and fixate yourself in the current moment.
Out loud or silently, start saying what you see. It's important not to repeat yourself. For example, you say: “I am standing in front of the window. I’m wearing a gray suit and red shoes...” Talk about simple surrounding things. The main thing is to capture the feeling of the current moment. Return yourself from worries about the future to the real present, understandable, conscious and non-frightening.
Anger management. How to quickly calm down and not get angry? More details
How can I tell if I'm having a nervous breakdown?
– Various sources include the following symptoms as neurotic manifestations of a “nervous breakdown”:
- increased emotional sensitivity, which was not there before, irritability, anxiety;
- feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, feeling small, weak, defective, wounded, bad;
- craving for a state of “oblivion” (you want to get drunk, fall asleep, “disconnect from life”);
- impulsive suicidal thoughts, acute desire to harm oneself;
- insomnia or, conversely, excessive drowsiness;
- complaints of cognitive failure (when it’s hard to think, remember, impossible to concentrate);
- a state of acute anxiety, panic, constant rapid heartbeat or frequent increase in heart rate;
- loss of interest in everyday activities, work, friends, hobbies, clothes, etc.;
- decreased or loss of sexual desire;
- loss of sense of humor;
- nervous and physical exhaustion, noticeable weight loss or gain;
- physical ailments, signs of decreased immunity,
- marked deterioration in social functioning, need for isolation;
- other individual reactions that were not there before with their negative subjective assessment.
Pose of Confidence
Even if you feel out of place, at least visually try to look confident. Take a relaxed position.
If you have a few minutes to spare, sit down. Spread your legs a little, lower your arms down, and stretch the top of your head up to the sky, and be sure to smile. The body itself will try to bring you out of the anxious state.
When you don't have time to relax, take a hero's pose. The shoulders are straightened, the chin is slightly raised, the gaze is slightly down, the lips are stretched in a half-smile. Now it is not the brain, but the body that sends a signal that the situation has returned to normal, you have become the master of the situation.
How to stop being nervous: 5 practical tips to lose weight ⇒ Blog of Yaroslav Samoilov
If this question has arisen, then you are already on the verge of emotional burnout.
And only a few understand that nerves are the root of many problems and diseases. Today I will share with you simple but effective practices on how to calm your nerves simply, quickly and with improvised means. But in general, it’s better not to be nervous.
An irritable person not only affects those around him with his background radiation, but also suffers from “high voltage” himself.
The reasons may be different: exams, family health, relationship problems...
The question is not even the reason for this state, but how environmentally friendly you will learn to experience such emotional outbursts.
For some, an offensive word is already a tragedy, while others experience a separation from their husband “once or twice.”
Attacks of anger, frayed nerves and poor health are not only a story about personal boundaries, it concerns your health. Usually everyone comes to their senses and learns to control their emotions when it is too late to repair the body.
Before you reach this stage, let's look at 5 working practices that will help you cope with your nerves.
The body is in business
Most often, when dealing with stress, people make mistakes in one important point. They go to a psychiatrist and take antidepressants to treat their soul and head. But, in fact, “turning on” the body is the first and main way to stop stress.
It is the body that gives us quick feedback.
I restricted myself in diet for a couple of days - I felt lighter, went to work out - got endorphins, went for a massage - relaxed, got some sleep - regained my strength.
Use your own body to combat stress. The most “difficult” thing is to choose the direction and what you like best. I suggest writing a list of 10-20 pleasures for the body, which you will always keep at hand.
Yes, and sex has not been canceled either: orgasm is an excellent way of release and a source of joy hormones.
Breathe deeper
Do you remember how you laughed every time someone breathed into a paper bag in hysterics in an American comedy? How does this relate to stress?
Directly. The power of calm breathing is underestimated: 2 minutes of calm inhalation and exhalation and your hands no longer tremble and you breathe evenly. Then decisions can be made adequately.
And an interesting fact: everyone knows that breathing quickens in a stressful situation. As a result, an excess of oxygen only increases tension, even to the point of fainting. And here the same package comes to the rescue.
This technique helps restore carbon dioxide levels in the body because the person inhales carbon dioxide along with oxygen over and over again. And then the tension drops.
By the way, it helps not only fight stress, but also prevent it. No matter what others think, if it helps you, then use a paper bag to exhale. This method helps against hiccups and asthma attacks.
Reconsider your diet
During times of stress, a person consumes vitamins and microelements at a high speed and in huge quantities. That is why your task is to replenish their supply all the time. Fish, poultry, vegetables and grains - these foods contain the vitamins necessary for the brain.
Nutrition is fuel for the body, just like gasoline is for a car. The worse the gasoline, the more often you will have to repair your car.
Do you like sweets? Hello, mood swings and frayed nerves. Do you treat yourself to being fat? Get tired and irritable.
Change your diet for at least a week and you will see that your body will respond very quickly. And if you add sound sleep and drinking regime to everything, you will experience stress no more difficult than ordinary situations.
Don't keep everything to yourself
Do not scream! Do not laugh! Do not run! And each of us heard a million more “not” in childhood.
It's not surprising if you're not used to expressing your emotions as a big girl. So what's now? Study. Everything is in your hands - you can build trusting relationships with friends and family.
Start small. If you feel it, speak it up. A fish, a cat, a friend, a mother - anyone, just to share and voice emotions and feelings.
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Americans have a psychotherapist, we have girlfriends. In difficult situations, the help of a specialist is certainly necessary.
But if you feel like you're feeling a little blue or stressed, having a frank conversation with your loved one is more likely to help than not.
Man-on-chair technique
Imagine that in front of you there is a chair on which a person is sitting. It's you. For more realism, place a chair in front of you. If you do not live alone, ask your family not to distract you for half an hour.
Tell the person in front of you all about your experiences and difficulties, and then see what he answers you. In most cases, it turns out that the problem is simply trivial.
An outside perspective will allow you to assess the situation objectively.
In fact, we exaggerate most problems and only in adulthood do we realize that there was nothing to worry about at all.
If you are working on yourself, but are still embarrassed to open up to your family and friends, use the “empty chair” technique more often.
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It doesn’t matter what the cause of stress is - work or family. By managing your emotions, you will manage your life, where the author of everything that happens is you, and not your nerves.
My own screenwriter
Now you understand that the question “how not to be nervous” is just a matter of technique. Every person can stop struggling with stress if they learn to deal with it correctly, live it to a minimum and see it off.
And don’t forget about the three main conditions: food, regimen and sports. Just these three factors already account for the lion’s share of strong nerves.
Choose the way to deal with stress that suits you best, and most importantly, do not wallow in self-pity, do not plunge into problems with pleasure. Use every moment as a necessary experience.
Glad to be useful,
Yaroslav Samoylov
Source: //yaroslav-samoylov.com/psihologija-otnoshenij/kak-perestat-nervnichat-5-delnyh-sovetov-chtoby-sbrosit-ballast.html
What is the difference between nervous exhaustion and a nervous breakdown?
– Nervous exhaustion is the price to pay for living a life of wear and tear. When responding to stress, especially if it is severe and prolonged, our body's resources are depleted, and in this sense we consider it as a process. That is, we “spend” to a greater extent than we recover.
Many people notice that when there is a surge of stress hormones, they “hold on well,” react quickly, and the body functions at “high speed.” And then, at the moment of relaxation, they get sick. This means that, unbeknownst to them, they spent more energy than they could afford. Such overload and its result - nervous exhaustion - are felt by a person as severe fatigue, lack of energy, asthenia.
A nervous breakdown may or may not be part of the stress response. If the stress is strong enough and long-lasting, but the person copes with it emotionally (feels that he has defeated the “enemy” or at least is winning), then there will be no breakdown, but nervous exhaustion is quite possible later.
We will see a “full negative set” if the stress is serious and there is no feeling of coping with it. Then, at the exit or even along the way, a nervous breakdown and at the same time exhaustion may occur.
Nervous exhaustion is dangerous primarily because it can affect the health of the whole organism. A malfunction will put a person out of action for an indefinite period. It is unknown which system will fail or require attention, it is unknown what resources will be needed to recover, and it is impossible to predict what social and emotional consequences may occur.
I don’t want to force the picture, because often people “get off” with several colds in a row and move on with their lives. But in any case, timely self-care will not harm anyone and will help maintain health.
Can a nervous breakdown be chronic?
– From the very definition of a nervous breakdown it is clear that this is a rather acute and temporary reaction. If a person fails to slow down the progression of the disorder, then it continues to deepen in a specific individual direction, depending on the characteristics of the individual and the functioning of the psyche.
As a result, even after successful treatment, there may be relapses of disorders, for example, after another distress (distress is a negative form of stress; the positive form is called eustress - Ed.). But everything is individual.
What can cause anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural response to stress. The body senses danger, triggers the “fight or flight” response, releases adrenaline and norepinephrine into the blood, and the heart begins to beat faster.
But in some cases, anxiety attacks arise and end quickly. And in others they become long and destructive. The scenario depends on why the alarm occurred.
Events that happen to you
This is perhaps the most common cause of unrest. We worry about the future. We worry about the health and well-being of loved ones. We are wondering whether we will have enough money until payday.
This everyday anxiety is not dangerous. It goes away when the stressful situation ends. And it decreases when you switch to some kind of routine calming activity, get support from friends, or simply tell yourself: “Pull yourself together, wimp!”
Hormonal changes
A striking example is premenstrual syndrome in women. Hormonal surges affect brain function, which is why even a girl who is always balanced and generally happy with life can feel unhappy, offended, and deeply worried about innocent reasons.
There are also more serious hormonal disorders. For example, hyperthyroidism (increased production of thyroid hormones) increases Depression and anxiety in hyperthyroidism. This means that a person with such a disease reacts more sharply and vividly to the slightest stress.
Chronic stress
It develops if you find yourself in a stressful situation day after day. The fight-or-flight response becomes constant, and the endless hormonal explosion eventually depletes the body's reserves.
Fear and anxiety remain, because the stressful situation has not gone away. But in addition to them, new symptoms also appear: weakness, fatigue, a feeling of a lump in the throat, a strong desire to wrap yourself in a blanket and hide from the world.
As a result, it can lead to the development of psychosomatic diseases and mental disorders.
Depression
The word “depression” is often used as a synonym for “bad mood” or “low energy.” But this is incorrect. Depression is a full-fledged mental disorder caused by What causes depression? imbalance of chemicals in the brain. This is a serious disease, one of the symptoms of which is anxiety.
If depression is left untreated, it can cause other problems, such as those with the heart and blood vessels, and develop into other mental disorders.
Anxiety disorder
An anxiety disorder is said to occur when anxiety—either constant or in acute attacks—lasts for more than six months Anxiety: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and More and manifests itself with physical symptoms: rapid heartbeat, sweating, weakness, inability to concentrate on anything else, except fear.
But this mental disorder can be assumed earlier - based on a number of characteristic symptoms inherent in different types of Anxiety disorders and anxiety disorders. The most common ones are listed below.
Generalized anxiety disorder
This definition hides regular and excessive worry about the smallest things, which is almost uncontrollable and affects physical well-being. For example, you are sincerely worried to the point of trembling in your knees and pain in the heart area if one of your family members is late for five minutes. Or you break out in a cold sweat every time you take on a new project because you are always afraid of making a mistake. It happens that even the phone ringing leads to panic.
Generalized anxiety disorder is often accompanied by other types of anxiety disorders or depression.
Social phobia
It is also called social anxiety disorder. A person reacts very sensitively to the attitudes of others. He is terribly afraid of being ridiculed, rejected, unnoticed.
This fear is so great and uncontrollable that if it is necessary to “go out in public,” the social phobia’s legs literally give way. Therefore, he avoids social contacts at all costs.
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