How to cope with stress and maintain mental health?

Recently, the problem of stress and ways to cope with it is most relevant among all age groups.

Often people are concerned about the possible negative effects of stress on health, psychosomatic disorders, and actively seek psychological help, psychiatrist Elena Kuznetsova told "Komsomolskaya Pravda".

We distinguish between physiological stress (adaptive) - it mobilizes and trains the body's defenses without causing it harm. Pathological stress should be noted separately - malicious, leading to the development of pathology. It is this kind of stress that leads to the development of diseases, including various addictions and depressions.

According to the specialist, to avoid the consequences of such exposure, we must learn to recognize the dangers of stress and cope with it.

The psychiatrist noted that in stressful situations, we can react in several ways, and self-help methods will vary. For example, in the reaction "Run" - we want to abandon everything and run away from danger (a feeling of fear). An exercise will help - sit comfortably and observe for a few minutes what is going on around you, call aloud the surrounding colors, objects, which will help to stop the flow of thoughts and concentrate on the problem.

 If the prevailing reaction is "Freeze," it is a kind of "freezing of the senses. It is necessary to understand what feelings one wants to hide from, and it is necessary to take a pencil and describe or draw your condition, whatever comes to mind.

The reaction "Give up" shows a readiness to surrender, to adapt. The technique of care for the "internal child" will help, imagine him or her, say "I am here, I understand that it is terrible, but together we will make the decision and we will cope.

Finally, the "Beat" reaction shows irritation, anger. A good way to express it would be through active sports, with an acute attack - muscle relaxation techniques would help.

She added that these techniques are good for coping with normal, physiological stress. It is not bad to engage in personal development with the help of psychologists: a specialist will be able to point out personal problems that interfere with self-realization.

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