Ways to prevent stress. Stress prevention - the best methods and ways to avoid a nervous breakdown

Psychic therapy. Problems and stressful situations in old age. Each stage of life development has its own specific loads. In later life, especially often, the cause of loss and changes in familiar connections is the death of a life partner or friends, poor health, physical disabilities, financial difficulties or other life challenges that we have already mentioned. It is clear that these depressing events cause painful mental reactions.

Old people who, due to current life circumstances, feel depressed or depressed, should be informed that psychotherapeutic consultations can help them overcome difficulties and cope with unfavorable stressful situations. They need to be given confidence that they are not only able, like young people, to endure difficulties and adversity, but that their realism and life experience helps them endure losses and illnesses more courageously and with greater composure.

Problems and stressful situations in old age. Somatic diseases and age-related biological changes

Among the stress factors that old people suffer from, somatic diseases can most often be identified.

The health status of an old person changes in various ways. A general slowdown in biological processes is normal. Vision and hearing deteriorate, metabolism slows down. The senses become dull, especially the sense of smell and taste. Muscles lose their elasticity, which makes it difficult to move and dexterity when performing habitual actions. To maintain itself, the body needs less nutrition and sleep than before.

Although most old people are not very concerned about the physical changes associated with their age, they suffer from many chronic ailments that limit their mobility and cause stress. Chronic illnesses change a person's life and affect their emotional life. Irritation and frustration are the most common reactions to illness-related limitations, as are feelings of helplessness and vulnerability. Even a healthy person can be paralyzed by fear of illness. This fear destroys the image of oneself as a strong and productive person. For many people in later life, illness gives rise to the disturbing idea that illness is the “beginning of the end” and that sooner or later they will be forced to go into a nursing home. Such fears encourage older people to hide their painful symptoms. In this regard, before the necessary help is provided, a minor problem can develop into a serious illness. Psychotherapy, combined with exercise therapy and occupational therapy, can help reduce the severe effects of chronic illness by teaching patients strategies to cope with their physical and mental problems.

Sleep problems

Sleep disorder is one of the most common problems of late life. Some people have trouble sleeping as they get older because their bodies change how they process food and medications. A single cup of coffee, for example, can cause a sleepless night due to the delayed elimination of caffeine. Likewise, many medications that are commonly used by older people can cause drowsiness or insomnia. Physical illnesses can cause frequent awakenings and limit the ability to get adequate rest at night. Severe snoring and breathing problems become more common as people get older, which also prevents them from sleeping normally. Disorders can also develop due to depression and fear.

As people age, their sleep becomes shorter and more shallow. The importance of sleep and the consequences of its disruption for the elderly are underestimated. Insufficient sleep has a negative impact on the ability to function normally during the day, leading to falls and other accidents, for example, and promoting confusion in thinking. Although taking many sedatives in the evening can be helpful in some situations, avoiding long-term use of sleeping pills (the use of which increases in people over 65 years of age) can be a problem. Sleeping pills can cause many side effects that aggravate this problem for a long time.

Problems and stressful situations in old age. Sexual behavior and sexual difficulties

The need for physical intimacy, sexual feelings and desires persists throughout life - this is a normal phenomenon in old age. Although such needs are gradually limited in old age, the sexual behavior of old people is usually similar to that in younger years: those who were active in their youth retain a high probability of having a sexual life in old age, and vice versa.

There are no norms for appropriate sexual desire or sexual activity in later life - just as in young years it is normal what two people feel towards each other.

Old age causes changes in sexual responses. Old men need a longer time to have an erection and ejaculate. Their ejaculation is less quantitatively than that of young people. These changes are normal and reflect a general slowdown in physiological processes. Deterioration in the ability to have sexual intercourse is not at all a sign that a man has lost his potency.

For women, changes in sexual functioning are primarily associated with a decrease in the concentration of estrogen hormones in the blood. The vagina becomes drier and less elastic, and therefore sexual intercourse is sometimes perceived as unpleasant and painful. Sexual activity remains, for example, in the form of masturbation, which helps a woman maintain her ability to vaginally slide. A water-soluble cream (not petroleum jelly) can give a dry vagina some needed moisture. Women with severe problems of this kind may benefit from taking estrogen or using a cream containing estrogen.

Certain organic diseases are a common cause of sexual problems in old people. In men, a common cause may be diabetes, which causes impotence, as well as prostate disease. In most cases, these problems can be eliminated with appropriate treatment for the condition. Although myocardial infarction does not affect sexual function, fear of sex is a very common reaction to it due to the fear of another heart attack. However, it should be noted that, despite the fact that sexual activity increases blood pressure and causes an increase in heart rate, it has not yet been established that the risk of myocardial infarction increases during sex.

Medicines used for both physical and mental illnesses can cause problems. Drugs that inhibit ejaculation or cause impotence include many antihypertensive drugs, heart medications (such as digitalis), and antidepressants and tranquilizers.

Sexual arousal can be reduced due to a number of mental disorders. It is depression that is the most common cause of such sexual problems as sudden impotence, a reference to which may indicate the presence of depression. People who suffer from depression later in life often believe that their sexual problems are due to age. As depression heals, sexual arousal also returns.

Inappropriate sexual behavior such as lewd remarks, attempts to entice others to have sex, and fantasies about it may be associated with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Dementia also leads to inappropriate sexual behavior, especially in people who have been hospitalized for a long time. However, sometimes an attempt to establish ordinary human contact is mistakenly regarded as sexual assault or attempted rape.

Sexual activity in old age should be favorably perceived by public opinion. Most older people want to live an active, enjoyable sex life and are able to fulfill these desires. Problems encountered should not be regarded as inevitable. They are usually caused by reasons such as illness, disability, side effects of medications, or mental stress. Psychological or medical treatment can significantly improve the situation.

Isolation and loneliness

Old people need heartfelt human connections and a sense of being needed and important. Research shows that a person who has at least one boyfriend or girlfriend whom he can confide in experiences significantly more enjoyment in life and fewer problems than someone who lives an isolated lifestyle.

Isolation threatens older people more than any other age group due to restrictions on social activities and interpersonal connections. Therefore, old people often feel lonely and many of their “diseases” are rooted in the problem of loneliness. We emphasize: the importance of social connections for health is often underestimated! However, not all old people living in isolation complain of loneliness. Some people truly prefer to lead an independent life - they adapt well to solitude, and their mental well-being does not suffer from living alone. In some cases, isolation can even lead to the restoration of lost self-care skills.

But more often than not, social isolation is a major contributing factor to mental disorders, including depression and paranoia. It has been established that when living alone, the risk of somatic diseases, alcoholism and suicide increases. Isolation increases a person's sensitivity to other stressors, including reactions to the death of loved ones, chronic illness or poverty, i.e. for all those reasons that usually cause mental problems.

Relatives and friends who show concern for a lonely old man should tell him about what surrounds him, what opportunities for a full and interesting life there are where he lives. Some German cities offer special programs for the elderly in the fields of culture, creativity, psychology, and even sports within the framework of the People's High Schools (People's Universities). Group physical exercise and intellectual pursuits have a particularly beneficial effect and are a significant precondition for improving well-being. They also increase energy levels, help relax and normalize sleep, improve appearance and self-confidence, and support social activity.

If an old person complains of loneliness, a series of psychological consultations can be recommended. Psychotherapy not only replaces the human need for contact, but can also help you reorganize your life and establish new connections. First of all, group psychotherapy is recommended. In addition to achieving specific therapeutic goals, it can simultaneously become a convenient reason for establishing and improving social contacts.

Death, grief and loss

Late years are characterized by numerous losses - a life partner, brothers and sisters, long-term girlfriends and friends, sometimes adult children. Most old people do not experience excessive fear of their own death. Excessive fixation on it can be a symptom of depression and can be completely eliminated with the help of psychotherapy.

Grief work is the process of overcoming the reaction to the death of a loved one. Both young and old people usually go through various stages of grief. Older people often take longer to experience these stages. This process can last from 6 months to two years.

The immediate reaction to the death of a loved one is often “mental deafness” or disbelief in the finality of the separation. Emotions then range from almost complete insensitivity to irritation and severe depression. Problems with sleep and appetite often occur.

In the normal course of the “grieving process,” the initial feelings of depression and disbelief in the finality of the departure pass within the first few weeks, giving way to a rational understanding of the loss. Then depression appears with crying, feeling tired, loss of interest in usual activities and relationships with other people. Those experiencing this process may experience conflicting feelings in which the desire to reunite with a loved one is mixed with anger against his departure. Sometimes close relatives experience aggression against those who took part in caring for the deceased, blaming doctors or nurses for not saving their loved one. Some individuals blame themselves, believing that they could have done more to prevent the death.

It is important for the grieving process that this feeling can be expressed externally. This could be conversations with other family members, friends or a confessor. If the mental pain does not subside or the elderly person is fixated on his grief, a psychotherapeutic consultation may be useful. Prolonged grief, depression, persistent feelings of guilt, weight loss, self-deprecation, excessive identification with the deceased (sometimes so strong that the living person experiences the same physical symptoms that the deceased experienced before death) and urges to harm oneself (including giving away gifts). valuable possessions or excessive financial spending) can ultimately lead to suicide. In such cases, assistance to protect physical and mental health is necessary. Sometimes men, after their wives pass away, actually become seriously ill and die. Perhaps this is due to the fact that men maintain social contacts less than women.

In recent years, numerous groups have been created in Germany in which people have the opportunity to talk about their feelings and work through grief after the death of a partner. Information about these types of offers is available from local folk universities, churches and psychosocial centers. If resolution of the problem associated with the loss of a loved one is delayed, qualified consultations will help you correctly assess and analyze your feelings and thereby contribute to the beginning of recovery.

Retirement and other changes in goals and lifestyle

Changing goals and lifestyle is a significant component of old age. Some are quite normal about becoming grandparents, about ending their active careers and retiring. However, the loss of truly serious and important life goals harms a person's identity and self-esteem.

The transition to retirement or taking an annuity is a turning point in later life. Work gives meaning and direction to many people's lives. Many of them have difficulty adjusting to the loss of an established structure of life, as well as parting with the company of friends and co-workers.

There are very interesting studies that show that the transition to retirement is not a common cause of depression. Of course, this does not mean that the decision to leave work never causes depression, but only indicates that the percentage of people for whom this circumstance is a reason for therapy is limited. Thus, the indicator of depression caused specifically by retirement may be clinical manifestations, rather than short-term and transient problems.

The transition to retirement can have a depressing effect on marital ties due to the fact that the couple suddenly begins to spend more time together, and often due to a completely new environment that lacks previous social contacts. A couple who have until now led virtually different lives often become convinced that they have little in common.

The transition to retirement can also affect your relationship with your children. Some older people find it difficult to lose parental authority. They complain that their children abandoned them to their fate and feel hostility towards them. This role change can be a source of conflict. Children, as well as their parents, often feel uncomfortable and embarrassed by the fact that a newly grown child suddenly has to provide help or care for an impoverished parent, especially if this child was previously deprived of independence and tried to leave all decisions to the father or mother.

Psychotherapy can help an older person find a new role for themselves. Marriage and family counseling, primarily aimed at younger people, may also be useful for resolving role conflicts later in life. Self-help groups and retirement preparation groups can also be helpful.

Onset of addiction, placement in a nursing home

One of the most difficult experiences of old people is the fear of losing their independence due to illness, financial and other social circumstances. Moving into a nursing home or home with children takes a toll on self-esteem, which in turn can have a negative impact on physical and mental health. Common reactions to such forced dependence are depression, fear and aggression. There are also behavioral disorders and, above all, escape from the institution where they were sent. If a person is not voluntarily moved into a nursing home, the risk of illness and death increases.

When choosing a nursing home you need to:

Make sure that you are comfortable with the invitation and whether the person organizing the invitation or the manager of the nursing home is sufficiently qualified. Find out if the property has any violations of applicable regulations. Ask who in your local administration you can contact if necessary.

Get information about the extent to which you can qualify for medical care and care, what necessary measures can be taken in this house in case of emergency. Find out how the mental health and medical services are provided in this home.

Find out what types of programs in the areas of rehabilitation, culture, creativity and communication can be offered to you.

Get an idea of the quality of food and general equipment. You can easily obtain detailed information about caring for the helpless, wheelchairs for their mobility and chairs. This can help achieve greater independence and mobility and reduce the likelihood of depression and running away.

Talk to other people living in the house and their relatives. Make one or two unscheduled visits, perhaps in the evening, to get a feel for the staff and service at the facility.

Conditions for respecting privacy are very important. Find out if you can have a private room and how much it will cost you. If you can only get a room for two, find out if you can arrange a roommate for yourself in that room.

Some people, traumatized by nursing home conditions and loss of independence, feel hopeless. They often react to the situation with behavior that psychiatrists call “infantilization” (a return to childhood forms of behavior), i.e. deliberate helplessness, which intensifies if they are approached by friendly administration or care staff. This behavior goes away when the old person becomes convinced that he can solve his problems himself.

One of the ways to make the decision to move into a nursing home easier is to have the freedom to choose one. Each such institution is required to provide information about daily routine, services, free time activities, etc.

If an elderly person associates his mental problems with placement in a nursing home, it is necessary to ensure that he receives psychiatric consultations and therapy.

Family members often place excessive demands on the care of their physically or mentally ill relatives. Due to feelings of guilt, they delay the relocation process, sometimes even to the detriment of the old person or the entire family. Often there is deep conflict between siblings over who should care for the father or mother, who even raised the issue of moving them into a nursing home, or who should bear the costs of care.

Psychotherapy can help relatives normalize their feelings and conflicts and support them in discussing these issues. She can also help make decisions about either nursing home placement or outpatient or home care.

Sleep problems in a nursing home

Many elderly people living in nursing homes complain of difficulty sleeping. Numerous factors can contribute to this problem: unfamiliar, new surroundings, new uncomfortable mattresses, noise made by staff and other occupants of the home, lack of physical exercise, long naps during the day or going to bed early at night, boredom or irregular daily routine associated with taking medications.

There are often complaints that the inhabitants of this house impose an unnatural daily routine. Many nursing homes have few night watches, which can affect the safety of those older people who have to get up at night.

To make your acclimatization easier, you need to:

Before you or a loved one enters a nursing home, talk to the staff about the home's daily routine and traditions as they relate to ensuring a good night's rest. If the rules in this house are at odds with your habits, try to find other options that suit you.

Check out the daily program. Decide to stay in a nursing home that provides daily opportunities for physical activity, creative groups, and participation in educational programs.

Bring pillows from home with you. Find out if they can provide you with foam or board coverings if you find the mattresses hard or soft.

Bring a night light and perhaps a cassette tape of soothing music or noise that you are used to - sometimes people wake up because they need this soothing background background.

Make sure that the medications you take during the day do not cause side effects that affect your sleep.

Stress is an integral component of the life of a modern person. Despite the development of civilization, people have not been able to get rid of the factors that cause stress. The problems of finding food, survival and protection from enemies, relevant for our distant ancestors, have been replaced by constant concern about the political and economic situation in the country and the world, the threat of unemployment, social insecurity, the growth of crime and terrorism. Even everyday problems - conflicts at work and at home, passing exams, unrequited love, moving, illnesses of loved ones - negatively affect a person’s emotional state. How to deal with stress and is it possible to protect yourself from it?

The term "stress" comes from the French word "estresse", which means "depression", "depression". Stress is a state of increased physical or mental tension that occurs under the influence of one or another factor.

Canadian scientist Hans Selye is the creator of the theory of stress. He believed that the body, when faced with various factors such as pain, cold, fear, danger, fast running, emotional shock, blood loss, etc., turns on special defense mechanisms against stress, responding to stimuli not only with a defensive reaction , but also the same type of physiological process. This process represents complete mobilization, adaptation to an unexpected situation. This requires a lot of tension from the body and the expenditure of a huge amount of effort.

Hans Selye

G. Selye proposed a hypothesis according to which the aging of the body occurs as a result of exposure to all the stresses that it had to face during life. Any stress, especially traumatic stress, causes irreversible changes in the chemical balance of the body. Accumulating, these changes trigger the aging mechanism. Constant stress is especially dangerous for brain cells and the nervous system. G. Selye emphasized that the prevention of psycho-emotional stress is very important for health and longevity.

Types of stress

In psychology, the following types of stress are distinguished: physiological and psychological. Psychological stress is divided into two more types: emotional and informational.

Physiological stress occurs as a result of excessive physical exertion, pain, increased or decreased temperature.
Psychological stress provoked by a feeling of threat, resentment, fear, anger and other negative emotions.
Emotional stress is approximately the same as psychological.
Information stress s occurs during information overload, when a person is faced with the need to process a large amount of information in a short time.

All types of stress negatively affect a person’s health and psychological state.

Why is stress dangerous?

Stressful situations negatively affect not only psychological mechanisms, but also the entire body as a whole, leading to a number of problems. Stress causes the following disorders in the body:

increases the risk of developing diseases of the nervous, cardiovascular, and digestive systems;
reduces immunity and resistance to various diseases;
causes sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, nervousness, irritability, and worsens general condition;
provokes the appearance of muscle spasms and phantom joint pain, headaches;
causes a deterioration in appetite or, conversely, a desire to “eat up” stress by eating large amounts of food;
destroys many vitamins, disrupts metabolic processes;
causes memory impairment and emotional instability;
contributes to depression, apathy, and loss of interest in life.

Ways to prevent stress

Stress, like illness, is easier to prevent than to treat. Therefore, it is important to learn how to prevent stress by promptly getting rid of negative emotions, physical and psychological fatigue. What methods of stress prevention exist?

What is occupational stress?

Psychologists identify another type of stress – professional stress. It represents the emotional stress accompanying a person’s professional activity. If an employee experiences difficulties in his daily activities, has tense relationships with co-workers, management, or is simply dissatisfied with his job, he gradually develops stress. Professional stress can be divided into three types:

Worker. The reasons that cause it are related to working conditions (inconvenient work schedule, poor organization of the workplace, monotonous work, insufficient labor safety).
Industrial. Associated with the profession or type of activity itself (psychological climate in the team, professional level, social responsibility, role status).
Organizational. Its cause is the negative impact on the employee of the characteristics of the enterprise itself (management style, personnel policy, insubordination, organizational changes).

No person is immune from professional stress. The risk group includes business owners, directors and managers, as well as ordinary employees. In addition to external factors that cause stress, the individual characteristics of the employee’s personality are also of great importance. People with high levels of anxiety, emotionally labile and prone to depressive reactions are most susceptible to stress.

The consequences of occupational stress can seriously affect a person. He develops dissatisfaction with his profession, apathy, depression, decreased self-esteem, anxiety and irritability. In addition to emotional reactions, stress provokes muscle pain, headaches, fatigue, and cardiovascular problems in the employee. As a result of chronic stress, the body turns on psychological defense, and a person experiences professional burnout.

It has been noted that professional stress that arises in one of the employees can gradually affect the entire team. As a result, tension increases in the team, conflicts become more frequent, labor productivity decreases, staff turnover increases, employees’ motivation to work decreases, and criticism of management appears. All this negatively affects the work of the enterprise. Therefore, management should be interested in preventing stress among their employees and correcting their psycho-emotional state.

Prevention of professional stress

The main means of preventing stress in enterprises are the following:

Informing enterprise employees. The management of the enterprise is obliged to introduce a system of informing employees about what professional stress is and what its signs are. It is most convenient to print information about stress and methods of preventing it in a corporate newspaper or post it on an information stand so that every employee can familiarize themselves with it. It is ideal if the company has a psychologist to whom employees can turn with their problems.
Conducting trainings for company employees. At these trainings, personnel are taught the ability to avoid stressful situations, find optimal solutions in difficult situations, and stress management techniques.
Conducting trainings for company management. Managers are also trained to find the most successful management strategies, the ability to take responsibility and make effective decisions. Such trainings are usually conducted by invited specialists.
Adjusting the microclimate in the work team. Professional stress is often caused by an unfavorable microclimate in the team. In this case, special programs on stress management and conflict management conducted by specialists turn out to be quite effective. To unite the team, it is useful to organize corporate holidays, field trips, and sporting events. A good option would be to create psychological relief rooms where each employee can relax and get into a working mood.

Thus, stress prevention is very important for a healthy and fulfilling human life and effective professional activity.

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Happiness is good health

and bad memory.

Albert Steitzer

Stress- this is the body's reaction to any influence that causesexpenditure of physical and mental energy. It is often quite difficult for a person to cope with stress and get some relief. Properly reacting to stress is beneficial to the body. Divorce, moving, grandchildren - a lot of stress. Missing the bus - mild stress.

Our lives are constantly accompanied by stress. Under the influence of an external or internal stress factor, for example, in situations requiring great physical or mental stress, as well as during infection and injury, the secretion of adrenaline and norepinephrine sharply increases. These hormones increase cardiac activity, cause vasoconstriction of internal organs and dilation of blood vessels supplying muscles. In addition, they inhibit gastrointestinal motility and cause dilation of the bronchi and activation of the muscular system. The sugar has been released, the muscles are ready to work, but there is no work - hence the accumulation:

Ulcers and gastritis - the abdominal cavity does not work

· Shortness of breath, hypertension- lungs don't work

· Appetite problems- disorders in the gastrointestinal tract - a person is losing weight or gaining weight

Sleep disorders - in any case - the feeling that you haven’t slept, but you can’t sleep either

This is chronic stress. If it drags on, a depressed state to the point of depression and conflicts with others appear. A vicious circle arises: depression and withdrawal from others. Active physical rest with physical activity is necessary. In the family - resolving a conflict situation, it is better not to lead to distress (unreacted stress):

1. Express everything you think (in an adequate form)

2. Go for a long walk, do intense work (physical activity)

3. Hit something, break dishes

4. Express everything so that people can hear. Speak only about myself and without derogatory expressions.

Psychosomatic problems arise when feelings are hidden and difficult to experience. Asthma - pent-up tears, sore throat - something unspoken. You need to write down for yourself: how much is “you”, how much is “I”. “You” must be absent, “I” must be. Talk only about your feelings, offer a way out of the situation.

Example:

- “I’m very upset that we quarreled”

- “What a pity that we could not understand each other”

- “I’m so upset about what happened”

- “I am very dissatisfied and simply angry!”

And as for communication between relatives and older people.....I strongly recommend dosing the information you carry for your mother or father, grandmother, grandfather, or just an elderly stranger - a minimum of negative information and a maximum of positive information. At this age, people react sensitively to any news, especially concerning their loved ones. Therefore, if we surround them with a trail of positive information, good news, a joyful smile and hugs, then we will increase their resistance to stress and set them up for mental and physical health!

Aged peopleare one of the risk groups for stress. It's hard to worry whenget sick. Worried, anxious, panicking . They are afraid that there will not be enough money for treatment, thatwill find themselves helpless and dependent on others , including from their children. Older people forget a lot. And as paradoxical as it sounds, the ability to forget unnecessary things for them maybeone of the methods of dealing with stress . Human memory - it's not only ability to remember, but also, as a rule, ability to dislodge from memoryexactly what we don't want to remember, somethingunpleasant, tragic, something that brings pain or resentment . The body tries to repress this information. Psychologists have special techniques that help repress some acute memories that prevent a person from living.

Example:

With the help of images, you canmentally erase or cover up bright paint unpleasant events, “burning in a candle flame” unnecessary dates, phone numbers, names, faces, write on the sand with a twig events that you want to forget. In the same way, you can learn to relieve toothache and headache, fatigue, and the onset of illness.

· You can conduct a practical exercise using images and observe your condition. Most likely, you will feel better.

At the heart of all these skills is a way of life,

who can really heal!

Don't believe me? I suggest you check...

Tatiana Zaitseva.

is one of the common conditions of modern man. In the old days, before this concept was invented, there were also many factors that contributed to the emergence of an anxious state. However, at present, when a person lives in peaceful and stable living conditions, this form of experience is transformed, taking on new forms. Finding ways to overcome stress. Some find it in music, others in creativity, and others note the positive effect of an active lifestyle.

Stress and its types

Stress can be divided into three types: worry, anxiety and fear. To one degree or another, a person experiences an uncomfortable state. The irritants are often environmental factors. A person saw something, smelled something, became suggestible, etc. As a result, his stable turned into one of the above.

Anxiety is a mild, unsubstantiated worry that is often caused by thinking and speculating about a possible future. Anxiety is a more severe and painful condition, often developing into physical pain. Fear is an overwhelming feeling that completely changes the functioning of the entire body, a person’s train of thought and instinctive reactions. A person no longer acts, but reacts.

Anything can become. Starting from organic causes that affect the body, leading to diseases, and ending with far-fetched fears and pictures that cause real unrest. Stress often accompanies people in old age, when they are concerned about changes in their lifestyle, the emergence of new diseases, as well as a gradual withdrawal from socially active society.

Preventing stress in old age

Older people are advised to deal with stress in the same way as a person would do at a younger age. This condition does not cause positive emotions and sensations, and accordingly, the desire to get rid of it is quite natural. Studies have been conducted in which several elderly people were observed. The following data were studied: gender, age, lifestyle, physical health, smoking history (if any), mental state, etc. Studies have shown that people who lead an active lifestyle were less stressed and more physically healthy than their counterparts who were passive in their movements.

An active lifestyle means not only playing sports, walking, and physical exercise. This plays an important role in the prevention of both physical diseases and emotional states. This also includes a person's ability to be free in their movements. If you observe, you will notice that some older people look healthy, active, move easily. At the same time, another group of old people moves slowly, they experience tension when moving, it is difficult for them to move - they look sick. It is this group of people who often experience stress.

A lifestyle that includes active movement, movement and sports is useful not only for children for their healthy development, not only for adults for maintaining their physical condition, but also for the elderly for the prevention of stress. You should care not only about the treatment of your illnesses, but also about the activity of your body, its ability to move freely and even perform complex sports exercises.

Recently, the relevance of such an issue as stress prevention has been gaining global proportions. And all because people do not take care of themselves and their nervous system. Constantly being in a state of stress causes weakening of the entire body, so not only psychological disorders, but also physical ones can be observed. This is why many doctors argue that stress is a good breeding ground for the development of many diseases.

What is stress?

For stress prevention to be successful, you need to understand what it is in general. The fact is that by nature a person is supposed to have a protective function against all kinds of negative environmental factors. Stress triggers a reaction in the human body that includes hormonal, physiological and behavioral symptoms. As a result, the individual can either resist the stimulus or try to avoid it.

When in a stressful situation, the following actions begin to occur in a person’s body:

there is an active production of the stress hormone - cortisol;
cellular metabolism begins to work faster;
the blood count becomes higher;
blood pressure begins to rise;
the heart beats faster, which means that blood circulation becomes more active, which is why there is a greater flow to the head and limbs.

It is also interesting that despite the fact that in a situation of stress, a person mobilizes all his forces, the problem that caused such a reaction is not solved. And this is where unwanted problems can begin. Firstly, an incorrectly experienced situation will constantly scroll through the brain, giving no rest: did you do the right thing, could you have done it differently, is it possible to correct something now. Secondly, an unresolved psychological problem turns into a psychosomatic illness. Initially, painful lumps form, gradually developing into a disease that affects one or several organs at once.

In fact, every person, at least once a day, will find himself in a stressful situation. More global scales are conflicts with people, smaller scales are problems of choice. Initially, a simple tension arises, which may not even be given any significance. Further, this feeling can turn into anxiety, which will respond in the body with some kind of discomfort, for example, a headache or pain in the heart. All this affects our psyche in one way or another. And if you don’t know how to deal with these, then over time neuroses and other diseases may arise.

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Stress prevention - what is its essence?

There is such a thing as stress resistance. It indicates how easily and simply a person can transfer the load of external factors to his body, without any health consequences arising.

Stress prevention is self-regulation, which is achieved through daily training. Such methods include:

training one’s own personality not to react to stressful influences;
control, and if necessary, reduction of neuropsychic stress;
control of breathing and blood circulation;
development of balance of the neuropsychic state.

In order for stress prevention to be effective, you should remember several points that are fundamental:

regulation of your diet and correction of your daily routine;
correct calculation of sleep and rest in general;
giving up all bad habits and transitioning to a healthy lifestyle;
establishing relationships in the family, at work and with the environment.

In fact, all these moments are parts of one whole - stress resistance. One well-known method is yoga. In such classes you learn not only to relax physically, but also to put your inner world in order.

But it is worth saying that self-regulation and development in no way solve the problem of stress, or rather, do not eliminate the cause of nervous disorders. They help to calm down, but in order for the negative impact to stop irritating, it is worth fighting against it. After all, if your boss screams at work every day, then breathing exercises alone won’t do it. You need to either talk to your manager or change jobs. Only then is the stressful situation eliminated, which means the disorder.

If you do not pay attention to this situation in time, then instead of prevention, you will have to carry out treatment. And here not only medical specialists will be involved, but also psychologists.

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How to help yourself?

Prevention of stress involves controlling unpleasant irritating factors. For such purposes, the following methods can be used:

Everything is much simpler. This advice probably applies more to women, because it is they who tend to take all the things that happen too close to their hearts. If some problem begins to stick deeply, then you can imagine yourself as a sieve through which the problem is removed in the form of flour or millet, as you prefer. The main thing is to concentrate on the fact that not a grain remains on the surface of the object, which means that the problematic situation is worth nothing.
Positive thinking. In this case, you need to learn to see all problems only from the positive side. Yes, this is, of course, incredibly difficult. But to get started, you can try the following. If a problem occurs, then it needs to be drawn, and it is not necessary to paint the situation in detail. It can be made in the form of thorns on a cactus or a balloon with a gloomy “face”. Next, the prickly flower is simply decorated with flowers, ribbons and other elements. But as for the second point, it’s better not to draw a balloon, but to inflate a real one and just pierce it with a loud bang. These seemingly childish methods help relieve emotional stress, and the more negative drawings are redrawn and decorated, the faster a person learns to think positively.
Don't focus on the problem. Many people live in the past, so they constantly have negative thoughts in their heads. To get rid of them you need to learn to switch. To do this, you should find a hobby that would bring real pleasure. For example, building model cars, planes or ships is a great alternative to gloomy experiences. The fact is that such a hobby requires special concentration, so negative thoughts go away by themselves.
No negative emotions. The more negativity a person holds within himself, the more severe the consequences will be for him. It’s not for nothing that they say that a sore throat is a sign of unspoken anger. Suppressing emotions initially leads to stress, and then to depression. To help yourself with this, you can go to the gym, hit a punching bag, or just go out into the field and scream there. Exactly! Through a cry, a person will release everything that has accumulated.