Low stress resistance treatment. Resilience and how to train it

Scale psychological stress. Another . What level of psychological stress do you currently live on according to the Holmes and Ray stress scale? A reliable way to determine the level of stress.

stress levels. Health or illness?

stress level is a quantitative and qualitative indicator of the magnitude and influence on your life.

If stress is normal, this is very good, it means that your body is strong and copes with mental influence from the outside.

If stress goes off scale, it leads to illness, decreased immunity, or

Take to prevent stress.

There are some very simple and effective ways determine your stress level, one of which is holmes and ray stress scale .

Holmes and Ray Stress Scale. Stress test.

Do you recognize your typical day?

Holmes and Ray found how significant events and events in our lives affect the level of psychological stress.

The events were arranged according to the degree of influence on the psyche in a special plate, which was called the “stress scale”.

To fill in the stress scale, the stress test subject must first note events similar to the events in the first column of the table that occurred in his life during the year from the time of the test.

How many points do you have on the stress scale for 2013?

stress scale. What to do?

If you scored up to 200 points on the stress scale Holmes and Ray, take it easy. You are strong, relatively healthy and adaptable to a changing living environment.

If the stress test gave you between 200 and 350 points , there is a reason to do a set of measures to get out of stress. You are on the verge of a serious illness, depression, apathy or a nervous breakdown.

If your score is over 350 on the stress scale, Your direct route to the psychologist's office. You will need to undergo a course of serious or even rehabilitation.

Accumulated stress.

Perhaps over the past year, you scored a little on the stress scale.

However, if you look at the scores for the last 3 years (each year separately) or even for 5 years, you can see that in one of the years the stress level went off scale.

If you did not make any efforts to relieve stress that year, and. If you have not had enough rest for the last 3 years, there is reason to think that you have Accumulated Stress Syndrome.

The consequences of accumulated stress are almost the same or even stronger than if you scored more than 300 points on the stress scale in the last year

So, if you scored more than 300 points on the stress scale in the previous year or you suspect that you have accumulated fatigue syndrome, you need to take measures to restore yourself and accumulate strength.

A set of measures to quickly get out of stress:

• Take an urgent vacation of at least 30 days and visit a sanatorium, rest home or go to the countryside.

• Eliminate TV from the information diet, especially news and the Internet. Just visit a couple of times a week.

• Get an audio course of a psychologist of happiness on strengthening the energy "Healing of the Soul".

• Order via Skype.

• Make the decision to be happy and enjoy life.

stress scale. Table.

Stress Event	stress level (in points)
Death of a wife or husband	100
Divorce	73
Separation of marriage partners	65
Imprisonment	63
Death of a close relative	63
Own illness or accident (injury)	53
Marriage	50
Dismissal from work	47
Reconciliation with husband/wife	45
Retirement	45
Deterioration in the health of a family member	44
Pregnancy	40
sexual difficulties	39
Adding a family	39
Changes at work	39
Change in financial position	38
Death of a close friend	37
Changing the scope of work	36
Increasing the number of domestic quarrels	36
big debt	31
Foreclosure	30
Changing job responsibilities	29
The beginning of an independent life of a son or daughter	29
Conflict with relatives of husband/wife	29
Outstanding Individual Achievement	28
Spouse starts or stops working	26
Start or end of study	26
Change in living conditions	25
Reviewing personal habits	24
Trouble with superiors	23
Changing conditions or opening hours	20
Changing of the living place	20
Change of educational institution	20
Changing leisure habits	19
Change in activities of a religious nature	19
Community Service Changes	18
small debt	17
Changing sleep habits	16
Changing the frequency of family gatherings	15
Change in diet	15
Vacation	13
Christmas	12
Minor violations of the law	11

Write in the comments how many points you scored on the stress scale for the previous year.

How often in a resume you can find a beautiful concept: “stress-resistant”. However, in reality, not everyone can cope with the problems and difficulties that arise in life. Low stress resistance threatens with nervous breakdowns and a depressive state. To get rid of the negative effects of stress, you must constantly be ready for them. But how to do it in practice?

Why stress is dangerous

In fact, stress does not always have only a negative effect on the body. "Mild" stresses, on the contrary, are even useful - they mobilize all the forces of the body, forcing the brain to work faster, activating the defense mechanism. If stress is not a constant phenomenon of life, then sudden stressful situations train the psyche, help to cope with complex tasks that arise one way or another every day.

Another thing is if stress is a constant phenomenon. Regular pressure on the psyche does not activate, but, on the contrary, depresses the body's defenses. After all, why struggle with a problem if it is unsolvable anyway? Nervous tension flows from one area to another - from work to personal life, because the brain simply does not know how to relax and is constantly in a stressful state. People begin to lose weight, sleep and appetite, apathy and even depression appear.

Here is a short list of negative manifestations of stress:

1. The risk of stroke and heart attack is increasing - it is not for nothing that they say that many managers are literally “burning at work”. Constant stress, overwhelming sense of responsibility and fear of failure increase the risk of heart problems by 31%.
2. Diabetes is another manifestation of stressful situations on the body in the form of a disease. Regardless of genetics, age and weight, constant stress can lead to at least type 2 diabetes.
3. Lack of immunity due to the stress hormone (cortisol). As you understand, this increases the risk of contracting any disease, moreover, treatment can be delayed and complicated.
4. Children who are attacked by their peers also have serious health problems, in addition to a disturbed psyche. Scientists have proven that school stress can lead to brain cell death and premature aging in the future.

Understanding a problem is a huge step towards solving it. If you stop hushing up the fact that work does not bring pleasure, but constant stress and anxiety, then you can get neuroses and health problems. Having accepted the emerging stresses as a problem, you can already start the fight.

Problems that arise should be treated more calmly - yes, it is difficult, but this is precisely the way to increase stress resistance. We offer you several techniques that will help you learn to relax. Remember that every day you need to learn how to “turn off” from problems, leaving them within the walls of the office. Pleasant moments are important in your life, not work achievements.

1. Sign up for yoga or tai chi courses, learn breathing exercises and meditation. These exercises will help you find a balance of calmness, teach you to relax even in a stressful situation, and additionally, they will heal your body, make it more flexible and plastic.
2. Any physical exercise - daily walks, jogging, cycling, rollerblading, swimming in the pool will help increase the level of hormones responsible for reducing anxiety levels. Psychologists also advise power sports and martial arts, during which you can “let off steam” and forget about the problem.
3. Engaging in your favorite hobby will help improve your mood - even if it is not calm and relaxing. The main thing is that you enjoy doing what you love.
4. But “sluggish relaxation” behind a monitor or screen will not bring the desired result. Thoughtless viewing of programs and videos on the Internet does not unload the brain at all, as we used to think. It just fills your head with unnecessary information for a while, which disappears exactly at the moment when the monitor goes out. Therefore, free time should be spent in conversations, sports or walking.
5. Sometimes relatives and friends who need you do not allow you to relax even on a legal day off. It is worth learning to say “no” to the next requests that eat up your free time. Use it for the benefit of your own body.
6. Use every opportunity to listen to classical music. Modern rhythms excite the nervous system. Listening to the radio on the way to work, we come to the office already rather excited from loud music and noisy voices of the presenters. In addition to the classics, it is useful to listen to the noise of nature - the sea, rain, birds.

A harmful way to escape from daily problems and routine is the use of alcohol and delicious foods. However, this harms the body and creates only a false sense of relaxation - remember how tired you feel the morning after the party. And carbohydrate-rich foods made from white flour increase levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. It is more useful to eat foods high in omega-3 acids - these are halibut, salmon, mackerel, flax seeds. Vitamin B5 foods such as whole grain pastries, eggs, and broccoli are also beneficial.

Frequent exposure to fresh air is beneficial, as it fills our body with vitamin D, nature's best antioxidant.

Of course, the best way to improve stress resistance is to learn to solve problems, perceiving them not as a threat to your entire future life, but as a small obstacle in the routine of daily activities.

Video: how to develop stress tolerance in a child

Difficult life situations, problems in the family and at work violate the spiritual harmony of a man or woman. It is difficult to develop resistance to any kind of trouble: the more problems pile up, the harder it is to resist them.

Resilience is essential for both men and women.

Methodical work on the body and mind will help to develop stress resistance. The fight against susceptibility begins with changes in the character and habits of the individual: in order not to suffer from anxiety and fear, they must be fenced off in a timely manner.

What is stress tolerance

Resilience is the body's response to difficult events. Such an event is an irritant, a combination of factors that unsettle a person. Difficulties are a threat to which the body reacts sharply. Prolonged stress is characterized by prolonged internal tension that does not allow a person to relax, rest or move away from problems.

The high stability of personal life positions lies in innate and acquired skills: if by nature a person is suspicious and receptive, she is able to cultivate the right reactions to problems in herself. Increasing stress resistance is especially important for people in high positions or for workers who have to make quick decisions. Volitional and emotional stress will not become a problem if a person soberly assesses his abilities and capabilities. Stress resistance directly depends on the self-perception of the individual.

Definition of the concept of stress resistance

What is the reaction of the body based on?

Resilience and stressful event are two interrelated concepts. It is the irritating factor that determines the reaction of a person and his defense. The more often a person encounters such a factor, the easier it is for her to cultivate the correct stress resistance in herself. A difficult critical moment requires an urgent solution, so avoiding difficulties is also harmful.

Annoying factors arise at work or at home: the interval of what is happening is not so much important as the emotional reaction to it. An irritating factor can end, and the reaction to it continues for weeks.

Feeding internal tension, thoughts and memories that return the victim to difficult experiences at the moment of trauma.

The body's resistance to stress is based on several factors that help to increase the endurance of the individual:

• characteristics of the nervous system;
• conscious reaction;
• strength of motives;
• intellectual abilities of the individual.

The psychophysiology of a person determines his spontaneous reaction: a man or woman in ordinary life is calm and balanced, but in difficult conditions they cannot control their own emotions.

Anything can be expected from such people, they are dangerous for themselves and others. An aggressive reaction in response to a stimulus is determined by the stability of the nervous system.

Experience and personal qualities

Awareness of reactions is one of the most important components of stress resistance, showing how much a person controls his emotions, how he reacts to sudden difficulties. Volitional resistance to stress is especially important for managers - people who are responsible for employees and lower-level personnel. Emotional stability directly depends on the strength of motivation that feeds a strong-willed personality. If a person has a clear goal, her vision, he is able to withstand any difficulties. Personal experience is the basis of stress resistance: the more a person has seen, experienced, lived, the easier it is for him to come to terms with the unexpected, which cannot be controlled or avoided. This attitude to difficulties simplifies the process of psychological recovery.

An analysis of what is happening and a rational approach to difficulties determines the stress resistance of an adult. The ability to make the right decisions, rely on intuition allows you to avoid a complex psycho-emotional reaction. Low stress resistance occurs in spontaneous people who are unable to draw a conclusion from what is happening.

Where does anxiety and fear come from?

Anxiety arises against the background of adverse environmental conditions and as a result of a difficult internal experience. There are a lot of stress factors. Due to low self-esteem, a person is unable to overcome difficulties, and due to accumulated negative emotions or repressed fear, she quits work at the first difficulties. Phobias are based on contacts with other people and enhance the psycho-emotional reaction. There is a fear of difficulties in people who do not see the potential and hidden opportunities in themselves.

Low self-esteem makes an adult or a child pay attention only to negative environmental factors - a person does not try to achieve more, because he does not consider himself worthy of it. He is waiting for problems, as a natural confirmation of his worthlessness.

Fertile ground for increased anxiety are environmental conditions - poor financial situation, improper upbringing and attitudes that a person is used to being guided by. The older she is, the harder it is for her to change her habits and natural reactions: stress resistance is formed in her youth.

Lack of money is a common cause of increased nervousness

Body reaction

An acute reaction is a defense, not a reason for feeling unwell. During a panic attack or fear due to difficulties, a person feels certain symptoms:

• dizziness;
• tremor of the upper and lower extremities;
• increased sweating;
• chest pain.

The response to a stimulus depends on the stability of the nervous system and the ability of a person to be distracted. To calm down a negative reaction, it takes from several minutes to several days: the severity of the reaction depends on the type of factor and the susceptibility of the individual.

There is no longer an acute problem, but the reaction remains - a person feels constant internal tension, his pulse and sweating increase, clarity of thinking is disturbed, suppressed aggression manifests itself.

The body's response to stress

Reasons for low stress tolerance

During the period of personality formation, a person learns to perceive reality: to respond to unexpected and difficult moments. For him, a harmonious life and a protective reaction to an irritant are natural processes. Reasons for low stress resistance:

• difficult childhood, experienced violence;
• mental disorders;
• insufficient amount of experience when it comes to low stress resistance of an employee;
• physical health;
• character traits.

Each person who has gone through a certain experience becomes a stress-resistant person. Experienced events determine the degree of fear, fright and confusion at a difficult moment. Coping with a difficult emotional state is difficult for people who have experienced violence in early childhood - they do not feel protected, and even minor difficulties cause them to panic.

Unformed personalities are weak in the face of difficulties, not trying to overcome them. A defensive reaction for them is an escape from reality, an attempt to avoid new difficulties.

Mental disorders are the reasons for low stress resistance. Violation of the correct perception of the surrounding world does not allow the individual to respond correctly to its changes. Personal resources (skills or talents) can affect the resilience of an adult, adolescent or child. People of art hardly perceive criticism and difficulties, their subconscious repels everything mundane, mundane and burdensome. It is easier for them to avoid difficulties than to overcome them.

Benefits of good stability

Why is it so important to become stress-resistant? A stress-resistant person knows how to properly manage his own life, see its difficulties, but not give up before them. Stress resistance determines the objectivity of a person in relation to himself and others. If trouble occurs, such a person is ready to take responsibility for his own mistakes, but not to take on a solution where he is incompetent.

Stress resistance at work increases the ability to work, improves relationships in the team. With the stability of character, the employee's self-esteem increases, he is ready to take risks and accept the consequences of his actions. He takes on only real tasks. A stress-resistant employee is not used to avoiding difficulties. He is collected and rational. Such a person does not allow emotions to take precedence over common sense. Resilience is good for personal relationships. Love and friendship relationships are built on mutual trust - people can rely on each other in difficult moments. The more a person controls his emotions, the easier conflicts and quarrels go.

Ways to increase stress resistance

Resilience can be developed just like any other skill. To do this, you need to learn to control your behavior and thoughts. In psychology, there is such a thing as acquired stress resistance - the ability to approach difficulties with rational thinking and sober calculation. It is important not only to develop resilience to difficulties, but also to learn how to prevent them - to create conditions for proper growth and development without difficulties.

Ways to develop stress resistance:

• increased self-esteem;
• the correct mode of the day, the alternation of rest and physical activity;
• attending activities that help you relax;
• new communication environment;
• relaxation and relaxation techniques.

To cultivate stress resistance in oneself, it is necessary to exclude reactions that a person cannot control. If he succumbs to aggression or fear, he is unable to learn a valuable lesson from any difficulty.

Learning to control negative emotions will help physical exercises and special auto-training that increase self-esteem.

To do this, a person daily pronounces certain motivating phrases (affirmations) that allow you to change negative thinking. Auto-training helps to get rid of disturbing thoughts and expectations of negative events.

New communication or a change of scenery is useful for introverted individuals who are mired in their own problems. Attending group classes or yoga classes will not only help you get rid of anxiety, but also help you look at the world around you from a different angle.

The ability to relax will help develop stress resistance

The right way to deal with difficulties

If stress resistance and complexity are mutual concepts, it is necessary to deal with not only the manifestations, but also the root causes of complications at work or at home. The complexity of what is happening is determined by the person, his perception and habits. Individuals need to train stress resistance, as resistance to what can and cannot be changed.

Stress resistance is the main quality required in employment, in everyday life and interpersonal relationships of the 21st century. Along with increasing the level of knowledge, skills and professionalism for the realization of a successful person as a person, the answer to the question is of paramount importance: how to increase stress resistance.

The term "stress" was defined by the physiologist Hans Selye in the middle of the 20th century as the body's non-specific response to demands. This is the reaction of the psyche to external stimuli that biologically ensure survival.

When a danger occurs, the mechanism starts:

• release of adrenaline;
• increase in dopamine levels;
• increased blood pressure;
• occurrence of headaches;
• raising the level of cortisol - the stress hormone;
• increase in heart rate.

The body's ability to quickly adapt through natural recovery and regulation of internal reserves, the ability to stop a negative reaction to stress, to maintain calmness at critical moments, is called stress resistance.

Stress-resistant individuals are able to make the right adequate decisions, not to panic, not to fall into despair, to maintain joy, optimism and emotional integrity. Quality does not depend on age, social status and success, but develops in the process of working on oneself.

Resilience Resources

Psychologists' observations of people's behavior in extreme situations made it possible to draw conclusions about different reactions to the same irritating factors, in connection with which, the concept of stress resistance resources was scientifically fixed. Experts divide resources into internal (depending on the person) and external (depending on external circumstances).

Internal resources

This type consists in working through and accepting the situation by fighting one's own psychological barriers and includes resources:

1. Personal - active motivation to overcome stress and negative reactions. The search for positive, the analysis of mistakes, the development of rational thinking based on knowledge give rise to self-confidence, fortitude and willpower.
2. Behavioral - the ability to combine one's own inner strength with respect for others. It is based on the principle of interaction in a team, mental self-regulation, which forms hope, courage and optimism.
3. Physical - the state of health at the physical level. Taking care of your own well-being and strengthening your strength increase the body's immunity and create a margin of safety.
4. Stylistic - lifestyle. The absence of bad habits, a balanced diet and proper rest serve as the foundation for the formation of a positive reaction to ongoing events and the correction of life values.

External resources

Living in a society, a person cannot be absolutely free. Social factors are imprinted through interpersonal relationships and include the following resources:

1. Material - a measure of freedom and independence. The presence of a sufficient level of income gives stability and confidence in the future, is evidence of security and well-being.
2. Emotional - support and understanding from others. Family members, close friends, a warm team can prevent the onset of depression.
3. Informational - the study of primary sources. Psychological literature, a critical look at the current problem allows you to assess the situation from the outside and make an adequate decision.

Resources help to adapt to stress, therefore, the higher they are in a person, the faster he copes with a stressful situation.

Method of determination

The ability to adapt to a stressful situation implies the social readiness of the individual to change conditions, while maintaining their own significance. The degree of latent capabilities of the body is characterized by adaptive potential.

American researchers Holmes and Rage discovered a directly proportional relationship between the occurrence of diseases and stressful life events. The result of the work is a created test questionnaire with a scale, where each non-standard life event is reflected by a certain number of points, depending on the degree of stress and includes 43 points.

The maximum amount - 100 points is awarded in the event of the most "explosive" situation (the physical death of a loved one), the minimum - 11 points - with a minimum loss of money (a fine for traffic violations). The final assessment is carried out by adding the "stress" points for the current year and is interpreted according to the scheme:

• below 150 points - a fairly high degree of resistance;
• interval 150 - 200 points - high degree;
• interval 200 - 300 points - threshold resistance;
• above 300 points - a low degree requiring qualified assistance from specialists.

The effectiveness and ability to solve a problem is individual and depends on the level of stress-resistant behavior that characterizes psychological endurance:

1. High level. It is characterized by the ability to calmly make decisions in extreme situations that can lead ordinary people into confusion and despair. The level allows you to solve super-tasks, remaining calm in moments of strong emotional overload.
2. Middle level. Allows you to resist everyday hardships and difficulties: job loss, relationship breakdown, lack of funds. The level is an incentive for change, self-improvement and revision of outlook on life, supporting a person in a constant search mode.
3. Low level. It is characterized by a state of unstable balance, when a minimal nuisance can lead out of the usual "rut". A person cannot concentrate and is lost in simple problems, the solution of which is not worth any effort. A low level is associated with the development of hypersensitive emotional susceptibility, bordering on the impossibility of an adequate response to the actions of others. As a rule, it is the result of strong emotional upheavals.

Ways to increase stress resistance

The negative response to stress destroys mental and physical health, so building resilience is important for everyone. Chronic stress is a common cause of chronic diseases. For the correct response to stressful situations, special exercises have been developed, and centers for providing psychological, psychotherapeutic and psychiatric care have been established.

Through exercise

Constant study of specific literature using practical recommendations is the foundation for the development of stress resistance. Healthy full sleep, relaxing baths stabilize the psycho-emotional state.

The recommended complex includes:

• exercise, sports and outdoor activities;
• alternation of active rest with passive;
• autogenic training - psychotechnics based on self-hypnosis;
• meditation and breathing exercises;
• auto-training and muscle relaxation;
• individual consultations and assistance of a psychologist;
• psychotherapist-led cognitive behavioral therapy.

With the help of medicines

Long stay in an extreme situation, low level of stress resistance are common reasons for the impossibility of rehabilitation without drug therapy. As restorative agents are used:

• Novo-Passit - with a mild form of neurasthenia, accompanied by irritability, mental exhaustion, sleep disturbance;
• valerian infusion - with increased emotional excitability and neurocirculatory dystonia;
• Phenazepam, Gidazepam, Afobazole, Sibazon - tranquilizers that have anti-anxiety, sedative, hypnotic and anticonvulsant effects;
• Amitriptyline, Miaser, Melitor are antidepressants prescribed to patients to eliminate a mild form of depression.

Drug therapy can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist, self-medication is strictly prohibited. An untimely visit to a doctor can, with prolonged stress, provoke neurosis, leading without treatment to psychosis - an irreversible mental disorder.

According to the statistics of psychological research, stress-resistant individuals make up no more than 30%. To develop such a valuable quality, experts recommend:

1. Set your priorities right. Unimportant things should be placed on the last plan of the picture, which should not be hung up on.
2. Make time for enjoyable activities. The more responsibilities and workload a person has, the more difficult it is for him to resist stress.
3. Tune in to the positive. You should not think about an unpleasant situation every minute, you should let the problem go free and try to consider it temporary, ready to be resolved soon.
4. Learn to turn off. This will allow you to respond painlessly to criticism, insults, to cope with resentment, since the “on” and “off” buttons of the nervous system must work in tandem.
5. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. A developmental mindset sees mistakes as learning experiences for the future, setting up a barrier to stress.

Practicing resilience psychologist Sharon Melnick advises eliminating distraction and chaos in the mind by "participating only in battles worthy of wasting time and energy."

Conclusion

Stress is an inevitable "companion" from which it is impossible to get rid of. Increasing stress resistance - developing a positive attitude to critical situations. Peru of the sages owns the phrase: "True life does not lie in real events, but in our reaction to them." The process of freeing up internal resources requires effort, and the result in the form of calmly making deliberate decisions, regardless of the prevailing circumstances, is worth it.