Stress is a biological and psychological concept. Category of stress

Shcherbatykh Yu.V.

Shch61 Psychology of stress and methods of correction. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006. - 256 p.: ill. - (Series "Tutorial").

ISBN 5-469-01517-3

This textbook complies with the main provisions of the State Standard for Psychology. The book presents a systematic approach to the concept of stress, integrating modern knowledge about the nature of stress obtained by psychology, physiology and medicine. The structure of the textbook includes theoretical sections, questions for self-examination and test tasks, approximate topics for seminars and essays, exercises and practical tasks, psychological tests, a list of recommended literature and an approximate course program.

For students, teachers and graduate students of psychological faculties of higher educational institutions, practicing psychologists organizing seminars and trainings on stress management, as well as for all those interested in psychology.

BBK 88.352 UDC 159.942.5

13VM 5-469-01517-3

Introduction ................................................ ................................. 7

List of abbreviations................................................... .................. ten

CHAPTER 1. Stress as a biological and psychological category

1.1. The problem of stress in biology and medicine .............................. 12

1.1.1. The classic concept of stress.............................. 12

1.1.2. Physiological Manifestations of Stress .............................. 15

1.2. Psychological stress .............................................................. .. 20

(emotional) stress .............................................. 20

1.2.2. Peculiarities of psychological stress .............................. 24

1.2.3. Differentiation of stress and other conditions..... 28

Questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge ............... 31

Literature................................................. ................................... 32

CHAPTER 2. Forms of manifestation of stress and criteria for its assessment

2.1. Forms of manifestation of stress .............................................. 35

2.1.1. Changes in behavioral responses under stress...... 35

2.1.2. Change of intellectual processes

under stress .............................................................. .............. 39

2.1.3. Change in physiological processes

under stress .............................................................. ............... 41

2.1.4. Emotional Manifestations of Stress .............................. 43

2.2. Evaluation of the level of stress .............................................................. ..... 44

2.2.1. Objective methods for assessing the level of stress .......... 44

2.2.2. Subjective methods for assessing the level of stress ........ 53

2.2.3. Stress Prediction .................................................................. 59

Questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge ............... 64

Literature................................................. ............................... 65

CHAPTER 3. Dynamics of stress conditions

3.1. General patterns of development of stress .............................. 68

3.1.1. Classical dynamics of the development of stress............. 68

3.1.2. Influence of stressor characteristics on the level

stress ................................................. ................... 73

3.1.3. The development of psychological stress on an example
the development of exam stress .............................. 76

3.2. Factors influencing the development of stress.............................................. 78

3.2.1. Congenital features of the organism and early

children's experience .............................................................. .............. 78

3.2.2. Parent Scenarios................................................... 80

3.2.3. Personality................................................................... 81

3.2.4. Factors of the social environment............................................... 86

3.2.5. Cognitive Factors.............................................................. 87

3.3. The Negative Effects of Prolonged Stress .............................. 89

3.3.1. Psychosomatic illnesses and stress...................... 89

3.3.2. Post-traumatic syndrome .............................................. 93

Questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge ............... 96

Literature................................................. ............................... 98

CHAPTER 4. Causes of psychological stress

4.1. Subjective causes of psychological
stress ................................................. ............................... 101

4.1.1. Inconsistency of genetic programs with modern
conditions ................................................. ................. 101

4.1.2. The stress of implementing negative parental
programs ................................................. ................. 103

4.1.3. Stress Caused by Cognitive Dissonance

and mechanisms of psychological defense .............................. 103

4.1.4. Stress associated with inadequate attitudes

and beliefs of the individual .............................. 105

4.1.5. The impossibility of realizing the actual

needs ............................................................... ........ 109

4.1.6. Stress associated with misbehavior

communication ................................................. .... 111

4.1.7. Stress from inadequate implementation of conditionals
reflexes ................................................................ .............. 113

4.1.8. Failure to deal with time

(stress and time).................................................. .......... 114

4.2. Objective causes of psychological
stress ................................................. ............................... 117

4.2.1. Living and working conditions (permanent components
existence) .................................................. ..... 118

4.2.2. Interacting with other people.............................. 119

4.2.3. Political and Economic Factors ............... 120

4.2.4. Extraordinary Circumstances.............................. 121

4.3. Causal classification of stressors .............................. 122

4.3.1. The degree of controllability of the stressor ................... 122

4.3.2. Localization of the stressor .............................................. 124

4.3.3. Ways to overcome stressors of various types .... 126

Questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge ............... 128

Literature................................................. .............................. 130

CHAPTER 5. Feature of professional stresses

5.1. General patterns of occupational stress... 132

5.1.1. Occupational Stress.............................................. 132

5.1.2. The phenomenon of professional burnout .............. 138

5.2. Examples of Occupational Stress .............................................. 139

5.2.1. Study stress .............................................................. ...... 139

5.2.2. Sports stress................................................................... 143

5.2.3. Stress of medical workers .............................. 146

5.2.4. Leader Stress .................................................. 147

Questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge ............... 149

Literature................................................. ............................... 151

GAAVA 6. Methods for optimizing stress levels

6.1. General Approaches to Dealing with Stress .............................. 154

6.2. Ways of self-regulation of the psychological state

during stress .............................................................. ............... 161

6.2.1. Autogenic training.............................................. 161

6.2.2. Biofeedback ................................. 167

6.2.3. Breathing Techniques.............................................. 170

6.2.4. Muscle relaxation.................................................... 171

6.2.5. Rational Psychotherapy .................................................. 174

6.2.6. Dissociation from stress.............................................. 176

6.2.7. Use of positive imagery
(visualization)............................................... .......... 177

6.2.8. Neuro-Linguistic Programming ........... 178

6.2.9. Physical exercise .......................................... 182

6.2.10. Religion as a Way to Deal with Stress............. 183

6.2.11. Meditation................................................. .......... 185

6.3. Time management strategies for dealing with stress

its advent .............................................................. ............... 186

6.4. Eliminate the causes of stress through improvement
behavioral skills .................................................................. .... 188

6.4.1. Communication Skills............................................... 188

6.4.2. Confident Behaviour............................................... 189

6.4.3. Effective goal setting as a method

Stress Prevention............................................................... 193

Questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge .............................. 195

Literature................................................. ............................... 196

Conclusion................................................. ...................... 199

APPS

Annex 1. Tests ............................................... ................ 200

Annex 2. Answers to test tasks .............................. 231

Annex 3. Thematic plans, program, questions

for the exam .................................................. ......... 232

Annex 4. The program of seminars and topics of essays on the topics of the course "Psychology

stress and methods of its correction”....................... 240

Annex 5. Exercises and practical exercises

on the course "Psychology of stress and methods

its corrections".................................................................. ... 244

Subject index................................................ ............... 254

Introduction

The phenomenon of stress, discovered by Hans Selye, is one of the fundamental manifestations of life, as it allows organisms to adapt to various environmental factors due to the universal complex of neurohumoral reactions. This term became one of the symbols of medicine of the 20th century, and then went beyond this science into the related fields of biology, psychology, sociology, and simply ordinary consciousness, becoming fashionable, commonplace and ambiguous. This was facilitated by a real increase in the amount of stress in people due to urbanization, an increase in the pace of life, an increase in the number of interpersonal interactions (including conflicts), as well as an increasingly obvious discrepancy between the biological nature of a person and the conditions of his social existence.

If the founder of the doctrine of stress initially considered its hormonal and biochemical aspects, then subsequently an increasing number of researchers began to pay attention to the psychological component of stress. It turned out that the extremely complex and sensitive human psyche is capable of seriously modifying the nature of the "classical" stress described in the works of G. Selye. It became clear that without understanding the neurophysiological features of the functioning of the human brain, as well as emotional and cognitive processes, moral attitudes and personal values, it is impossible to predict and manage human stress reactions. Thus, the increasing role of theoretical and practical psychology in creating a unified interdisciplinary concept of stress becomes obvious.

As the Russian psychophysiologist Yu. I. Alexandrov writes, “stress has become one of the most fashionable medical and psychological diagnoses. This diagnosis is made to a person when he has any problems in his personal life, at home or at work that lead to a deterioration in his mental and physical health.

1 Psychophysiology: Textbook for universities / Ed. Yu. I. Aleksandrova. SPb., 2006, p. 326.

8 Introduction

Introduction 9

it is desirable to be able to identify not only psychological, but also physiological, behavioral and other signs of stress in order to correctly assess the severity of the situation and help people cope with their problems. Therefore, this textbook is built on an interdisciplinary basis, which allows to give psychology students a holistic view of such a complex phenomenon as stress. In this matter, it is very important to maintain the optimal balance between narrow specialization and a broad view of the problem. On the one hand, a practical psychologist should focus on his subject of research and, first of all, identify the psychological causes of stress and changes occurring in the human psyche, and in case the situation goes beyond the scope of his competence, transfer his client to another specialist (psychiatrist or general practitioner). On the other hand, the psychologist himself must have that minimum knowledge of the physiology, medicine and biochemistry of stress, which will allow him to determine the criteria for going beyond the area of his professional capabilities. To do this, in this textbook, much attention is paid to the physiological and medical aspects of stress, which seems to be quite justified, because by the fourth year, psychology students are already completing the study of such subjects as "Anatomy of the CNS", "Physiology of the CNS", "Physiology of GNI and sensory systems" and Psychophysiology. The author of the manual took into account the fact that the concept of "stress" is briefly discussed in other training courses included in the State Standard - in "General Psychology", in "Labor Psychology", in "Psychology of Health", etc. Therefore, the task of this special subject is to combine together the knowledge about stress received by students over three years within a single concept based on the principle of nervism, traditional for the Russian scientific school.

In the process of studying such a course as "Psychology of Stress", students learn the basic concepts on which the science of stress is based, study the various forms of manifestation of stress, learn about modern methods for assessing the level of stress and acquire the ability to adequately assess its severity.

course, with their other knowledge and skills, students master the most effective methods of optimizing the level of stress: various methods of self-regulation and techniques used in psychotherapy.

The structure of the textbook includes theoretical sections, questions and tasks to test the assimilation of knowledge, cited and recommended literature for each section. Approximate topics of seminars and essays, exercises and practical tasks, relevant psychological tests and answers to test tasks are included in the appendices. Methodological material for teachers is also given there: approximate thematic plans for the course, program and questions for the exam.

List of abbreviations

BP - blood pressure.

SBP - systolic blood pressure.

DBP - diastolic blood pressure.

ACTH - pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone.

AT - autogenic training.

VIC - vegetative index Kerdo.

GNI - higher nervous activity.

ANS - autonomic nervous system.

HRV - heart rate variability.

IN - stress index of regulatory systems.

And PS - an integral indicator of fears.

NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming.

NS - nervous system.

PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder.

SMR - sensorimotor reaction.

HR - heart rate.

CNS - central nervous system.

Chapter 1

STRESS AS A BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CATEGORY

1.1. The problem of stress in biology and media

1.1.1. Classic stress concept

1.1.2. Physiological manifestations of stress

1.2. Psychological stress

1.2.1. Introduction of the concept of psychological
(emotional) stress

1.2.2. Features of psychological stress

1.2.3. Differentiation of stress and other conditions

1 2 Chapter 1. Stress as a biological and psychological category

1.1. The problem of stress in biology and media 1 3

Psychological stress, in contrast to the biological stress described in the classical works of G. Selye, has a number of specific features, among which several important * features can be distinguished. In particular, this type of stress can be triggered not only by real, but also by probabilistic events that have not yet occurred, but the onset of which the subject is afraid of.

1 Maklakov A. G. General psychology. SPb., 2002, p. 456.

2 Ibid., p. 457.

Unlike animals, a person reacts not only to actual physical danger, but also to a threat or a reminder of it. As a result, it happens that in a poorly performing student, the mere thought of a likely unsatisfactory grade sometimes causes stronger vegetative reactions than getting it on the exam. This determines the specifics of human psycho-emotional stress, to which the patterns of its course, described in detail in experiments on laboratory animals, are not always applicable.

Another feature of psychological stress is the essential value of a person's assessment of the degree of his participation in actively influencing a problem situation in order to neutralize it. It has been shown that an active life position, or at least the awareness of the possibility of influencing a stressor factor, leads to the activation of a predominantly sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system, while the passive role of the subject in the current situation determines the predominance of parasympathetic reactions.

The main differences between biological and psychological stress are reflected in Table. one.

The control question that allows you to differentiate the types of stress sounds like this: "Does the stressor cause obvious damage to the body?". If the answer is "Yes" - this is biological stress, if "No" - psychological.

Table 1. Differences between biological and psychological stress

Continuation

1.2. Psychological stress 27

Table 1. (The ending)

Parameter	biological stress	Psychological stress
The nature of emotional experiences	"Primary" biological emotions - fear, pain, fright, anger	"Secondary" emotional reactions in combination with a cognitive component - anxiety, anxiety, melancholy, depression, jealousy, envy, irritability, etc.
Time limits of the subject of stress	Specific, limited to the present or near future	Blurry (past, distant future, indefinite time)
The influence of personal qualities	Minor	very significant
Examples	f Hypothermia caused by long bathing f Hot steam burns f Intoxication caused by alcohol intake f Viral infection f Exacerbation of gastritis after taking spicy food f Injury (bruise, fracture)	t Reprimand received from boss t Rent increase t Fear of flying t Family conflict t Worry about the health of close relatives t Unrequited love t Worry about the future

The mechanism of development of psychological stress can be demonstrated by the example of a student preparing to defend a graduation project. The severity of signs of stress will depend on a number of factors: his expectations, motivation, attitudes, past experience, etc. The expected forecast for the development of events is modified in accordance with the information and attitudes already available, after which the final assessment of the situation takes place. If the conscious (or subconscious) assesses the situation as dangerous, then stress develops. Parallel to this process, an emotional evaluation of the event takes place. The initial launch of an emotional reaction develops on a subconscious level, and then another emotional reaction is added to it, made on the basis of rational analysis.

In this example (waiting for the defense of a diploma), the developing psychological stress will be modified in the direction of

increase or decrease in intensity depending on the following internal factors (Table 2).

Table 2.subjective factors affecting stress levels

Subjective factors	Increasing stress levels	Reducing stress levels
Memory of the past	Having unsuccessful performances in the past, failures in public speaking	Experience of successful speeches, presentations, public reports
Motivations	“Ala me, it is very important to perform well on the defense and get the highest mark”	“I don’t care how I perform and what mark I get”
Settings	f “It all depends on me” f “During public speaking, everyone gets excited, but I especially”	4 “You can’t escape fate” f “just think, the diploma is sewn up. This is just a formality, not worth any special worries.
expectations	The uncertainty of the situation, the attitude of the members of the commission is not clear	Certainty of the situation (expectation of a benevolent attitude of the members of the commission)

This process can be expressed as the following scheme (Fig. 4).

Chapter 1. Stress as a biological and psychological category

1.2. Psychological stress 29

Introduction

List of abbreviations

BP - blood pressure.

AT - autogenic training.

NS - nervous system.

SMR - sensorimotor reaction.

Psychological stress

Chapter 2

Forms of manifestation of stress

Psychological stress can manifest itself in changes in various functional systems of the body, and the intensity of violations can vary from a slight change in emotional mood to serious diseases such as stomach ulcers or myocardial infarction. There are several ways to classify stress reactions, but for psychologists the most promising is to divide them into behavioral, intellectual, emotional and physiological manifestations of stress (at the same time, biochemical and hormonal processes are conditionally referred to as physiological manifestations). Previously, a similar classification of body reactions was used in the study of the state of anxiety, which often accompanies psychological stress. Yes, Mia V. ]. identifies four components that play an important role in the formation of a state of anxiety:

Mood (for example, excitement);

Cognitive sphere (unpleasant memories, building negative forecasts);

Physiological manifestations (tachycardia, sweating, tremor); + behavioral responses.

In accordance with this approach, we will also separately consider the behavioral, intellectual, emotional and physiological manifestations of stress, naturally, realizing that there are close objective relationships between these forms of manifestation of stress.

Stress assessment

Stress level prediction

Prediction of stress reactions is of great scientific and applied, practical importance in various fields of human activity. In particular, it allows you to pre-identify people who may have a violation of the functional state during extreme situations, and to carry out appropriate work with them in terms of psychoprophylaxis of stress. Specialists in the field of labor physiology note that various types of unfavorable functional states (fatigue, monotony, inadequate reactions to stress, etc.) not only significantly reduce the success and quality of work, but also make a person pay an “ultra-high psychophysiological price” for the work performed. work . Therefore, a timely forecast of possible deviations in the normal functional state of individuals and the timely implementation of corrective measures would not only help these people maintain their health, but also increase the efficiency of their activities by optimizing their functional state.

Currently, there are various methods for predicting human responses to stress. Their main task is to take into account the individual mental and physiological characteristics of the subject and extrapolate the data obtained to similar situations in the future. These methods include:

1) use of identical stressors(for example, studying the psychological and vegetative reactions of a student in one exam makes it possible to predict the nature and level of stress experienced by him in another);

2) use of dosed test stresses in laboratory conditions(exposure to strong visual, sound and tactile stimuli);

3) mental modeling of stressful situations(in particular, using the method of neurolinguistic programming);

4) forecasts based on psychological tests and questionnaires",

5) mathematical models(simple, multiple regression, etc.);

6) creation of a model stressful situation with the help of various devices, which, in terms of its parameters, would be quite close to the real situation.

Psychophysiology: Textbook for universities / Ed. Yu. I. Aleksandrova. SPb., 2006, p. 326.

A stressor is a factor that causes stress.

From English. &gess - tension.

Immobilization - forced immobilization.

Psychophysiology: Textbook for universities / Ed. Yu. I. Aleksandrova. SPb., 2006, p. 331.

Nemov R.S. Psychology. Book. 1. General foundations of psychology. M., 1999, p. 442.

Ibid, p. 680.

Maklakov A. G. General psychology. SPb., 2002, p. 456.

Ibid, p. 457.

For example: Sviderskaya N. E. et al. Features of EEG signs of anxiety in humans // VID Journal. 2001. V. 51, No. 2, p. 158-165.

Shcherbatykh Yu. V. To what extent does Luscher's method of color choices measure the vegetative component of anxiety? // Applied Information Aspects of Medicine. 2003. V. 5. No. 1-2, p. 108-113.

Introduction

At the same time, doctors, physiologists, psychologists and social workers often invest completely different content in the concept of stress, because of which people may develop an incorrect, distorted idea of this phenomenon. For a practical psychologist, it is desirable to be able to identify not only psychological, but also physiological, behavioral and other signs of stress in order to correctly assess the severity of the situation and help people cope with their problems. Therefore, this textbook is built on an interdisciplinary basis, which allows students to give psychology students a holistic view of such a complex phenomenon as stress. In this matter, it is very important to maintain the optimal balance between narrow specialization and a broad view of the problem. On the one hand, a practical psychologist should focus on his subject of research and, first of all, identify the psychological causes of stress and changes occurring in the human psyche, and in case the situation goes beyond the scope of his competence, transfer his client to another specialist (psychiatrist or general practitioner). On the other hand, the psychologist himself must have that minimum knowledge of the physiology, medicine and biochemistry of stress, which will allow him to determine the criteria for going beyond the area of his professional capabilities. To do this, in this textbook, much attention is paid to the physiological and medical aspects of stress, which seems to be quite justified, because by the fourth year, psychology students are already completing the study of such subjects as "Anatomy of the CNS", "Physiology of the CNS", "Physiology of GNI and sensory systems" and Psychophysiology. The author of the manual took into account the fact that the concept of "stress" is briefly discussed in other training courses included in the State Standard - in "General Psychology", in "Labor Psychology", in "Psychology of Health", etc. Therefore, the task of this special subject is to bring together the knowledge about stress received by students over three years within a single concept based on the principle of nervism, traditional for the Russian scientific school.

As they study the course, students also establish the main causes of stress (primarily psychological) and the factors influencing the dynamics of the development of stress processes. For their future work, psychologists must know not only the general patterns of occupational stress, but also their main varieties. By integrating the information gained from this course with their other knowledge and skills, students master the most effective methods for optimizing stress levels: various methods of self-regulation and techniques used in psychotherapy.

List of abbreviations

BP - blood pressure.

SBP - systolic blood pressure.

DBP - diastolic blood pressure.

ACTH - pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone.

AT - autogenic training.

VIC - vegetative index Kerdo.

GNI - higher nervous activity.

ANS - autonomic nervous system.

HRV - heart rate variability.

IN - stress index of regulatory systems.

And PS - an integral indicator of fears.

NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming.

NS - nervous system.

PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder.

SMR - sensorimotor reaction.

HR - heart rate.

CNS - central nervous system.

Chapter 1 STRESS AS A BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CATEGORY

“As an independent physiological, mental and social phenomenon at the same time, stress in its essence is another type of emotional state. This condition is characterized by increased physiological and psychological activity. At the same time, one of the main characteristics of stress is its extreme instability. Under favorable conditions, this state can transform into an optimal state, and under unfavorable conditions, into a state of neuro-emotional tension, which is characterized by a decrease in the efficiency and effectiveness of the functioning of systems and organs, and depletion of energy resources.

It should be noted here that from the point of view of biological expediency (using the “Fight or Flight” strategy), stress increases the efficiency of the functioning of organ systems - for example, when a person runs away from an aggressive dog or participates in a sports competition. Decreased performance occurs only when natural behavioral programs come into conflict with social norms or conditions of intellectual activity (which manifests itself, for example, in the stress of air traffic controllers or stockbrokers).

1.2.2. Features of psychological stress

Psychological stress, in contrast to the biological stress described in the classical works of G. Selye, has a number of specific features, among which several important ones can be distinguished. In particular, this type of stress can be triggered not only by actual, but also by probabilistic events that have not yet occurred, but the occurrence of which the subject is afraid of @@@@@21, 23#####. Unlike animals, a person reacts not only to actual physical danger, but also to a threat or a reminder of it. As a result, it happens that in a poorly performing student, the mere thought of a likely unsatisfactory grade sometimes causes stronger autonomic reactions than getting it on the exam. This determines the specifics of human psycho-emotional stress, to which the patterns of its course, described in detail in experiments on laboratory animals, are not always applicable.

Another feature of psychological stress is the essential importance of a person's assessment of the degree of his participation in actively influencing the problem situation in order to neutralize it @@@@@4#####. It is shown that an active life position, or at least the awareness of the possibility of influencing a stress factor, leads to the activation of a predominantly sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system, while the passive role of the subject in the situation causes the predominance of parasympathetic reactions @@@@@16##### .

The main differences between biological and psychological stress are reflected in Table. one.

The control question that allows you to differentiate the types of stress sounds like this: “Does the stressor cause obvious damage to the body?” If the answer is "Yes" - this is biological stress, if "No" - psychological.

Table 1. Differences between biological and psychological stress.

Table 1. (End).

In this example (waiting for graduation), the developing psychological stress will be modified in the direction of increasing or decreasing intensity, depending on the following internal factors (Table 2).

Table 2. Subjective factors influencing the level of stress.

This process can be expressed as the following scheme (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Mechanisms of formation of psychological stress.

1.2.3. Differentiation of stress and other conditions

Differentiation of stress and other emotional states is rather complicated and in most cases is very conditional. The states closest to stress are negative emotions, fatigue, overload and emotional tension. With sufficient intensity and duration, such emotional phenomena as fear, anxiety, frustration, psychological discomfort and tension can be considered as a psychological reflection of stress, as they are accompanied by all manifestations of a stress reaction: from disorganization of behavior to an adaptation syndrome @@@@@16## ###.

The question most often arises about the differentiation of stress from the process fatigue. This task is facilitated by the fact that these two states have a different physiological basis: stress is associated with humoral and autonomic changes, and fatigue is determined by the higher levels of the nervous system, primarily by the cerebral cortex. However, there are “transition points” between them: fatigue develops at the onset of depletion of activation caused by sympathetic regulation, which triggers the activity of the parasympathetic department, which contributes to the restoration of spent resources. The predominant activity of the parasympathetic system during fatigue is expressed in a decrease in speech activity, a desire for peace and ease of occurrence of sleep inhibition @@@@@16#####. According to V. V. Suvorova, only extremely rarely severe fatigue can trigger the development of sympathetic reactions, which is expressed in overexcitation and sleep disturbance. In real work, fatigue can manifest itself:

+ or in reducing the intensity of the worker's labor while maintaining the magnitude of the initial stress of his physiological functions (decrease in labor productivity);

+ or in an increase in the degree of intensity of physiological functions with unchanged indicators of the quantity and quality of labor (an increase in the "price of the result of labor");

+ or (which happens most often) in a certain decrease in labor indicators with a simultaneous increase in the stress of physiological functions.

In the latter situation, fatigue by the end of work can be quite deep, and a long rest is required to restore the normal functional state of the body.

If the rest is not enough to fully restore working capacity by the beginning of the next working period, then during this period fatigue develops more quickly and its depth by the end of work will be more significant than in the previous period. This shows that fatigue has the ability to accumulate, gradually passing into a qualitatively new state - overwork. The latter is usually defined as chronic fatigue that is not eliminated by normal periods of rest (daily and weekly). The syndrome of mental-emotional overwork is regarded by some authors as a special nosological state of the body, located between normal and pathological reactions, which, under adverse conditions, can turn into a disease @@@@@11#####. Hereditary and constitutional factors play a special role in the development of nervous strain and chronic fatigue, because without taking into account genotypic features it is difficult to explain multidirectional psychophysiological changes in extreme situations in different individuals.

Content
BLOCK 1.
1. Stress as a biological and psychological category
The role of the autonomic nervous system in the adaptation of the human body to environmental factors………………………………………………………3
2. Forms of manifestation of stress and criteria for its assessment
Methods for assessing the state of the cardiovascular system and the autonomic nervous system under stress………………………………………………..4
3. Dynamics of stress conditions
Classical dynamics of stress development in the concept of G. Selye………5
4. Causes of psychological stress
Causal classification of stress occurrence……………………..6
5. Feature of professional stress
Educational stress and its forms………………………………………………. .7
6. Methods for optimizing the level of stress
Classification of methods for neutralizing stress ………………………… 10

BLOCK 2………………………………………………………………………. 12
BLOCK 3………………………………………………………………………. sixteen
References…………………………………………………………….24

BLOCK 1.
Topic 1. Stress as a biological and psychological category
The role of the autonomic nervous system in the adaptation of the human body to environmental factors.
Higher nervous activity ensures the individual adaptation of the organism to changing conditions of the external and internal environment. It is determined (determined) by the combined action of many factors. These include, on the one hand, afferent impulses that enter the central nervous system from receptors that perceive endogenous and exogenous stimuli, i.e., stimuli from the internal and external environment, on the other hand, trace phenomena from the previous activity of the nervous system, i.e. i.e. memory. An important role in afferent impulsation belongs to sensory corrections (feedback), which transmit signals about the nature and effectiveness of body reactions through internal and external analyzers (in sports, for example, about the movements of body parts, the trajectory of moving projectiles during throwing).
Based on the analysis and synthesis of afferent impulses (including sensory corrections) and trace processes, new reflex acts and integral behavior of the organism are formed. Higher nervous activity is of great importance in the process of acquiring new motor skills and adapting to various physical exercises.
The mechanisms of higher nervous activity in higher animals and humans are associated with the activity of a number of parts of the brain. The main role in these mechanisms belongs to the cerebral cortex (IP Pavlov). It has been experimentally shown that in the higher representatives of the animal world, after complete surgical removal of the cortex, higher nervous activity deteriorates sharply. They lose the ability to subtly adapt to the external environment and exist independently in it.
The absence of active food-procuring reflexes and defensive reactions to distant (distance) stimuli can lead to death from starvation or biological enemies.
In humans, the cerebral cortex plays the role of "manager and distributor" of all vital functions (IP Pavlov). This is due to the fact that in the course of phylogenetic development, the process of corticalization of functions occurs. It is expressed in the increasing subordination of the body's somatic and vegetative functions to the regulatory influences of the cerebral cortex. In the case of the death of nerve cells in a significant part of the cerebral cortex, a person turns out to be unviable and quickly dies with a noticeable violation of the homeostasis of the most important autonomic functions.
Topic 2. Forms of manifestation of stress and criteria for its assessment
Methods for assessing the state of the cardiovascular system and the autonomic nervous system under stress.
According to the results of numerous clinical observations and experimental studies, the cardiovascular system primarily responds to stress, and also becomes one of the first targets of stress. According to most researchers, the leading pathogenic factor in relation to the cardiovascular system under stress is the activation of catecholamine and adrenocordicoid mechanisms, which, through a violation of the permeability of the membranes of heart cells, lead to disorders of their metabolism and hypoxia. At the same time, researchers emphasize the two-way relationship between stress and ischemia of the heart muscle: on the one hand, ischemia often occurs as a result of a stress reaction that causes spasm and thrombosis of the coronary vessels, and on the other hand, ischemia caused by any cause causes pain, fear of death, and as a result - the expressed emotional stress.

Topic 3 Dynamics of stress conditions
Classical dynamics of stress development in the concept of G. Selye.
It should be noted that Hans Selye received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of this particular aspect of stress reactions - the activation of the adrenal cortex, which helps the human and animal body to overcome various difficulties with the help of special anti-stress hormones. This reaction is also triggered by the hypothalamus, but differs significantly from the previous one. Under the action of hormones of the adrenal cortex (glucocorticoids), all metabolic processes are enhanced, more glucose appears in the blood, inflammatory processes are suppressed, the body becomes less sensitive to pain - as a result, the degree of adaptation to the increased requirements of the environment increases.
Further development of events depends on how quickly the body manages to cope with stress, which successively goes through the stages of anxiety, adaptation and exhaustion.
If the stress factor continues to affect the body, then adaptation occurs - the stage of balance of the stressor and protective mechanisms, at which the body manages to more or less compensate for the damage from the negative impact. This stage can be experienced by an athlete in the middle of a long distance, by the head of a company during the implementation of a responsible project, by a student in the first half of the examination session.
However, staying in a state of stress cannot last indefinitely, since the reserves of adaptive energy, according to Selye's teaching, are limited. Therefore, if the stress factor continues to affect the body, physiological stress is replaced by pathological, in other words, a person becomes ill. Psychosomatic diseases such as arterial hypertension, nonspecific colitis, gastric ulcer and a number of other diseases are frequent complications of prolonged psychological stress.
Topic 4. Causes of psychological stress
Causal classification of the occurrence of stress.
The list of causes of stress is huge. International conflicts, instability of the political situation in the country, and socio-economic crises can act as stressors. In addition, the cause of stress can be: worker overload at the workplace, worker underload, role conflict and other factors.
Factors that influence the occurrence of personal stress in an organization can be divided into organizational, non-organizational and personal.
Organizational factors include:
- insufficient workload of the employee, in which he is not given the opportunity to demonstrate his qualifications to the fullest. This situation is often encountered, for example, in many domestic organizations that have switched to a reduced mode of operation or are forced to reduce the amount of work due to non-payments by customers;
- insufficiently clear understanding by the employee of his role and place in the production process, the team. This situation is usually caused by the lack of clearly defined rights and obligations of a specialist, the ambiguity of the task, the lack of growth prospects;
Non-organizational factors include:
- lack of work or a long search for it;
- competition in the labor market;
- the crisis state of the country's economy in general and the region in particular;
- family difficulties.
The consequences of exposure to stressful situations are very diverse and largely depend on the nature of the situation and the individual characteristics of the stressed employees. These consequences may be as follows:
- subjective, in which workers have feelings of guilt, increased anxiety, fatigue, frustration;
- behavioral - the occurrence of gossip, increased risk of incidents;
- physiological - deterioration in the health of employees, the occurrence of coronary diseases, fluctuations in blood pressure, etc.;
- organizational - an increase in staff turnover, an increase in the number of absenteeism, an increase in employee dissatisfaction with the work performed.

Topic 5. Feature of professional stress
Educational stress and its forms.
Stress in a student's life
Student life is full of emergency and stressful situations, so students often experience stress and mental stress. Basically, students develop stress due to a large flow of information, due to the lack of systematic work in the semester and, as a rule, stress during the session.
Emotional tension in students begins at least 3-4 days before the session and persists throughout it, even on the quietest days. The presence of emotional stress in inter-examination days is evidence that the examination session is accompanied by continuous, chronic stress. The consequence of such stress may be neurosis, i.e. functional disease of the nervous system. Then, first of all, the nervous system suffers, its resources are depleted, forcing the body to work at the limit. What loosens the nervous system, leads it to breakdown and the onset of the disease? It is generally accepted that neurosis occurs when a person is under stress for a long time. Neurosis is not a disease, but a kind of "normal" personality reactions in unusual stressful conditions. In turn, quarrels, failures and other life events that psychiatrists refer to as mental trauma lead to stress. The period of study has a significant impact on the formation of personality, so the problems of mental health of students are very relevant.
The level of neurotic disorders increases with each year of study. Students with neurotic disorders do not know how to organize their regimen, and this aggravates their asthenia (i.e., reduces the functionality of the central nervous system, manifested in deterioration of working capacity, mental fatigue, deterioration of attention, memory, increased reactivity with irritable weakness). Students with neurotic disorders do not get enough sleep, some of them do not use their days off for rest. Diseases of neurosis leads to a significant decrease in academic performance. Among the students of the risk group, the majority used alcohol to facilitate communication, improve mood and in difficult life situations.
The problem of stress is complex and multifaceted. Stress in the learning process must be managed. This is the task of the students themselves and their teachers, social educators, psychologists. Perhaps the ways to solve it lie in the professional motivation of students and in the introduction of the basics of a healthy lifestyle, training courses, and health-saving technologies into the educational process.
Stress is a kind of human reaction to mental or physical stress, which is a physiological unconditioned reflex. Stress is part of our daily life. It affects us from the hustle and bustle of the morning until late at night and even during sleep. Stress can be both useful and destructive: the useful one adds energy, and the destructive one manifests itself in the form of a headache, hypertension, stomach ulcers, chronic insomnia, mental disorders or other diseases.
For a modern student, as well as for any person in general, stress is not a supernatural phenomenon, but rather a reaction to the accumulated problems, to the endless process of dealing with everyday difficulties. Stress can be caused by factors related to the work and activities of an organization or events in a person's personal life.
For a university student, the problems and difficulties may be the following:

Personal factors should not be discounted either. This may include illness of a family member, change in the number of friends, conflicts with classmates and loved ones, moving, significant personal achievements, changes in financial situation and other factors.
Subject. 6 Stress Optimization Techniques
Classification of methods for neutralizing stress.
The sooner you can stop the chain reaction of stress, the better you can manage stress in your life. You might think that if you eliminate all stressors from your life, then you will never experience stress and therefore never get sick from it. Since this goal is both impossible and undesirable, your attempt at stress management at the highest level of the model (life situation) will have to eliminate as many stresses as possible.
There are many methods to deal with stress. Consider some options that any modern person can resort to.
1. When it comes to time management, keeping things under control is as important as managing stress. Feeling in control of a situation is probably the most important and fundamental attitude needed to overcome stress.
2. Defending yourself from stress, you can resort to imagination. It is used for mental relaxation.
3. Short walks in the fresh air.
4. Visiting cultural and cultural and entertainment institutions (theater, museum, exhibition, cinema, etc.)
5. Communication with friends or other pleasant company.
6. Laughter is a good stress reliever. It trains many muscles, relieves headaches, lowers blood pressure, normalizes breathing and sleep. At the same time, the so-called anti-stress hormones enter the bloodstream. During stress, the body also produces hormones, only stressful ones: adrenaline and cortisol.
7. Massage. You can also resort to self-massage.
8. Sports activities (jogging, swimming, playing sports, etc.). Any kind of physical exercise releases stress hormones.
9. There are a number of stress management exercises. These include 3 types of exercises:

So, stress is an integral part of the daily life of every person. The reaction to stress, as well as the beginning of the working day, diet, physical activity, the quality of rest and sleep, relationships with others, are integral parts of the lifestyle. It depends on the person himself what his lifestyle will be - healthy, active or unhealthy, passive, and, therefore, how often and for how long he will be in a stressful state.

BLOCK 2.
1. S.N. Gurbatov, A.I. Saichev, S.F. Shandarin “Large-scale structure of the Universe. The Zel'dovich Approximation and the Sticking Model”/ S.N. Gurbatov a, A.I. Saichev a, S.F. Shandarin. - Nizhny Novgorod State University. N.I. Lobachevsky, Faculty of Radiophysics, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia //Advances in Physiological Sciences. - 2012. -T. 182. - No. 3. - p.232-262
Subject headings: Universe - structure - models of the universe.
Key words: model – Universe – Zel'dovich – sticking model – gravitational equations – Burger – Turbulence.
The article refers to the problems of space and astronomy.
The article has a complex structure. It consists of an introduction, six chapters of the conclusion and a list of references.
The introduction substantiates the relevance of the issue raised in the article and analyzes the background of this topic.
This article considers a semi-analytical model for the formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe on scales from several megaparsecs to several hundred megaparsecs. The model serves as a natural generalization of the Zel'dovich approximation proposed in 1970.
The Zeldo?vic effect is a change in the intensity of the radio emission of the relict background due to the inverse Compton effect on hot electrons of interstellar and intergalactic gas.
The mathematical basis of the model is the Burgers equation for a small or even vanishingly small viscosity coefficient. The model provides a natural explanation for the observed distribution of galaxies on scales from a few megaparsecs to several hundred megaparsecs, resembling a three-dimensional mosaic or a giant cosmic web. Many of the model's predictions have been confirmed by modern observations. New theoretical and mathematical results related to the Burgers model and their applications to cosmology are discussed.
2. Journal of Higher Nervous Activity. I. P. Pavlov

Chief Editor:
I. A. Shevelev

The subject of the magazine:
The journal publishes the results of original theoretical and experimental research on the physiology and pathophysiology of higher nervous activity, as well as the general physiology of the brain and analyzers.
The journal's mission also includes highlighting the connection between Pavlov's theory of higher nervous activity and philosophy, psychology, pedagogy, and biology.
The journal contains review and critical works, reviews, reports on scientific sessions and conferences.
The journal is intended for a wide range of scientists, graduate students, faculty of higher institutions, senior students of philosophical, biological and medical faculties of institutes, as well as doctors and teachers.

The journal is published in Russian. Founded in January 1951. Published 6 times a year.

3. Biophysics.

Chief Editor:
HER. Fesenko

The subject of the magazine:
The journal Biophysics covers a wide range of problems related to the main physical mechanisms of processes occurring at various levels of organization of biosystems. In particular, these are problems of the structure and dynamics of macromolecules, cells and tissues; problems of environmental influence; transformation and transfer of energy; thermodynamics; biological motility; population dynamics and cell differentiation modeling; problems of biomechanics and tissue rheology; non-linear phenomena; problems of mathematical and cybernetic modeling of complex systems; computational biology.
The journal Biophysics takes a multidisciplinary approach and provides a complete picture of the significant background research being conducted in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Reviews and mini-reviews highlight general problems. The size of articles is not limited.

4. Sensory systems.

Chief Editor:
M. A. Ostrovsky

The subject of the magazine:
The journal Sensory Systems should be considered as a continuation of the collections published by the Russian Academy of Sciences for forty-five years. We are talking about the well-known publications "Problems of Physiological Optics" and "Problems of Physiological Acoustics", published in 1941 - 1971, and the Yearbooks "Sensory Systems" (1977 - 1987).
The physiology of the sense organs, or in the modern, broader sense, the physiology of sensory systems, has always been characterized by an integrated interdisciplinary approach.
Articles are published on the main areas of fundamental research of sensory systems. The journal is intended to reflect the course of versatile research in the field of sensory physiology, to promote coordination and unification of the efforts of teams of various profiles, and to stimulate interest in one of the most exciting and responsible branches of brain science.

The journal is published only in Russian. Founded in January 1987. 4 issues per year.

5. Advances in modern biology.

BLOCK 3.
1. Spielberger-Khanin test
The Spielberger-Khanin test is one of the methods that investigate the psychological phenomenon of anxiety. This questionnaire consists of 20 statements related to anxiety as a state (a state of anxiety, reactive or situational anxiety) and 20 statements to define anxiety as a disposition, a personality trait (a property of anxiety). What Spielberger understands by both measures of anxiety can be seen from the following quote: "The state of anxiety is characterized by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of threat and tension, accompanied by or associated with activation or excitation of the autonomic nervous system." Anxiety as a personality trait, apparently, means a motive or an acquired behavioral disposition that obliges the individual to perceive a wide range of objectively safe circumstances as containing a threat, prompting them to respond with anxiety states, the intensity of which does not correspond to the magnitude of the real danger. Spielberger's Reactive and Personal Anxiety Scale is the only technique that allows differentially measuring anxiety both as a personal property and as a state. In our country, it is used in the modification of Yu.L. Khanin (1976), which he himself adapted to the Russian language.
Reactive (situational) anxiety is the state of the subject at a given moment in time, which is characterized by subjectively experienced emotions: tension, anxiety, concern, nervousness in this particular situation. This state occurs as an emotional reaction to an extreme or stressful situation, it can be different in intensity and dynamic in time.

Instructions for the situational anxiety test.
The subject is offered - “Read carefully each of the above sentences and cross out the corresponding number on the right, depending on how you feel at the moment. Don't think too long about the questions. Usually the first answer that comes to mind is the most correct, adequate to your condition.
Testing is carried out using a questionnaire form:
Situational Anxiety Questionnaire (Spielberger-Khanin)

"SITUATION"
1	I'M CALM	1	2	3	4
2	NOTHING IS DANGEROUS TO ME	1	2	3	4
3	I AM IN TENSION	1	2	3	4
4	I HAVE REGRET	1	2	3	4
5	I FEEL FREE	1	2	3	4
6	I'M SAD	1	2	3	4
7	I WORRY ABOUT POSSIBLE FAILURES	1	2	3	4
8	I FEEL RESTED	1	2	3	4
9	I'M DISTURBED	1	2	3	4
10	I HAVE A FEELING OF INTERNAL SATISFACTION	1	2	3	4
11	I AM CONFIDENT	1	2	3	4
12	I'M NERVOUS	1	2	3	4
13	I CAN'T FIND MY PLACE	1	2	3	4
14	I'M HARD	1	2	3	4
15	I DON'T FEEL STRONG	1	2	3	4
16	I'M SATISFIED	1	2	3	4
17	I AM CONCERNED	1	2	3	4
18	I'm TOO horny and I'm not feeling good	1	2	3	4
19	I'm happy	1	2	3	4
20	I'M PLEASED	1	2	3	4

The indicator of situational (reactive) anxiety is calculated by the formula:
, where
- the sum of the crossed out numbers on the scale items 3,4,6,7,9,12,13,14,17,18
- the sum of the crossed out numbers on the scale items 1,2,5,8,10,11, 15,16,19,20
If the RT does not exceed 30, then, consequently, the subject does not experience much anxiety, i.e. he has low anxiety at the moment. If the sum is in the range of 31–45, then this means moderate anxiety. At 46 and more - anxiety is high.
Very high anxiety (> 46) directly correlates with the presence of a neurotic conflict, with emotional and neurotic breakdowns, and with psychosomatic illnesses.
low anxiety (<12), наоборот, характеризует состояние как депрессивное, ареактивное, с низким уровнем мотиваций. Но иногда очень низкая тревожность в показателях теста является результатом активного вытеснения личностью высокой тревоги с целью показать себя в «лучшем свете».
When is the Spielberg test used?
2. Stressor.
Stressor (stress factor, stress situation) is an emergency or pathological stimulus, an adverse effect that is significant in strength and duration, causing stress. The stimulus becomes a stressor either due to the meaning attributed to it by a person (cognitive interpretation), or through lower brain sensory mechanisms, through the mechanisms of digestion and metabolism. There are various classifications of a stressor. In the most general form, physiological stressors are distinguished (excessive pain and noise, exposure to extreme temperatures, taking a number of drugs, such as caffeine or amvetamines) and psychological stressors (information overload, competition, threat to social status, self-esteem).
When does a stimulus become a stressor?
3. Psychological stress.

1.2. Psychological stress

The mental manifestations of the syndrome described by G. Selye were given the name psychological stress. R. Lazarus and R. Lanier in their works defined it as a person's reaction to the features of the interaction between the personality and the outside world. Later, this definition was clarified: psychological stress began to be interpreted not only as a reaction, but as a process in which the requirements of the environment are considered by the individual, based on his resources and the likelihood of resolving the emerging problem situation, which determines individual differences in response to a stressful situation.
In addition to the term "psychological stress", the literature also uses the term "emotional stress" and "psycho-emotional stress". Various researchers (sociologists, psychologists, physiologists, psychiatrists) put their own meaning into this term, which, of course, makes it difficult to create a unified concept of psycho-emotional stress. Some researchers note that the emergence of this term emphasizes the inextricable link between stress and emotions and even the primacy of emotions in a complex reaction.
The content of this term includes both primary emotional and behavioral reactions to extreme impacts of the biological or social environment, and the physiological mechanisms underlying them. Most often, emotional stress was understood as negative affective experiences that accompany stress and lead to adverse changes in the human body. Subsequently, it was found that unexpected and strong favorable changes can also cause typical signs of stress in the body. Accordingly, emotional stress began to be understood as a wide range of mental phenomena, both negative and positive. G. Selye himself wrote in one of his later works:
The relevance of research into the mechanisms and consequences of emotional stress is emphasized by almost all leading specialists working in this field, regardless of the scientific direction (psychiatrists, psychologists, physiologists).
Thus, A. M. Wayne wrote more than two decades ago that “the main chronic current diseases of our time arise against the background of emotional distress, acute or chronic emotional stress.”
In one of the monographs on individual resistance to stress, K. V. Sudakov noted that psychosomatic diseases are formed on the basis of emotional stress: neurosis, cardiac dysfunction, arterial hypertension, ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, immunodeficiencies, endocrinopathies, and even tumor diseases .
According to some Western experts, 70% of diseases are related to emotional stress. In Europe, more than a million people die every year due to stress-related disorders of the cardiovascular system. The main causes of these disorders are emotional stress, interpersonal conflicts in the family and tense industrial relations, etc. These factors disrupt the function of the homeostasis maintenance mechanisms formed in the process of evolution. If a person finds himself in social conditions when his position seems unpromising to him (“No Future” Syndrom), then an anxiety reaction, a feeling of fear, neuroses, etc. can develop. Recently, it has been shown that emotional problems are the most important cause of disability compared to physical problems.
Despite the proximity of the concepts of "psychological" and "emotional" stress, it makes sense to more accurately define their content in connection with the following circumstances:

At the same time, both of these types of stress have a common pattern of development, include similar neurohumoral mechanisms of adaptive responses, and in their development, as a rule, they go through three "classic" stages - anxiety, adaptation, and exhaustion. Nevertheless, given the specifics of the subject of the course, as well as the leading role of the psyche in the formation of human stress responses, in the future we will mainly use the term "psychological stress", keeping the term "emotional stress" only when quoting other authors.
It should be noted that the authors of many basic textbooks on various branches of psychology often give rather vague and arbitrary definitions of stress, mixing the concepts of biological, psychological and emotional stress. Thus, the author of a three-volume textbook on psychology, R. S. Nemov, combines the concepts of “stress” and “affect”, which fundamentally differ both in strength and duration. As you know, the duration of affects is seconds or minutes, while the development of stress requires weeks, days or, in acute cases, hours.
Stress is a state of mental (emotional) and behavioral disorder associated with a person's inability to act expediently and reasonably in a given situation.
In terms of discussing this definition, it can be noted that this definition is more suitable for the concept of "distress", since with certain types of stress, the productivity of activity, on the contrary, increases. The author of another textbook on general psychology, A. G. Maklakov, refers stress to one of the types of emotional state, and one
etc.................