Course work psychological aspects of stress. Neurobiological aspects of stress Aspects of stress

The emergence of stress in a certain situation can arise for subjective reasons associated with the characteristics of a given personality.

In general, since individuals are not alike, a lot depends on the personality factor. For example, in the “person-environment” system, the level of emotional tension increases with the increase in the differences between the conditions in which the subject's mechanisms are formed, and the newly created ones. Thus, certain conditions cause emotional stress not because of their absolute rigidity, but as a result of the discrepancy between these conditions of the emotional mechanism of the individual.

In case of any violation of the balance “person-environment”, the lack of mental or physical resources of the individual to meet the actual needs or the mismatch of the system of needs itself is a source of anxiety. Anxiety denoted as:

Feeling an undefined threat;

Feelings of diffuse fear and anxious anticipation;

Uncertain concern

is the most potent mechanism of mental stress. This follows from the already mentioned feeling of threat, which, in turn, is the central element of anxiety and determines its biological significance as a signal of distress and danger.

Anxiety can play a protective and motivational role, comparable to that of pain. An increase in behavioral activity, a change in the nature of behavior, or the activation of intrapsychic adaptation mechanisms are associated with the occurrence of anxiety. But anxiety can not only stimulate activity, but also contribute to the destruction of insufficiently adaptive behavioral stereotypes, their replacement with more adequate forms of behavior.

Unlike pain, anxiety is a signal of danger that has not yet been realized. Prediction of this situation is probabilistic in nature, and ultimately depends on the characteristics of the individual. In this case, the personal factor often plays a decisive role, and in this case the intensity of anxiety reflects rather the individual characteristics of the subject than the real significance of the threat.

Anxiety, in terms of intensity and duration, is inadequate to the situation, prevents the formation of adaptive behavior, leads to a violation of behavioral integration and general disorganization of the human psyche. Thus, anxiety is at the root of any mental state and behavior changes caused by mental stress.

Professor Berezin identified an alarming series that represents an essential element of the process of mental adaptation:

1) a feeling of inner tension - does not have a pronounced shade of threat, serves only as a signal of its approach, creating painful mental discomfort;

2) hyperesthetic reactions - anxiety grows, previously neutral stimuli acquire a negative coloration, irritability increases;

3) anxiety itself is the central element of the series under consideration. It manifests itself as a sense of an undefined threat. A characteristic feature: the inability to determine the nature of the threat, to predict the time of its occurrence. Often inadequate logical processing occurs, as a result of which, due to a lack of facts, an incorrect conclusion is issued;

4) fear - anxiety concretized at a certain object. Although the objects to which the anxiety is associated may not be the cause, the subject gets the idea that the anxiety can be eliminated by certain actions;

5) a feeling of the inevitability of an impending catastrophe, an increase in the intensity of anxiety disorders leads the subject to the idea of the impossibility of preventing an impending event;

6) anxious-fearful excitement - the disorganization caused by anxiety reaches a maximum, and the possibility of purposeful activity disappears.

Anxiety, despite the abundance of different semantic formulations, is a single phenomenon and serves as an obligatory mechanism of emotional stress. Arising in the event of any imbalance in the “person-environment” system, it activates adaptation mechanisms, and at the same time, at significant intensity, underlies the development of adaptive disorders. An increase in the level of anxiety causes the activation or intensification of the action of the mechanisms of intrapsychic adaptation. These mechanisms can contribute to effective mental adaptation, ensuring the reduction of anxiety, and in the case of their inadequacy, they are reflected in the type of adaptation disorders, which correspond to the nature of the borderline psychopathological phenomena formed in this case.

The effectiveness of mental adaptation directly depends on the organization of microsocial interaction. In conflict situations in the family or work sphere, difficulties in building informal communication, violations of mechanical adaptation were noted much more often than in effective social interaction. Also, the analysis of factors of a certain environment or environment is directly related to adaptation.Evaluation of the personal qualities of others as a factor of attracting in the overwhelming majority of cases was combined with effective mental adaptation, and the assessment of the same qualities as a factor of repulsion - with its violations.

But not only the analysis of environmental factors determines the level of adaptation and emotional tension. It is also necessary to take into account individual qualities, the state of the immediate environment and the characteristics of the group in which microsocial interaction takes place.

Modern man is less and less faced with natural biological stressors that require immediate action, and more and more under the pressure of psychological factors caused by civilization, to which he cannot respond in the usual ways inherent in his nature. Nevertheless, the stress of modern life, being psychosocial in essence, is realized through well-defined biological mechanisms that affect the invariable biological essence of a person. In addition, to understand the role of stress in aging and disease, it is important to consider the nature of stress as a complex biological phenomenon.

Many regulatory systems are involved in the implementation of various phases of the stress response in the body - the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and the system of neuro-endocrine regulation. Within the framework of the stress reaction (especially with long-term, chronic, negative signals from the social environment), a special role belongs to the hypothalamic-pituitary-corticoid axis (GHCO).

The hypothalamic area of the brain is the main regulator of metabolic processes, saturated with clusters of neurosecretory cells. As part of the limbic system, the hypothalamus interacts closely with the prefrontal cortex, limbic system, sensory processing centers and stem structures, thereby participating in the integration of emotional responses, decision-making, and neuro-endocrine regulation of metabolism and various types of behavior. The neurons of the hypothalamus not only have extensive incoming and outgoing connections within the brain structures, but also are a collector of information about all internal processes in the body through receptors for hormones, metabolites and other physiologically active molecules.

Under the influence of external negative stimuli (that is, stress signals) or internal experiences (that is, emotional reactions that are associated, for example, with frustration or anticipation of an unpleasant event), mediated by the above-mentioned brain structures, the following chain of events is triggered:

activation (most likely as a consequence of an incoming neural electrical signal) of the c-fos protooncogene encoded by the FOS gene (from among the immediate early genes that are transcription factors);

the protooncogene c-fos activates the expression of the CRH gene;

the CRH gene activates the secretion of a polypeptide known as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH, CRH) or corticoliberin in cells of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus;

CRH migrates through the intercellular spaces to the anterior pituitary gland, where it stimulates the production of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) by melanotrophic cells, a large polypeptide that is a precursor of a number of regulators: adreno-corticotropic hormone (ACTH), endorphin, lipotropins and melanotrophins (release ACTH is also played by the hormones of the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland - oxytocin and arginine-vasopressin, especially in chronic stress) [an increase in the concentration of ACTH in the blood through a feedback mechanism through the hypothalamic receptors inhibits further CRH synthesis];

ACTH through the corresponding receptors of the cells of the adrenal cortex induces an increase in the level of cortisol in the blood (and, according to the principle of negative feedback, inhibits the secretion of CRH);

free cortisol (an increase in the concentration of cortisol is dangerous for the body, therefore, at first, excess amounts of it bind to serum proteins) easily penetrates the plasma membranes and barriers and binds to a specific receptor protein, which is present in all types of tissues and cells, including nervous tissue;

a complex of cortisol with a receptor protein (which is a transcription factor) activates a number of genes, which, in turn, stimulate the formation of new protein-enzymes, bioregulators and modulators of various body systems, including the immune system; significant metabolic changes occur in various tissues, especially in muscles, adipose tissue, bones and in the liver:

Cortisol has several very important points of action directly in the brain (limbic system structures):

■ hippocampus: under physiological conditions in this structure, cortisol, potentiating the effects of catecholamines, ensures the memorization of emotionally important information, including about events that should be avoided; the cellular elements of the hippocampus, during the formation of memory traces, use glutamatergic mechanisms associated with overexcitation, as a result of which they themselves are easily damaged during stress, hypoxia and neurointoxication; numerous experimental studies and neuroimaging data in humans show that under conditions of chronic stress, elevated cortisol concentrations have a direct neurotoxic effect on hippocampal neurons; as a result, due to the death of neurons, the volume of the hippocampus decreases, and this becomes the cause of cognitive impairments, in particular, the weakening of autobiographical memory, due to which the individual is believed to lose the ability to develop successful strategies for coping with problem situations; Thus, cortisol, which, at a normative level of stress, provides the formation of behavioral responses responsible for the ability to avoid danger or cope with them successfully, in chronic or severe damaging stress (distress) impairs functioning and weakens adaptability to life difficulties;
■ amygdala (amygdala): acts as a regulator of emotions such as alertness, fear, anxiety, rage, aggression; due to this, the amygdala is involved in the implementation of behavioral reactions associated with responding to danger, social domination, or vice versa, submission, which is associated with the manifestation (or suppression) of aggression; with normative signals from the environment, these reactions perform important social functions, maintaining the status of the individual and ensuring social functioning, however, in chronic stress, hyperactivation of the amygdala generates constant anxiety, panic attacks and contributes to the development of depression;

it should be borne in mind that both the hippocampus, and the amygdala, and other structures of the limbic system, as well as the frontal cortex, have neural projections into the hypothalamus and are involved in the “launch” of GGCO in stressful situations of a “psychological” nature (associated with experiences caused by social interactions, and not with a direct physical threat);

corticoliberin (corticotropin-releasing hormone [CRH]) also contributes to stress reactions, which not only stimulates the release of ACTH in the hypothalamus-pituitary gland, but is also synthesized in various parts of the brain - cortex, amygdala and trunk; neurons of different structures that produce corticoliberin have connections with the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (the main source of CRH) and stem formations (which are the main sources of norepinephrine and serotonin and have projections into the prefrontal cortex):

due to this, CRH under stress stimulates neuro-endocrine reactions through GHCO, emotional reactions of fear and anxiety through the amygdala, cognitive and behavioral stress responses through cortical neurons and autonomic responses through stem structures; it also contributes to the development of sleep disorders and depression by affecting the serotonin system.

All of these mechanisms largely explain why chronic or severe damaging stress (distress) is accompanied by anxiety, tension, depressed mood, that is, the most important prerequisites for depression (the most common consequence of chronic stress). Usually these changes are transient and in most cases are replaced by the restoration of a stable mood. At the same time, in some individuals (approximately 10% of the female part of the population and 3% of the male), the result of stress becomes clinical depression, approximately the same number of individuals develop post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) after severe traumatic events, a significant number of individuals with over time, various addictions develop. Thus, the negative impact of stress covers large contingents, but mental health disorders are formed only in the most vulnerable part of the population. Also, chronic stress leads the body to one or another chronic disease that affects the endocrine system, cardiovascular system, renal tissue, liver, muscles or bone skeleton. In other words, chronic or severe damaging stress gradually destroys physical health, apparently affecting the likelihood of malignant tumors.

In recent years, a lot of evidence has been presented on experimental models and on clinical material (with very good agreement of manifestations in rodents, primates and humans) that a variety of stressful situations and negative life events of the early period of development cause long-term anatomical and functional disorders in various brain structures. At the same time, special attention was paid to the time factor - the period during which the damaging stress effect was applied. Based on this significant body of information, compiled relatively recently in a number of reviews, the following conclusions can be drawn:

The most powerful damaging effects are prenatal negative influences. If the mother experienced severe stress, intense anxiety or depression during pregnancy, or received glucocorticoids, this can lead to a decrease in fetal weight and body size at birth, a decrease in the size of the hippocampus, and cellular disorders in the brain. In the subsequent life history of such a child, it is highly likely that numerous mental health problems may appear, including depression, addictions, anxiety disorders, antisocial manifestations, hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder. All this is associated with multiple disorders of cellular mechanisms in the brain and a predominant lesion of the hippocampus, dopaminergic structures of the mesolimbic system and the amygdala.

Early postnatal stress is associated primarily with dysfunctional maternal-child relationships, disorders of the mechanisms of the child's attachment to the mother. Numerous observations of rodents and primates have convincingly shown that the lack of maternal warmth and care leads to negative programming of the GHCO of the brain, and the hypothalamic region is actively involved in this process. As a result, along with disorders of the affective sphere and behavioral disorders, metabolic dysfunctions, diabetes, and eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia) may appear later in adulthood. One of the features of stress in this period of life is the formation of not only readiness for a constant increase in the activity of GHCO, but also the opposite phenomenon - hypocorticosolism (that is, a consistently low level of cortisol), signs of which can be “inhibited child” syndrome, depression and obesity ( apparently, hypocorticosolism is due to hyperactivity of the feedback mechanism due to the increased sensitivity of the central receptors to cortisol).

Stress in adolescence has its own characteristics. It is in this period that all psychopathologies and behavioral disorders, caused by hormonal negative environmental programming, which took place in the prenatal and early postanatal periods of development, begin to manifest themselves most clearly. These disorders arise in response to a particular stressful episode in the life of an adolescent, while the high reactivity of GHCO and associated systems is accompanied in such individuals by changes in the structures of the frontal cortex, a decrease in the size of the cingulate gyrus, and a decrease in the size of the hippocampus. As a result, the symptomatology is shifted towards personality disorders, antisociality, conflict, violations of the skills to overcome life difficulties and a tendency to self-harm (suicidality).

It should be noted that negative tendencies in victims of early trauma are observed until adulthood and late age, and are not limited only to the period of growing up. In older people, this is manifested in the inhibition of neurogenesis (due to stem cell elements) in the hippocampus and early weakening of cognitive functions. Thus, stress in early life is responsible for memory impairment in the elderly. Perhaps it is in this connection that overall somatic health and high muscle activity after 45 years, associated with more efficient production of stem cells, prevents this.

4590 0

Stress is a state of the human body that occurs under the action of extreme and pathological stimuli and leads to intense activity of nonspecific adaptive mechanisms of the body. The term "stress" was introduced into medicine in 1936 by G. Selye, who defined stress as a state of the body that arises when any demands are made on it.

The compensatory capabilities of the human body, allowing it to adapt to changes in the external and internal environment, are large. The conditions necessary for the formation of a full-fledged adaptation are: the optimal state of adaptation mechanisms (human health), the intensity and duration of exposure to stimuli of the external and internal environment of the body and the time required for the formation of the adaptation process.

The mechanisms that carry out the adaptation of the organism include changes in the activity of the heart, respiratory system, metabolism and the immune system. The nervous system and endocrine organs (pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, etc.) play a huge role in the development of adaptive mechanisms.

Stress reactions can arise under the influence of a wide variety of stimuli (trauma, burns, illness, etc.), as well as emotional stress. The state of stress in the majority of the population is provoked or caused by numerous adverse environmental factors. Living conditions and habits formed in large groups of people are not optimal for maintaining health. An ever-increasing flow of information obtained by an individual voluntarily or apart from it is becoming environmentally dangerous.

Information stress situations often arise. Pop music imposed on the population in the morning by radio programs disrupts the natural rhythm of entering the working state of the body, especially among middle-aged and elderly people. The high-speed, emotional rhythm of modern life, especially in cities, puts stress on the functioning of the main centers of the nervous system. Various stimuli give stress their own characteristics, due to the emergence of specific reactions to qualitatively different influences.

Scientific and technological progress creates more and more stressful situations: high rates of life, information overload, overstrain during nervous and responsible work, mental overload, fatigue from monotonous monotonous work. Scientific and technological progress in highly developed countries has led to an increase in the proportion of intellectual work. The nature of workers' labor has changed as a result of the widespread introduction of mechanization and automation of production processes. Workers are increasingly servicing machines and mechanisms, doing not physical, but intellectual labor. The increased flow of information has swept over not only scientists.

From the moment of the invention of book printing until 1945, i.e. over 500 years, about 30 million different books have been published in the world, the same number of books have been published over the next 25 years. The volume of curricula of schools and universities has become more complex and increased, and the teaching load has increased. The amount of time devoted to watching television programs and films has increased dramatically. Many of them, especially those with stories of horror, violence and murder, cause strong, negative emotional reactions, accompanied by a sharp increase in the content of adrenaline in the blood (heartbeat, increased blood pressure).

The emergence and nature of stress is largely determined by the reactivity of the organism itself, which, in turn, depends on the functional state of physiological systems, hereditary properties of the organism, previous diseases, age and other factors.

Modern life is full of external stressful stimuli that cannot be avoided. The city generates noise and air pollution along with high speeds, crowds, crime and rudeness. For any stressful stimulus, such as noise, to be harmful, it does not need to be loud. The stressful effect occurs with any repetitive uncontrolled noise.

Emotional stress

Emotional stress (excitement, excitement, tension) is a subjective state of a pronounced psycho-emotional experience of a person (pleasure or displeasure, joy, fear, anger, etc.) of conflict life situations that sharply or for a long time limit the satisfaction of his social and biological needs.

Responsible reactions of the body to emotions depend on behavioral reactions, psychological characteristics and upbringing of a person. The complexity of this problem lies in the fact that, unlike a savage, a civilized person is obliged to restrain his emotions, i.e. stay calm, calm. Such a person seeks to extinguish a fire that has arisen in the body, i.e. restrain somatic manifestations, motor responses and speech reactions. And here the conflict manifests itself: by an effort of will, a person suppresses motor reactions. As a result, a vegetative storm hits the heart and blood vessels. The less the body is trained to extreme loads, including psychogenic-emotional, the more the state of maximum mobilization of the cardiovascular system increases. It is important to emphasize that the individual characteristics of a person, his adaptive abilities to withstand stressful situations are very different. So, in particular, the psychological and behavioral types of the body's responses are distinguished.

Emotions arise due to the primary activation of specialized brain structures. Excitation of some structures causes positive emotions, which the body seeks to strengthen, prolong or repeat. The activation of other structures is accompanied by the appearance of negative emotions, which the body seeks to eliminate or weaken.

The biological significance of emotions is determined by their evaluative function, as a result of which the body seeks to respond in advance and quickly to changes in the environment, to mobilize the energy resources necessary for actions aimed at satisfying immediate needs.

Emotions underlie the process of acquiring individual life experience (learning), contributing to the development, consolidation and preservation of biologically purposeful forms of behavior. Emotions serve as a means of increasing reliability and expanding the adaptive capabilities of the body, as well as one of the main mechanisms of internal regulation of mental activity and behavior. Human emotions are mainly socially conditioned. They, like the actions of a person, are conditioned by the norms of morality and law. Higher forms of emotions arise on the basis of social (moral) and spiritual (aesthetic, intellectual) needs.

Emotional arousal is built on the basis of specific neurochemical mechanisms (neurotransmitters). The peripheral components of emotions are subdivided into voluntarily controlled (movement, muscle activity, speech function, breathing) and uncontrollable (activity of the heart, smooth muscles of blood vessels, bronchi, intestines and endocrine glands).

Of all the stresses, those that cause negative emotions should be highlighted. “Among the influences that shorten life, fear, sadness, cowardice, despondency, melancholy, envy occupy a predominant place,” he wrote back in the 18th century. H.F. Hufeland. Indeed, sadness, fear, longing suppress mental activity, muscle activity, inhibit any response of the body. Anger, rage, hatred, on the contrary, increase energy supply, stimulate the activity of muscle receptors, central nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Positive emotions include joy, hope, etc., which bring health, strength, and efficiency. "Cheerful people always get well" (Ambroise Paré). As noted by N.I. Pirogov, the wounds of the victorious soldiers heal faster than those of the defeated. Positive emotion is proportional to the magnitude of the relieved state of tension. Positive emotions are especially important for the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

The adrenaline that floods the human body during stress triggers a whole cascade of reactions: blood pressure rises, muscles tense, breathing becomes shallow and fast, the brain is at the peak of alertness, and the senses are heightened to the limit. It is said that Julius Caesar chose those warriors who blushed, and did not turn pale under sudden stress. It turns out that during the reaction of fear in the human body, the release of adrenaline increases, which causes vasoconstriction and pallor, and during the reaction of anger, norepinephrine is released, which causes vasodilation, and the person turns red.

Socially determined stressful situations are widespread as a result of interpersonal conflicts associated with humiliation of dignity, betrayal, deception, and disappointment. In such a situation, the conflict of people who find themselves in a difficult situation consists in the need to implement a defensive reaction of self-preservation and the inability to carry it out in the current conditions. However, most people who are put in desperate situations do not die, but acquire some degree of resistance to these stressful situations.

Under the influence of various extreme factors (physical, mental), neuroendocrine-humoral changes occur in the body, aimed at overcoming the actions of these factors by adapting the body to the requirements. The severity of the adaptation syndrome depends on the intensity of stress, the functional state of the physiological systems of the body and the nature of human behavior.

Everyday life experience, as well as data from experiments on animals, observations of patients indicate that the onset of emotion often precedes our actions, that it is emotions that are the reason for action. Emotional arousal can arise before a person has time to draw up a program of action, and even before he can even consciously assess the situation. Emotion is often the first impulsive response to a sudden emergency. Only then follows the analysis and assessment of the situation and the necessary deliberate actions.

Lisovsky V.A., Evseev S.P., Golofeevsky V.Yu., Mironenko A.N.

Professor Berezin identified an alarming series that represents an essential element of the process of mental adaptation:

1) a feeling of inner tension - does not have a pronounced shade of threat, serves only as a signal of its approach, creating painful mental discomfort;

5) a feeling of the inevitability of an impending catastrophe, an increase in the intensity of anxiety disorders leads the subject to the idea of the impossibility of preventing an impending event;

This is a relatively easy way for the subject to cope with the growing feelings of anger, rage and anger in the case when the affectively charged reactions cannot be directed to the partner or the group of partners that caused these feelings, either because of the subject's known weakness and inability to defend himself, or existing.

In my work, I talked about the existence of the Law of Attraction. I told how much our thoughts influence our life! He told and showed how you can control thoughts with the help of emotions. He revealed the mechanism of the Law of Attraction. Using examples, he showed how you can use the Law of Attraction for financial well-being, for mutual relations.

The phenomena called defenses have many useful functions. They appear as healthy, creative adaptations and continue to function throughout life. In cases where their action is aimed at protecting their own "I" from any threat, at avoiding a conflict situation, they can be considered as "protection", and.

3.2 .

The emergence of stress in a certain situation can arise for subjective reasons associated with the characteristics of a given personality.

Feeling an undefined threat;

Feelings of diffuse fear and anxious anticipation;

2) hyperesthetic reactions - anxiety grows, previously neutral stimuli acquire a negative coloration, irritability increases;

6) anxious-fearful excitement - the disorganization caused by anxiety reaches a maximum, and the possibility of purposeful activity disappears.

The phenomenon of stress was discovered by the Canadian physiologist G. Selye in 1936 to designate a nonspecific reaction of the body ("general adaptation syndrome") in response to any adverse effect.

Initially, G. Selye focused on the biological and physiological aspects of the problem of stress. It has become traditional to understand stress as a physiological reaction of the endocrine glands, controlled by the pituitary gland, to the action of various negative factors.

Hans Selye, the founder of the Western doctrine of stress and nervous disorders, identified the following stages of stress as a process:

1.immediate reaction to the impact (stage of anxiety);

2. the most effective adaptation (stage of resistance);

3. violation of the adaptation process (stage of exhaustion).

In a broad sense, these stages are characteristic of any adaptation process.

The first stage is the stage of anxiety (within 48 hours after the onset of exposure), during which the body's resistance decreases ("shock phase"), and then defense mechanisms are activated, and the body's adaptive resources are mobilized. At this stage, the person is in a state of tension and alertness. Physically, a person feels very good, is in high spirits. However, at this phase, diseases often arise that belong to the category of the so-called "psychosomatic". With a large force of impact, the anxiety reaction can result in the death of the organism. But if the body passes this stage of the syndrome, then the second stage begins.

The second stage is the stage of resistance, or resistance (begins 48 hours after the damaging action), when the adaptation of the organism to new conditions is achieved by the voltage of the functioning of the systems. At this stage, a balanced expenditure of adaptive capabilities is carried out. A person develops optimal energy by adapting to changing circumstances. He, as it were, "worked" and is ready for a more or less prolonged effort to overcome difficulties. If the damaging effect was not so strong, G. Selye notes, then the body's resistance increases, and in the later period of the second stage, the appearance and functions of organs practically return to normal. But if the action of the damaging agent continues further, then after this stage the body loses its resistance, which leads to the third stage.

The third stage is the stage of exhaustion, in which the failure of defense mechanisms is revealed and the violation of the coordination of vital functions is growing. At the stage of depletion, the energy is exhausted, the physiological and psychological defenses are broken. The person no longer has the ability to defend himself. In contrast to the first stage, when the stress state of the body leads to the disclosure of adaptive reserves and resources, the state of the third stage is more like a “call for help,” which can only come from the outside - either in the form of support or in the form of eliminating the stressor. In the absence of "help", the death of the organism occurs.

The mental manifestations of the syndrome described by G. Selye were named "emotional stress". The content of this term includes both primary emotional mental reactions arising from critical psychological influences, and emotional and mental syndromes generated by bodily injury, and affective reactions during stress, and the physiological mechanisms underlying them.

According to G. Selye, there are two types of stress: eustress and distress. Eustress mobilizes, activates the internal reserves of a person, improves the course of mental and physiological functions. Distress is a destructive process that disorganizes behavior.

Psychological stress is of particular importance for a person, since many events lead to stress in a person not because of their objective characteristics, but because a particular person perceives the event as a source of stress. This implies an important principle of overcoming psychological stress: it is easier to change a person's idea of the world than the world itself.

What can be a source of stress:

* Injury or crisis situation

* Minor daily troubles

* Conflicts or communication with unpleasant people

* Obstacles that prevent you from achieving your goals

* Feeling of constant pressure

* Unrealizable dreams or too high demands on yourself

* Constant accusation, reproach to yourself that you have not achieved something or have missed something

* Blaming yourself for everything bad that happened, even if it was not your fault

* Strong positive emotions

* Quarrels with people and especially with relatives (observation of quarrels in the family can also lead to stress)

* Moving from one country to another

* Seniors and children

* People with low self-esteem

* People who abuse alcohol

* People with a genetic disposition to stress

Psychological aspects of stress

Human psychological response to stress

Experiences associated with the psychological aspect of stress are not always referred to simply as “I’m under stress”. Much more often this state is described in connection with emotions such as: anger, rage, anxiety, guilt, shame, jealousy. Thus, the experience associated with stress is undoubtedly an emotional experience. Most psychologists divide emotional experiences into two types: pleasant or positive emotions and unpleasant or negative emotions.

There is a large body of research devoted to the study of psychological reactions to stress, although many of them do not have this specific name. Several well-delineated areas of research should be identified. When studying animals, researchers were interested in the behavioral components of emotions, (especially negative ones, such as fear), the influence on behavior of punishment and behavior in conflict situations. In human studies, interest has focused on clinical, industrial and military situations. When studying clinical situations, the main attention was paid to the etiology of nervous disorders and the changes in the mental state that preceded them. When considering industrial or military situations, interest was also focused on the study of the state of the individual, his activities in extreme conditions were studied in more detail. The main problem in understanding a person's psychological responses to stress concerns their ability to cope with a stressful situation. As a result of all these studies, several different models have been developed to explain psychological reactions to stress, each of which more or less corresponds to its specific conditions, but is only partially adequate as a general model. None of the existing models can provide a complete explanation for stress. The experience of stress in a person is considered as a cause that causes a disturbance in psychological balance, which activates mechanisms aimed at alleviating this disturbance. These are stress coping mechanisms that are part of behavior. If the normal coping response does not succeed in relieving or coping with stress, it can lead to disorganized behavior. If the duration and persistence of stress is stronger, then this can lead to a collapse of behavior. The concept of overcoming owes much to the writings of Lazarus, "overcoming," he writes, "is best seen as a form of problem solving, the goal of which is the well-being of a person, while it is not entirely clear to a person what to do." This is especially true for difficult situations that are perceived as stressful. By overcoming the person makes an attempt to master the situation. According to Lazarus, coping involves two processes, one is an immediate motor response and the other is temporary relief.

Immediate motor response refers to real behavior aimed at changing a person's relationship with the environment. It has the following forms: preparation for protection from harmful influences, aggression, avoidance and passivity. Under the concept of "avoidance" Lazarus means moving oneself away from a real danger or threat. Preparation for protection from harm is a form of true avoidance behavior in which a person can take specific actions in relation to the danger. Student response on exams is a good example of preparation for protection from harm. Since exams usually follow a well-defined format, students have months to prepare for them. As the danger approaches (failure in exams with all the ensuing consequences), an increasing number of students begin to study intensively, constantly increasing the time of classes and the depth of study of the material. Aggression, apparently, often accompanies stress, but is not always an adequate and, therefore, effective form of coping. It is expressed in the attack of the individual on the source of problems, which can be perceived either as a specific person, group of people, or organization. Eliminating, or at least partially affecting, the source of the problem can relieve a person of danger or lessen the experience of stress. A man may attack his wife when the real source of his problems is his immediate boss at work. However, his wife may be a more vulnerable target with less resilience. For such an indirect attack to be an effective form of coping, a man must perceive his wife as a source of harm in his stressful situation. If it is obvious that this is a misperception, then later feelings of guilt may arise, which will further intensify the experience of stress. An argument between neighbors that led to verbal abuse of each other in an obvious outburst of rage, followed by appropriate posture and hand-waving. This event can be analyzed as follows: the target is a specific individual, the nature of the aggression is verbal abuse with appropriate behavior, the emotion is anger. This behavior can resolve an argument from the position of the strongest and eliminate the source of stress, or increase self-respect (in connection with victory) and thereby reduce the experience of stress.

Flight is the third form of immediate motor response, just as anger is often denoted as the emotional correlate of aggression, and fear is associated with the concept of flight. The instances of soldiers fleeing the battlefield or deserting are examples of fleeing from fear. Lazarus views aggression and flight as a response to stress. The fourth form is passivity. This freezing is a direct response to the effects of stress. Passivity can also be seen as a long-term response to chronic stress experiences. This can be linked to depression and feelings of hopelessness. Depression is a common clinical response to prolonged exposure to severe chronic stress. This is one of the forms of relative passivity, evidently expressed in the extreme slowness and lethargy of reactions to any stimuli [cit. 6; p.103] “Some provoking situations may leave no hope that stress can be relieved or actual harm eliminated. Probably, due to the absence of any obvious ways of overcoming, a person will not develop his desire to cope with difficulties and will completely lose the ability to do it, - Lazarus believes - passivity can be the result of an obvious hopelessness of the situation. "

It hasn't been decided yet, says Cox, what is hopelessness - a lack of coping ability or a form of coping with stress, a parallel freeze response, or perhaps a simulation of death.

Overcoming can be expressed not in the form of a direct motor reaction, but in the form of temporary relief. Temporary relief is expressed in the alleviation of the suffering associated with the experience of stress, and in the reduction of psychophysiological influences. Temporary relief can be achieved in several ways. According to Lazarus, two, symptomatic and intrapsychic. The first method includes the use of alcohol, tranquilizers and sedatives, muscle relaxation training and other methods aimed at improving the physical condition of a person. Intrapsychic temporary relief is considered in terms of cognitive defense mechanisms. The description of these mechanisms owes much to the development of psychoanalysis. Freud used the expression "defense mechanisms" to refer to an unconscious psychological mechanism by which a person can deceive himself about the presence of a threat or external danger. The point of this “defense” is that it reduces the threat perception of the threat, not the threat itself. Intrapsychic temporary relief according to Lazarus is considered in terms of these mechanisms, and are called: identification, movement, suppression, denial, reaction formation, projection and intellectualization. The movement of aggressiveness can be observed, for example, when a person restrains his aggressive behavior aimed at a stronger opponent, and shows aggression towards another less powerful one. (In the case when the husband shows aggression towards his wife, although the boss is to blame). In denial, a person overcomes a threat or danger by simply denying that it exists. Denial is generally thought to be closely related to repression in that repression involves the denial of internal threatening impulses. For denial to be effective, it may be necessary to create complex cognitive mechanisms for the perception of information that makes denial false. For example, a doctor who informs a patient with a severe heart attack about the severity and severity of his illness, from a position of denial, may be discredited in the patient's eyes, and the doctor's information will not be taken into account. Intellectualization is a way of protection in which a person can react to a threatening situation dispassionately, evaluating it analytically as an object for improvement or an interesting phenomenon. For this reason, a professional doctor, psychologist or nurse does not like to treat those who are emotionally close to them. In such a situation, it is difficult to remain impassive.

Between 1971 and 1977, at the Stress Clinical Research Laboratory in Stockholm, Levi and Kogan developed Selye's view of stress and developed a theoretical model for describing psychological factors as mediators of physical illness.

Their main hypothesis is that psychosocial situations can be the cause of a number of such disorders. Levy and Kogan suggest that in most cases, changes in conditions of existence trigger a physiological stress response that prepares the individual for active physical resistance to the stressor. Levy and Kogan represent this process in a flowchart diagram. External influences, defined as psychosocial stimuli, are intertwined with genetic and environmental influences. These individual factors are called "psychobiological program" by Levy and Kogan. Together, psychosocial stimuli and a psychobiological program determine the stress response, which in turn can trigger the pre-illness condition and then the illness itself.

Even the studies of W. Kennon (1927-1929) showed that the body seeks to ensure the constancy of its internal environment, the constancy of the levels of functioning of its systems, when new conditions arise, a restructuring takes place, which, through a chain of transformations, restores the previous equilibrium, but at a different level. New conditions can be determined not only by physical stimuli, but also by psychological methods.

According to Schmidt, several points in the scheme draw attention to themselves:

· In itself, psychological stress leads to symptoms of tension, it has an adaptive character and may be appropriate. Anxiety phenomena, causing muscle tension, changing the developed skill, can complicate sports activity. This also determines preventive measures in this period: reducing anxiety and preventing changes in muscle tone;

Only at subsequent stages, namely, starting with the appearance of disintegration, negative symptoms are revealed, in which mental disorders are always noted;

· The development of negative symptoms has a certain progression. Between the normal adaptive reaction of stress and the formation of neurosis or pronounced psychosomatic diseases, intermediate, temporary states of functional disorders (including mental ones) are found;

As the role of mental stress increases, there is no doubt that research requires a combination of biomedical, psychosocial, and clinical methods, because mental stress is a complex problem.

Psychological aspects of stress

Chapter 1. The Scientific Explanation of Stress p. 3

Chapter 2. Psychological reaction of a person to stress p. nine

Chapter 3. Human adaptation to stressful situations p. 20-23

Before sitting down and writing this work, I thought for a long time what I know about stress.

I. Borodin believes that “stress is the engine of progress, there is an assumption that our ape-like ancestors lived in the upper tier of the tropical forest and had almost no enemies. But now the forests began to give way to the savannah, and the prehuman had to face many dangers. And there was stress at every step. " “And in order to survive,” the scientist says, “future people took the path of creating a non-specific adaptation - they acquired intelligence.” “Alas,” Borodin notes, “the addition of stress only intensified. Animals react only to immediate danger; they are unable to predict. And a person adds upcoming stresses to momentary stresses. ”[Cit. 12; page 8]

it is an impelling or compelling force.

it is an effort or a large expenditure of energy.

these are the forces that affect the body.

The main scientific approaches to the problem of determining stress have been discussed by various authors, such as Lazarus, Uncley and Trumbell, Levin and Scotch, Cox and others. The first approach treats stress as a dependent variable, defining it as the body's response to a disturbing or harmful environment (see Fig. 1). The second approach treats stress in terms of the stimulatory effects of this disturbing or harmful environment and thus usually considers stress as an independent variable (see Figure 2). The third approach views stress as a response to a lack of "fit" between the person and the environment. In this form, stress is studied in terms of the impact of the factors that precede it and their consequences. With all three approaches, the word "environment" is used in the broadest sense and refers to both the inner and the outer world of the individual, to his physical and psychosocial environment.

1.1 General adaptation syndrome G. Selye

A particular focus on stress emerged after the work of Hans Selye. Selye was most interested in the physiological mechanism of stress. And this has led to a close association between the response-based model.

About Environment Personality

S stimulus Reaction

Figure 1. Response-based stress model. Selye. [taken from 6; page 18]

Environment Personality

Figure 2. Layman stress model. [taken from 6; page 17]

Selye's concept of stress has three main points. First, he believes that the physiological response to stress does not depend on the nature of the stressor, as well as on the type of animal. Secondly, that this defensive reaction in the case of continued or repeated action of the stressor goes through three distinct stages, which he called the "general adaptation syndrome." Thirdly, that the defense reaction, if it is strong and prolonged, can turn into a disease, the so-called "adaptation disease". Illness will be the price the body pays to combat stressors. Impacts (stressors) can be very different, but regardless of their similar changes that provide adaptation. Selye considers the endocrine-humoral system to be the leading link in this chain of adaptation. The general adaptation syndrome has (according to Selye) three stages (see Fig. 3):

Reaction Stage of resistance Stage of exhaustion

Figure 3. General adaptation syndrome G. Selye. [taken from 6; page 20]

The data of Mason (1971) indicate that certain harmful physical conditions do not cause a general adaptation syndrome. The author was referring to physical activity, fasting and heat. [cit. 6; page 21]

“The important questions in defining stimulus-based stress are: what conditions can be considered stressful and what are their general characteristics? The same questions have to be answered in relation to the stress response, when the definition of stress based on responses is used, ”notes T. Cox.

1.2 T. Cox's transactional analysis model.

Cox and colleagues believe that stress can most accurately be described as part of a complex and dynamic system of human-environmental interaction (see Figure 4). [cit. 6; p.32] In this system, five stages can be defined. The first stage is represented by the source of the requirements for a person and is part of his environment. A person has psychological and physiological needs, their satisfaction is important for him, and this determines his behavior. These needs are combined into a common internal requirement. A person's awareness of this requirement and his own ability to cope with them constitute the second stage. If a situation demands too much from a person, and he does not imagine the limits of his capabilities, he will work without being exposed to stress until it becomes clear to him that he is not able to cope with such a situation. Then he will understand that there is no balance between demand and possibility, and he will fall into a state of stress. Psychophysiological changes can be considered as the third stage of this model and represent a response to stress. The stress response is sometimes considered the end point of the stressful process and should be seen as a way to cope with a stressful situation available to a person; The fourth stage, the most important and often overlooked, concerns the consequences of the stress response. The fifth stage is feedback, which is noted in all other stages of the stress system and which is effective in shaping the outcome of each of these stages. [cit. 6; page 33]

About the experiences associated with the psychological aspect of stress, not always just say "I'm under stress." Much more often this state is described in connection with emotions such as: anger, rage, anxiety, guilt, shame, jealousy. Thus, the experience associated with stress is undoubtedly an emotional experience. Most psychologists divide emotional experiences into two types: pleasant or positive emotions and unpleasant or negative emotions.

Flight is the third form of immediate motor response, just as anger is often denoted as the emotional correlate of aggression, and fear is associated with the concept of flight. The instances of soldiers fleeing the battlefield or deserting are examples of fleeing from fear. Lazarus views aggression and flight as a response to stress. The fourth form is passivity. This freezing is a direct response to the effects of stress. Passivity can also be seen as a long-term response to chronic stress experiences. This can be linked to depression and feelings of hopelessness. Depression is a common clinical response to prolonged exposure to severe chronic stress. This is one of the forms of relative passivity, evidently expressed in the extreme slowness and lethargy of reactions to any stimuli [cit. 6; p.103] "Some challenging situations may leave no hope of relieving stress or eliminating actual harm. Probably, due to the lack of any obvious ways to overcome, the person will not develop their desire to cope with difficulties and will completely lose the ability to do it, - says Lazarus - passivity may be the result of the apparent hopelessness of the situation. "

It's not decided yet, says Cox, what is hopelessness - a lack of coping ability or a form of coping with stress, a parallel freeze response, or perhaps a feigned death.

Overcoming can be expressed not in the form of a direct motor reaction, but in the form of temporary relief. Temporary relief is expressed in the alleviation of the suffering associated with the experience of stress, and in the reduction of psychophysiological influences. Temporary relief can be achieved in several ways. According to Lazarus, two, symptomatic and intrapsychic. The first method includes the use of alcohol, tranquilizers and sedatives, muscle relaxation training and other methods aimed at improving the physical condition of a person. Intrapsychic temporary relief is considered in terms of cognitive defense mechanisms. The description of these mechanisms owes much to the development of psychoanalysis. Freud used the expression "defense mechanisms" to refer to an unconscious psychological mechanism by which a person can deceive himself about the presence of a threat or external danger. The point of this "defense" is that it reduces the threat perception of the danger, not the threat itself. Intrapsychic temporary relief according to Lazarus is considered in terms of these mechanisms, and are called: identification, movement, suppression, denial, reaction formation, projection and intellectualization. The movement of aggressiveness can be observed, for example, when a person restrains his aggressive behavior aimed at a stronger opponent, and shows aggression towards another less powerful one. (In the case when the husband shows aggression towards his wife, although the boss is to blame). In denial, a person overcomes a threat or danger by simply denying that it exists. Denial is generally thought to be closely related to repression in that repression involves the denial of internal threatening impulses. For denial to be effective, it may be necessary to create complex cognitive mechanisms for the perception of information that makes denial false. For example, a doctor who informs a patient with a severe heart attack about the severity and severity of his illness, from a position of denial, may be discredited in the patient's eyes, and the doctor's information will not be taken into account. Intellectualization is a way of protection in which a person can react to a threatening situation dispassionately, evaluating it analytically as an object for improvement or an interesting phenomenon. For this reason, a professional doctor, psychologist or nurse does not like to treat those who are emotionally close to them. In such a situation, it is difficult to remain impassive.

According to Schmidt, several points in the scheme draw attention to themselves:

Only at subsequent stages, namely, starting with the appearance of disintegration, negative symptoms are revealed, in which mental disorders are always noted;

As the role of mental stress increases, there is no doubt that research requires a combination of medicobiological, psychosocial, and clinical methods, because mental stress is a complex problem.