How to relieve stress on your own. Treating Stress, or How to Get Rid of Feelings of Anxiety, Fear and Panic Attacks How to Get Rid of Internal Stress

Anyone knows what stress is. As soon as the boss says: “I’m waiting in my office,” you feel stuffy, your heart starts beating faster, and something turns over in your stomach. And this is just a part possible reactions the body for situations that are usually considered stressful. In fact, short-term stress can even increase performance, but this kind of chronic condition can have devastating effects on a person, leading to depression, insomnia, and high blood pressure. It's easy enough to worry endlessly about a rude boss or an endless to-do list.

The global picture

Chronic work-related stress affects an incredible number of people. For example, in the United States, at least seventy percent of citizens experience it. One study on the topic showed that eight out of ten American workers experience stress due to increased workload or insufficient salary. Of course, it is difficult to reduce the list of responsibilities at work or stop contacting people. But there is a way out! A person can control their reaction to the stress of work. You can learn to adapt to stressful situations by staying mindful and continuing to take care of your own needs. There are various practices that you can integrate into your routine in order to learn how to approach life more consciously, to your needs, desires and intentions, both at work and in your free time.

Mindfulness practice

Mindfulness training, such as meditation, can help a person see their work in a new way, find a sense of happiness and harmony in the workplace. Most people prefer the "illusion of control", the belief that each of us has the power to control colleagues, bosses, clients and the result of work to a much greater extent than it actually is. The truth is that many people are truly in control of themselves. On the one hand, it scares, and on the other, it frees. Thus, the first way to protect yourself from stress is to try to forget about the "illusion of control." Instead of tormenting yourself for every failure, it is better to learn to accept yourself and what is happening, whatever it may be. This gives you the opportunity to learn from any new life experience. If you want to better understand the principles of mindfulness, use the step-by-step methodology for developing the right approach to work.

Step one: develop a habit of meditating regularly

Meditation allows you to look at what is happening from a different point of view, to look more deeply at your emotions. When you learn to be mindful, you train your mind and become more conscious of the thoughts and feelings that arise in your mind. As a result, you better understand your own intentions. Meditation allows you to comprehend the nature of things without looking back at conventional judgments, fears and other destructive attitudes that fill the mind. Learn to meditate regularly for at least ten minutes a day, and you will find stressful situations at work easier to handle. There are many different practices, and you will find the one that works best for you through experience.

Step two: loosen your grip

Do it literally! Emotional stress is directly related to physical stress. To overcome both problems at once, learn to relax your body. For example, use a simple exercise that is appropriate for work. Sitting at the table, you need to concentrate on your palms and shoulders. If you notice that you are clenching your fingers or straining your shoulders, focus on this sensation - it increases your tension. Relax to the maximum, watch your breathing. Feel all the emotions that visit you in the process. This exercise is easy to do even while making a to-do list!

Step three: think before you speak

Stress often leads to irritability and fills us with guilt and resentment. There is also an exercise to remedy the situation. You need to write down the statement using the second person form, for example: "You are an incompetent employee who forgot about the deadline for the task," and then rewrite the phrase in the first person form without using judgmental language. For example, you can write: “I had to search for the lost file for two hours, and this is why I could not make it. What can I do to prevent this from happening again? " Moreover, it is important to monitor your feelings while using different forms. Learn to use specific wording, do not generalize - a constructive conversation helps you to look at the situation more objectively and not judge yourself or your colleagues.

Step four: set goals

If you have too many items on your to-do list, you feel overwhelmed and the world seems to be spiraling out of control. This is why it is so important to set goals correctly. You should be more conscious about your intentions. Only you can control these intentions, and by learning to control, you will become a calmer and more collected person. Set a specific goal for yourself every day before starting work. For example, you might want to be a more relaxed participant in a work meeting, or breathe in deeply for peace of mind before starting a new task. When you start a conversation, think about your goal for a second. What kind of person do you want to appear? Take three breaths before sending the mail, and then re-read the letter again, pretending to be the addressee. What will you achieve with such a message? If you find yourself bored at work, don't judge yourself. Just try to change your approach.

Each person has enough strength to solve everyday problems. You can learn to take care of yourself! Try this exercise: On a piece of paper, write a list of things that create stress at work, and next to it, make a column of things that lift your spirits and help you relax. After that, make a third list - it should describe how your favorite activities affect stress. Go through all three lists and see if you are dealing with the problems. You may find it easier to find a solution and discover a new way of caring for yourself.

Step six: have empathy

The ability to communicate gently with colleagues is important not only to make it easier to achieve goals, but also to overall well-being. You should learn to empathize with others. Just close your eyes and find the energy of love and kindness in yourself. Direct positive emotions on others and on yourself. Wish yourself all the best. Repeat these thoughts as a mantra at the pace you feel most comfortable with. Focus on each phrase, don't get distracted. Imagine someone with whom you find it difficult to find a common language, and try to wish him happiness. Go over in your mind everyone who is difficult for you and who irritates you. Repeat this exercise, and you will soon find that love and kindness return to you. Learn to love everyone around you, and the situation, and most importantly, your view of it, will definitely change.

The frantic pace of life in modern megalopolises, a huge information flow that pours out on each of us every day, bad ecology constantly test our strength. nervous system... Everyday feats are expected of us, we strive to be "faster, higher, stronger." All this gradually leads to physical and emotional overload, fatigue and stress.

What is stress? Where it comes from, how to get rid of it and whether it is possible not to bring ourselves to an extreme state - let's try to figure it out together.

What is stress

This is the response of our body to any overstrain. A person can experience both physical and emotional overload.

Physical stress can be caused by severe or prolonged illness, cold or overheating of the body, or hunger. In order to get rid of it, you need to find and eliminate the cause.

The same applies to psychological (emotional) stress. It can be caused by troubles in his personal life, family problems or conflicts at work, material difficulties, a huge amount of information, dissatisfaction with his professional abilities, disappointment and other reasons that cause great emotional distress and an overload of the nervous system.

According to the degree of intensity of emotional overstrain and its duration, several periods are distinguished:

• adaptive - when the body adapts to a new state and mobilizes its protective functions;
• short-term - if minor troubles knock you out of your usual rut for a short time;
• long-term - if you do not recognize stress in time and do not deal with it, it can drag on, which ultimately lead to depression and major health problems.

Regardless of the type of stress, its intensity and duration, its nature is the same. Immediately after a nervous breakdown, the level of adrenaline and cortisol rises in the blood.

Adrenaline raises blood pressure and increases heart rate, the need for high-calorie foods.

Cortisol, or stress hormone, helps to increase protective functions organism, increases immunity.

How to recognize stress

The release of adrenaline and cortisol is the body's first defense reaction to increased stress. They are what cause the physical symptoms of stress that you may feel. These include the following signals:

• headache;
• rapid breathing;
• exacerbation of gastritis or the development of peptic ulcer, other gastrointestinal disorders;
• chest pain;
• muscle tension;
• a feeling of discomfort, tension, or pain in the spine;
• fast fatiguability.

But not only physical, but also emotional changes accompany stress. Psychological symptoms of stress include:

• depressed mood;
• increased anxiety;
• absent-mindedness - it is impossible to concentrate on doing the job;
• irritability;
• sleep problems.

If you notice such changes in yourself or in someone close to you, you must definitely start treatment.

How to relieve stress with home methods

You can help yourself simple methods, most of which are available to each of us. Let's figure out how to relieve stress and calm down after a nervous breakdown.

The main thing in dealing with stress is to release tension, try to distract yourself and relax. At home, you can use these methods.

"The morning is wiser than the evening"

We recall the old worldly wisdom and put off solving the problem until the next day. At the same time, it is important not to torment yourself with endless worries about what happened and how to live on, but try to free your head from annoying thoughts.

It is best to do breathing exercises for this. A few simple exercises will release muscle tension and help you calm down. You can distract yourself by watching your favorite movie or talking with loved ones.

If obsessive thoughts do not come out of your head, then do not hide them, but entrust everything to paper. This will actually free your head and maybe even look at the problem from a different angle.

Air!

Go for a walk. Just walking, and not running headlong from work to home or to the store. Go to the park, just walk the streets, look at houses, passers-by, listen to the sounds of nature, breathe deeply. A walk can be thought of as a meditation if you focus your attention on some details: take a closer look at the leaves on the trees, shop windows, clouds in the sky, etc.

In addition, during a walk, the flow of oxygen to the head increases - you can escape from your worries and find the right solution to your problem.

Listen to the music

The music you love can cheer you up. According to psychologists, it is best suited for relieving stress, but if you do not like her, then just pick up any compositions that your heart responds to.

Get exercise

During sports or any physical exercise, the body produces the hormone of happiness - endorphin. He is responsible for a good mood. The influx of endorphins can be achieved in many ways, but the most reliable effect can only be achieved by exercise. You can go for a run, go to the gym, dance to your favorite music, or just do the simplest exercises - even a few squats and simple stretching will help release tension and fill you with energy.

Water

How else can you relieve fatigue at home and relax? The easiest way is to go to the bathroom. Water is able to cleanse not only the physical body. She washes away all the troubles and sorrows from us, copes well with emotional stress.

Take a contrast shower or warm bath with aromatic oils or salt. If possible, go to the pool or ... to the bathhouse. The hot steam will relax the muscles and increase the flow of endorphins. You will feel refreshed and refreshed.

Folk remedies

Folk recipes of herbal tinctures are very helpful in relieving stress. Well soothes and helps to relax a decoction of valerian root or motherwort herb. These plants have a strong sedative effect and are often included in sedative preparations.

Cope with insomnia, relieve headaches and warm tea with chamomile, mint or thyme and a small spoonful of honey.

Others are good stress medications. folk plants: hawthorn berries, peony flowers, verbena. Only, as in the case of medicines, you should carefully apply them - in some cases, even taking herbal teas can cause negative reactions.

Treating stress with medication

All home remedies are good for prevention or stress relief in the adaptation and short term.

If nervous tension does not leave you for a long time and no folk remedies do not help, you need to seek help from specialists.

Untreated stress can lead to major health and social problems. Prolonged depression is very difficult to treat. For the treatment of stress, neurosis, depression, panic attacks and other disorders of the nervous system, various are used, which can be divided into the following groups:

• Antipsychotics - such drugs help to inhibit nervous activity. They are usually prescribed for lingering depression and complex mental disorders.
• Antidepressants are medications that reduce anxiety and help relieve stress.
• Tranquilizers are drugs that reduce anxiety, normalize sleep, and suppress emotions.
• Nootropics - improve brain activity, memory, increase concentration.
• Sedatives - sedatives, promote relaxation, reduce anxiety, relieve stress.
• Normotimic agents - drugs that relieve depressed mood, restore the emotional background, are prescribed for increased irritability and nervousness.
• Stimulating drugs - are prescribed for increased mental and emotional stress, help to resist stress, have a general strengthening effect on the body.

Any remedies can only be prescribed by the attending physician. Depending on the degree and type of neurological disorder, the doctor will select drugs - stress relieving, reducing anxiety, sedative or stimulating, and more often a combination of them to provide a comprehensive treatment for the disease.

How not to relieve stress and fatigue

Many people believe that the best remedy from fatigue and to relieve stress is alcohol. It will help you relax and forget about problems. However, in fact, the effect is the opposite. Alcohol puts an additional strain on the body, which is already physically and emotionally depleted.

If you are very tired, do not use stimulants and energy drinks. Coffee, strong tea, chocolate, energy drinks have an invigorating effect only for a while, after which the situation only gets worse. At the same time, they further overload the nervous system and reduce the body's natural ability to deal with stress.

Why it is imperative to treat stress

Any nervous breakdown is, first of all, energy that requires release. If this does not happen, it accumulates in the body and can lead to serious consequences: severe depressive conditions and diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, neurological disorders.

In addition, this seriously complicates a person's social life: a person experiencing constant nervous overloads cannot normally concentrate on work or study, he is very insecure, irritable and suspicious, it is difficult to communicate with him. This leads to frequent conflicts with family, friends and colleagues.

How to get rid of chronic depression

Left unattended, stress grows into severe depression. It is almost impossible for a person to get rid of it on their own. In this case, the help of a specialist is required. Moreover, most often, therapy is complex. The doctor will prescribe medication, psychotherapeutic methods. Herbal medicine, physiotherapy exercises help.

However, not a single doctor and not a single manual will give you an exact answer to the question of how to get out of depression, and will not help you get rid of depression if you yourself do not make an effort to do this. In order to achieve success, you need to get out of your comfort zone, completely change your usual lifestyle, give up many habits and solve problems that have been postponed for years: it can be a change of job and even a profession, solving family conflicts and other tasks, for who were scared to take.

Prevention of a nervous breakdown

Any disease, as you know, is easier to prevent than to solve. The same applies to nervous breakdowns and depression. It is easier not to push yourself to an extreme state than to pull yourself out of the swamp by your hair. To withstand stress, you need to follow the rules that are simple to the point of banality and familiar to all of us from childhood.

• Be mindful. A nervous breakdown is our reaction to a situation. And only we decide how we react to it. Learn to distract yourself and shift your attention away from the negative aspects, try to look for the good side in everything.
• Get some rest. Not in front of the TV and watching the feed on social networks. Do what you love, read a book, listen to music, take a walk, go to the theater or cinema.
• Relax. Meditation, yoga, a warm bath, breathing exercises - any means that give you pleasure, except alcohol and gluttony, are good for relieving stress.
• Move more. Any simple exercise will strengthen not only your body, but also temper your spirit.

Finally

We are all living people, so we are all subject to the influence of emotions, which are not always positive. However, it depends only on us how we can resist them.

To cope with stress, which, unfortunately, is very common in our modern life, you need to fill your every day with small joys. Take care of yourself more, make yourself small gifts every day, not necessarily material ones: find beautiful things in nature, in passers-by, always tune in to good things, find yourself a hobby and devote time to it, learn new things.

Every day, summing up, remember only the best of what happened to you, and then stress and nervous breakdowns will visit you less and less.

From which sometimes we want, leaving everything, to run as far as possible. We have a desire to find a safe haven where we could reliably hide from all adversity and relieve nervous tension. What is the best way to deal with these negative emotions that are dangerous to our health?

Today we will introduce you to 7 simple tips that will help you in a stressful situation. These tips will be of great help to you in difficult times. Read on!

How to relax your body and soul

Remember that the following tips can be effective as a starting point, but if you don't notice an improvement in your mood and stress continues to affect your daily life, it is best to seek professional help from a psychologist.

1. My home is my castle

For you to understand what will be discussed, we would like to give a simple example. Imagine that you are at work, the situation is tense, and every minute there are more and more new orders from management, noise, conversations of colleagues, with some of whom you do not add up.

And if, in addition to this, you recently had to go through a quarrel with a partner or children are waiting for you at home who need to be taken to class. How to calm down in such a situation? How to relax and relieve nervous tension, let it be just for how many minutes?

Imagine an empty room in your own palace of peace and tranquility, where you can hide from the outside world at any time. There is noise and bustle behind the door, but you are safely hidden in your palace. Nothing can disturb your privacy. You can sit down and ponder all your problems without rushing or worrying. Nobody is putting pressure on you here.

2. White wall

This exercise is not difficult at all, but very effective. Each of us had to go through a situation when problems accumulated like a snowball, and we were overwhelmed with anxiety, fear and nervous tension. In this case dark thoughts begin to overwhelm us, we feel paralyzed.

When you find yourself in a similar situation again, try to stop the flow of dark thoughts, shielding myself from them with an imaginary white wall... White will soothe anxiety and give you back your peace of mind.

Try this tip in practice! Do not give in to these obsessive thoughts, use the image of a white wall to shield yourself from negative energy.

3. Correct breathing will help relieve nervous tension.

Stress and anxiety speed up the rhythm of our breathing. We stop breathing deeply, which forces our heart to work faster. Because of this, sooner or later, muscle tension arises, appear.

When this happens, pay attention to your breathing. Place your hand on your stomach and inhale deeply. You will notice how your abdominal muscles tighten and your ribcage expands.

After inhaling, hold your breath for a few seconds and begin to gradually exhale air from your lungs. You will soon notice that it has become easier for you. Correct breathing helps calm the nerves and relax.

4. Write

Another simple and effective recommendation is to always carry a small diary or a cute notebook with you. They will become your attentive listeners in difficult times. You will be able to splash out on paper all the accumulated emotions, anxiety, sadness.

Do not hold your fears and anxieties, do not try to hide them deeper. Try to express these emotions in writing. Then you can tear or burn these sheets if you want.

As we write and express accumulated thoughts, relief soon comes. Try journaling. In it you can write about what bothers you, your most secret thoughts and dreams will be reflected in the diary.

Over time, the journal will become your best friend and become an attentive listener.

5. A little sun and walking on the grass

If you feel like you can't deal with an influx of anxious thoughts, you are overwhelmed with anxiety and stress, and your nerves are at the limit, go out for a walk to your favorite park or forest, go to the mountains ...

Feel the rays of the sun caress your face, enjoy the peace and tranquility that nature is filled with. Sometimes we forget that we are her creation. A stay outside the city allows you to return to our roots and feel harmony with the world around us.

We assure you that this recommendation allows you to achieve an excellent result. will calm you down and restore peace in your soul.

6. Find a good listener

When we manage to shed the burden from the soul, we begin to think rationally and find a solution to our problems.

7. Take care of your personal space

Each of us has our own personal space, a world in which we can be ourselves. Someone needs to turn on their favorite music and close their eyes for this. Someone finds harmony in dance, painting, knitting.

It doesn't matter what kind of occupation it will be. The main thing - have one that can calm our worries, which makes it possible to feel yourself and relieve nervous tension.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that it is very important to know which advice is best for you. Which helps you relax.

Since each of us is unique and individual, each person needs a special approach. So we recommend trying each of these tips and you will soon see which one is best for you.

Remember to prioritize your life, do not get lost in the affairs and concerns of other people, forgetting about your own needs. Respect and value yourself, your inner peace and freedom. Don't forget this!

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Stress is the body's natural, innate response to an external threat. And if several thousand years ago it helped to survive, then in our time the circumstances have changed, but the person has remained practically the same. Most are not in mortal danger, but modern people when domestic problems arise, they can experience the same stress as the ancient man before a mortal fight with a wild animal.

Online program from 4BRAIN "" will teach you how to deal with stress at work, school and in everyday life. You will learn to cope with difficult relationships in the community, anxiety and fear of important events, apathy, difficulty in taking the first step, and procrastination.

The negative effects of prolonged exposure to stress on a person

Here are just a few of the consequences:

1. Stress can lead to alcoholism, drug addiction and hypertension. A happy and self-sufficient person does not need such stimulants. It may be misleading to think that, for example, Hollywood stars are addicted to stimulants just because they can afford them financially. However, it's just stress. It could be the pursuit of fame, or the realization that fame doesn't make you happy. Therefore, they experience great disappointment and try to get rid of it.
2. Stress affects. This has been scientifically proven. Memory and attentiveness deteriorate, and there is no need to talk about concentration during moments of stress. A person makes extremely stupid decisions, begins to think narrowly, which is metaphorically similar to trying to look at something through a telescope, but from the other side. He does not see the whole picture. In a calm and relaxed state, we are capable of more.
3. Stress is a silent killer. In terms of destructiveness and influence, it is similar to smoking. One cigarette, like a day under stress, will not harm the body, but after a few years the situation will become catastrophic and irreversible. Stress leads to irregular heartbeats, chest pains, and heart disease.
4. It is quite possible that a chain will appear: anxiety - stress - apathy - depression. Any of these links can pass into another and cause characteristic consequences.
5. Stress causes insomnia. This may not seem as serious a consequence as the previous ones, but sleep disturbance and lack of sleep can lead to depression, hallucinations, and even schizophrenia.

Robert Cialdini in his book "The Psychology of Influence" clearly demonstrates that pointing out negative consequences makes the situation only worse (causes one fear), if you do not show the person a way out of it. Therefore, below are some effective methods of preventing and relieving stress.

There are three options for dealing with stress. The first is to notice irritability in time and prevent stress. Second, if the first signs of stress were not noticed, then exercises should be performed to deal with it. Third: if the exercises were not performed, a nervous breakdown occurs. As you can imagine, it is best to stay with the first option. But if it did not work out, then the tips below will help to minimize damage in the second and even third option.

Meditation and relaxation

It is impossible to experience both stress and calmness at the same time. Therefore, if you are resting and relaxing, then physically you cannot experience stress. Rest is recommended every 1.5-2 hours. If possible, lie down with your eyes closed.

Practice helps you turn off chaotic thoughts and focus on neutral things. During this time, the wave of stress and anger goes away and you can start from scratch again.

Arts and hobbies

A hobby in psychology is called occupational therapy. Any activity that is fun for you not only cheers you up, but also removes unnecessary thoughts and relaxes.

Art has something close to the child's genuine joy of creating something new. You can write, sculpt, shoot videos, take photos, do handicrafts and compose music.

Respiration autoregulation

The easiest way to relieve stress that few people use. During any stress, a person tends to forget about how he breathes and what he feels - he focuses exclusively on his irritability.

Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. These actions can be the same in time, or your exhalation can be half as long as you inhale. Do not think about anything during the exercise, watch only your breathing.

Putting things in order

Here we mean not only cleaning (although this is also encouraged), but also putting things in order in your life. Stress is the answer to life’s unraveled problems. Moreover, surprisingly, these can be very easily and quickly resolved situations. You may need just one day off to get rid of many of the stress-causing problems. The next day, you will feel intense relief and calm. Write down the remaining problems on a piece of paper, highlight those that will take a small amount of time to solve, and also resolve them. Divide the global difficulties into stages and perform them in order.

Physical activity

One way to get rid of negative thoughts. Running, dancing, yoga, football - all this will help you forget about past mistakes and an uncertain future, or even realize that many problems are far-fetched. There is a recommendation to bring everything to the point of absurdity: if you are alone in a room, start acting like characters from comics or pretend to be any animal. In this state, you simply cannot experience stress, because the situation itself is comical, which means it does not leave a chance for irritability.

We also bring to your attention a list of books that will help you not only get rid of stress, but also become a completely happy person. Some of them will be enough to read, while others will require your participation.

Books to deal with stress

• Dale Carnegie "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living"
• Mike George "7 Steps to a Stress-Free Life"
• Sharon Miller "Stress Resistance"
• Barbara Sher "Dreaming is not harmful"

For more information on how to manage stress at work and school using self-regulation techniques -. Join us!

We wish you good luck!

The good news for those struggling to cope with daily stress at home and at work is that there are ways to get rid of constant worry and anxiety. The author of a new book on stress recommends using simple acupressure exercises as first aid. It is also within our power to change our reaction to stress, for this we need to understand the work of the adrenal glands.

Any stresses that we attribute to our emotional state - for example, anxiety, low self-esteem, or violent reactions - are actually related to our physiology. These so-called "false feelings" are caused by a lack of chemical reactions in the brain that can maintain resistance to stress. However, such conditions can be quickly corrected by changing your physiology.

I asked Harvard University integrative medicine specialist Sarah Gottfried, M.D., how to stop feeling like a failure if you can't live every moment of your life as if you were a superhero. She proposed a new mantra: "These are my adrenal glands, this is not me." According to Gottfried, we should stop blaming ourselves and try to jump over our heads, and instead should "think about our biology."

Stress and the adrenal glands: how does it work?

Up to 70% of people who report stress actually suffer from some degree of adrenal imbalance (organs that produce hormones responsible for your response to stress). In conditions of chronic stress, our body goes through three stages, which are characterized by varying degrees of imbalance of the adrenal glands and, ultimately, their depletion.

In the first stage we build up extra energy to deal with stressors. After the first rush of adrenaline, the adrenal glands begin to release cortisol, which initially - and in small quantities - is a source of strength and endurance for us. In the right amount, cortisol helps metabolize food, fights allergies and reduces inflammation.

But if the state of overexcitement continues, the adrenal glands begin to release too much adrenaline and cortisol, replacing them with our neurotransmitters responsible for good mood, namely serotonin (a source of self-confidence and optimism) and dopamine (a source of pleasure). When cortisol circulates chronically in the body, it begins to stimulate inflammatory responses and can cause the diseases that it was originally intended to protect against. Accordingly, signs of illness or infection appear.

Hand position: with your thumb, touch the "knuckle" of the middle (third) finger. Then move your thumb towards your palm until you feel a “soft” depression or small depression. The pressure should be moderate. By pressing this point, you help regulate pressure and reduce anxiety.

Exercise 2: the point of confidence

To stimulate a state of confidence, try clicking on the “confidence point”. By clicking on this point, you send a signal that reduces internal emotional tension, stimulating a state of calm. Fold your arms into an appropriate position for at least 30 seconds before speaking, giving a presentation, or any other time you need a "boost of confidence."

Hand position: place the thumb of either hand on the side of the index finger between the first and second joints. Apply mild to moderate pressure.

Exercise 3: Fear Breathing Technique

You can train your body to get rid of fear. Vigorous exhalations stimulate the PNS, promoting calmness. I used this breathing technique to get rid of claustrophobia to make it easier for me to live in New York, where the crowded subways and elevators are an integral part of life.

Breathing technique: inhale vigorously through the nose and exhale through the mouth, concentrating on each inhalation and exhalation. As you exhale, throw your arms forward forcefully, as if you are pushing away from yourself something that you do not like. Then, as you inhale, return your arms to your chest in a straight line, with your elbows pressed to your sides. Breathe out sharply through your mouth, throwing out your hands again. Repeat one more time.

Hand position: bring the tips of your thumb and forefinger together and raise your hands in front of your chest, palms away from you.

Duration: start by doing this exercise for one minute, gradually work out to three minutes. The first time you exercise, you may feel a little dizzy - just stop if you feel uncomfortable.

Exercise 4: Hand Position to Encourage Finding Solutions

To effectively solve problems, you must be confident in your abilities and listen to your intuition. The following hand positions can be used to activate the problem-solving brain center. This position helps you focus on a point on your forehead, which corresponds to the approximate location of your pineal gland and is located at the intersection of the left and right hemispheres. This point is access to "general brain thinking". In some spiritual and physical traditions of yoga, it is considered the "third eye" - the intersection of intuition and wisdom.

Hand position: Connect the tip of your right thumb to the tips of your second (index) and third (middle) fingers. Place the “tip” of this triangle about 2.5 cm from the point on the forehead, which is about 2.5 cm above the point directly between the eyes. At the same time, in the same way, connect the tip of your left thumb with the tips of your second (index) and third (middle) fingers. Place the “tip” of this triangle about 2.5 cm from the point on your forehead that will correspond to your “intuition”.