What to do when your heart is restless. Therefore, if you feel anxiety for a long period of time, then there is definitely a reason, you just don’t realize it. For some reason, this reason escaped your attention. Features of anxiety in adolescents

Where does anxiety come from? Many people begin to experience some kind of oppressive feeling. It seems that everything seems normal, we do not see any problems, but there is a feeling in our souls, as if something terrible is about to happen. Familiar?

You are not alone. Almost all people experience this feeling during their lifetime, but some experience it chronically. To answer the question of what to do about it, you first need to understand what anxiety is in general.

Anxiety is a feeling akin to fear, but unlike fear, it does not have a clear cause.

However, this does not mean that there is no reason. There is always a reason. This may be some kind of unresolved life situation, health problems, something has changed in the environment, as well as the abuse of various psychoactive substances.

Is there anxiety in the soul for no reason?

Many clients come to me feeling anxious for several months. Often they say that everything in their life seems to be normal, there is no reason for alarm, but it always turns out in the end that this is actually not the case.

The psyche of each person has special algorithms that allow you to identify dangerous life moments. Some of them are built into us genetically, but many have been shaped by our experience.

We constantly perceive great amount information, but a significant part of it does not reach our consciousness. However, our brain still processes it. In the event that some information has not reached our consciousness, but the "security algorithms" have worked, then we feel anxiety.

Therefore, if you feel anxiety for a long period of time, then there is definitely a reason, you just don’t realize it. Somehow this reason escaped your attention

If this information reached consciousness, then we would experience some other feeling. Anxiety is a signal to us that something has changed and something is wrong.

Do not dismiss this feeling and try to suppress it somehow in yourself. It's like trying to suppress your hunger or pain. It's not about the feeling, but about the reason that caused it.

Causes of anxiety in the soul

The reasons can be very diverse, but let's touch on at least the most common ones.

Displaced problem. Quite often, people face problems that are very difficult for them to solve, or for some reason they don’t want to do it. Then, in order not to spoil their mood once again, people prefer to "forget" about them. For some time it works, but anyway, somewhere on the periphery of consciousness, a person has a tick that something is wrong.
It's like turning off the siren when the alarm goes off. It seems that nothing is heard, but some kind of red light is flashing.
Underestimation of emotional upheaval. People often underestimate how much situations affect them. For example, some kind of grief happened to a person, but he begins to deny the importance of this event for himself. If a person acts in this way, he can really consider that everything is fine with him. The problem is, his emotions don't see it that way.
Sluggish conflict situation. It happens that in a person's life a conflict has arisen, which is an implicit, hidden form. It seems nothing concrete, but there is a feeling that "the clouds are gathering."
Change of environment. Sometimes in life some detail changes, which seems to be imperceptible, but something is not right. This is just an example of the operation of the "security algorithm". As in Vysotsky's song - "The same forest, the same air and the same water, only he did not return from the battle."
The problem is that we often do not realize that something is important to us, and when it disappears, anxiety arises.
Neurosis. If nothing is done with the feeling of anxiety, then it can turn into a new quality, which will be of a chronic nature. For example, anxiety may begin to be associated with some extraneous event. As a result, a phobia may develop.
Alcohol abuse. Sometimes anxiety is purely chemical in nature. For example, due to excessive drinking, brain chemistry can be unbalanced. The production of “hormones of happiness” is disrupted, and a person feels this as anxiety in the soul.
One evening with alcohol can be worth five days of oppressive anxiety. If a person begins to flood this feeling again with alcohol, then he begins to fall into an "emotional debt hole", which can end in alcoholic psychosis.
endocrine disorders. Quite often there is a situation when a person has problems with the work of the glands. internal secretion. This may cause various emotional reactions, including depression and anxiety.

What to do with anxiety in the soul?

Dealing with anxiety is a long and multidimensional process that requires the work of a specialist. However, if for some reason you cannot consult a psychologist, you can try to deal with it yourself.

The first thing to do is check your health. Sign up to the clinic and go to the doctors. It's useful anyway. Only after you have ruled out health-related causes can you move on to dealing directly with anxiety.

Normalize your lifestyle.

The work of our psyche is closely connected with the body. Many causes of mental problems are related to in the wrong way life.

Normalize your sleep patterns. A person should sleep for at least 8 hours. If this is not done, then an imbalance appears in the body. The production of neurotransmitters and hormones is disrupted, which is directly related to mood, mental and physical tone, and health.
Normalize your diet. If the body is not getting enough nutrients, vitamins and so on, it also most seriously affects our physical and mental health. Eat more cheese and cottage cheese, this contributes to the production of serotonin.
Normalize physical activity. Exercise stress- this is necessary condition for normalization metabolic processes in the body, which are very closely related to the human psyche.
visit fresh air at least one hour a day.
Do not use alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances. They depress the nervous system.

Recall the events that took place just before the onset of anxiety.

Quite often, people do not connect the situation with their emotional state. They say: "No! It has nothing to do with it!". Quite often it turns out quite the opposite.

Ask yourself questions:

Did you fight with someone?
Have you received any critical remarks? fair?
Do you have any unresolved problems in your life?
Do you have any "debt" (in the broadest sense)?
Have you experienced a strong emotional upheaval?

Try to answer these questions honestly for yourself. Perhaps you will notice something that was hidden from you. In life, people have things that they do not want to know about, but which still affect them.

If this does not help, then you should consult a psychologist.

How Can a Psychologist Help Treat Anxiety?

There is a trend in psychotherapy that has shown highest efficiency in the treatment of anxiety disorders. This area is called CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

This is the only type of psychotherapy that is not built on speculative ideas, but on a solid empirical and scientific basis. There are many scientific studies that have proven the effectiveness this method. Therefore, I recommend contacting specialists in this area, to whom I include myself.

How it works?

During the day, a person thinks about 60,000-70,000 thoughts. Only some of them are conscious to us, since most of them are carried by in a fraction of a second. However, our every thought, conscious or not, causes an emotional response in us.

Such lightning-fast thoughts are called automatic. Quite often we automatically think about something bad, we begin to look at the world through black glasses.

A psychologist can help identify and correct such automatic thoughts, which allows a person to change the angle of view of the problem. This, in turn, relieves anxiety.

This is achieved not only by conversations, but also special exercises, which allow a person to develop a new, more adaptive response to various stimuli.

In addition to automatic thoughts, various destructive beliefs can cause anxiety in the soul. The psychologist can identify them, present them to the client and offer something more valuable in return.

Together, this provides the highest efficacy in the treatment of anxiety disorders. These are not some speculative ideas, but the result of empirical scientific research.

Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy confirmed 452 scientific research. Therefore, if you want to get rid of anxiety quickly and permanently, then this is exactly what you need.

Anxiety in the soul is an unpleasant and frightening condition. Sometimes this feeling haunts people even if there are no obvious reasons. With time similar condition, if anxiety attacks occur regularly, can make a person's life unbearable.

Looking for reasons

Feelings of anxiety can be caused by several reasons.

Another reason for the development of anxiety is stress, depression, and irrational fears. People suffering from phobic disorders experience fear not only in a situation of direct contact with the object of fear - they can be anxious even just thinking about it. The life of such individuals is extremely difficult. They are able to see the threat in everything, from films or TV shows related to their fear, and ending with people around them who may accidentally start a conversation in painful topic. Anxiety becomes a constant companion of such patients, they can get used to it so much that it becomes an integral part of life and will occur almost constantly.

Anxiety with VSD

Very often, a feeling of anxiety occurs in people suffering from VVD. The fact is that such patients often experience panic attacks accompanied by many distressing symptoms, one of which is . Even having arisen once, such an attack can leave a negative imprint on the human psyche and instill in the depths of his soul a strong sense of anxiety that can manifest itself without obvious reasons. Patients with VVD do not always understand why this anxiety occurs. It appears, as a rule, due to a subconscious expectation panic attack calling irrational fear of death.

How to cope?

Shouldn't be ignored this problem and let it all run its course. Constant anxiety in the soul can provoke:

On the early stages you can deal with the problem yourself.

It is necessary to communicate as much as possible with people who cause positive emotions. Just one conversation with nice person can significantly improve your mood and help you start thinking more positively. With individuals who have a negative outlook on life, you should spend as little time as possible. It is also worth trying not to focus on the negative yourself and learn to notice less bad things around you, without complaining to everyone you meet about your problems.
Recommended to do more exercise and pay attention water procedures. Even the simplest loads can help free your head from gloomy thoughts and give you a big boost of positive energy. Water is known to have soothing properties, so good option will be a visit to the pool.
You need to learn to live in the present, try not to "load" yourself with thoughts about what will be ahead, and appreciate every moment. You can relax with interesting movie walking with friends or favorite hobby.

Anxiety in the soul without a reason can not be. It only seems to a person that there are no grounds for his mind-tormenting sensation, as a rule, because they are not so obvious. AT severe cases with a constant and intense manifestation of anxiety, it is necessary to contact a psychotherapist, identify the cause of discomfort and act on it with the help of special techniques.

Anxiety in the soul is one of the most insidious conditions, which over time can turn into a complex neurosis. Anxiety, even in its lightest expression, overshadows life and can "program" a person's behavior for a certain pathological scenario.

"Something will happen" - and "something" is bound to happen. And if "famously" suddenly passed by - anxiety in the soul will curl up into a peaceful dormant bundle of nerves for a short while and stir again at the slightest threat to a prosperous and measured existence.

It is good when there are obvious prerequisites for the emergence of anxiety. But neurotic disorder most often has reasons that are not obvious, deeply rooted in the subconscious. Everyday and widespread anxiety can develop not only into an obsessive, haunting state, but also become part of a mental disorder. So a small unsolved problem gives rise to big ones.

Constant anxiety in the soul - is it a disease or a feature of "temperament"? How to organize your life unpleasant symptom disturbed as little as possible? The good news is that there really is nothing to worry about. The neurotic problem is being solved, but the treatment is not at all in the plane of medicines, as pharmacy windows and advertising slogans assure about this.

What does anxiety in the soul say?

The state of anxiety is characterized by an obsessive feeling that something bad will happen - now or very soon. The severity of this sensation can be so pronounced that a person loses the ability to adequately live a moment in time and is ready to flee in a panic from the “imminent danger”.

Painful experience brings not only heartache, but also specific physical disorders- migraine, nausea or even vomiting, impaired eating behavior(bulimia, loss of appetite). Shades of excitement can be very different, but they are all united by a common destructive effect on the psyche and human life. After all, it is difficult to develop and embody intentions when the future and the past have united, rising with frightening unpredictability. What's around that corner? Cliff? Trap? How to pull myself together and continue on the path? Where, in the end, to go, when everywhere - uncertainty and instability.

The disease becomes rampant when everyday life turns into a series of trials. A little excitement about a final exam or session, before a wedding or other significant event - normal reaction to the "milestone" of life. Another thing is when your mouth dries up, your hands shake and gloomy thoughts come into your head long before the X hour or even without obvious reasons. In such cases, a psychiatrist can even make a diagnosis: "generalized anxiety disorder."

There can be no causeless anxiety. In mental and physical tension there are always reasons, but how do you find them? After all, it is more convenient to take an anti-anxiety pill, to fall asleep in the hope that the morning is wiser than the evening. But is a bad tooth treated with an analgesic? A temporary measure of pain relief only allows you to more or less comfortably get to the dentist's office. When neurotic syndrome to the psychotherapist's office.

About the causes and symptoms of anxiety disorder

Every disease has roots. Violation always stems from a cause. It is one thing to make a diagnosis, another thing is to deal with the etiology. Psychotherapy studies the state of a person, clearly defining the mechanism of pathological development.

The anxiety that accompanies an anxiety disorder can be caused by a number of factors, including:

specific fears - before some event, fear of losing something / someone, fear of ignorance, fear of punishment, etc.;
“anxiety-premonition” is the problem of this esoteric fear, that it can begin to lead a person and in the end invariably lead to a bad ending;
anxiety in the soul can be caused by the past - misconduct or even crimes that force a person to suffer ("conscience gnaws");
the cause can be any “wrong” (and at the same time not expressed, hidden) emotion - anger, envy, hatred of the enemy, greed, greed;
physical and mental disorders- hypertension, endocrine disorders, alcoholism, schizophrenia and others.

fears with a pronounced focus - these are hard-hearted destroyers of your life. They spare no feelings and are capable of poisoning anyone. pleasant event. In moments when you need to have fun, you worry and “poison” the soul with possible “what ifs”.

The long-awaited vacation is overshadowed by the "anticipation" of injuries, accidents, accidents. Employment in a good and well-paid job, even with an excellent resume and brilliant talent, can fail - you could not pull yourself together, could not calm the anxiety that began to guide your every step. You may not have reached your destination yet.

Anxiety can keep you locked up for the rest of your life, robbing you of prospects and futures.

"Premonition" has a different nature, with which it is almost impossible for a non-professional to understand. An obsessive expectation of trouble often accompanies a general unfavorable background of life: ill health, an unfavorable financial situation, intrapersonal conflict, unfulfillment in a career or personal life. But situations are also typical when, on the contrary, a person is afraid of losing all the beauty that life has given. And anxiety, instead of joy and pleasure, becomes a companion of life. Thought, as you know, is capable of changing reality and directing the “thinking” onto a disastrous path.

Anxiety in the soul can be excited by any reason - events in the present, past or future. The following symptoms may indicate this condition:

depressed mood;
loss of interest in activities;
headache and other pains;
disturbances in appetite, sleep;
cardiopalmus;
trembling, muscle tension;
motor restlessness;
sweating, chills;
shortness of breath, PA.

Of course, the quality of life with constant anxiety worsens. A natural outcome of chronic anxiety is depression or any other illness, deterioration in appearance. It must be remembered that anxiety syndrome may be integral part diseases. rule out serious psychosomatic disorder required through a comprehensive examination.

The state of anxiety requires correction. But what soothing compress to apply to the disturbing callus of the soul? From drugs, faith and hope, psychotherapy (which has more than one possibility to cure an illness without drugs)? Everyone chooses their own path to peace and certainty.

Religion and anxiety

Religion can offer the believer effective methods work with anxiety. The main condition for effectiveness is faith of a high standard. In fact, there is a self-healing of a person through auto-training.

Mental health in the religious aspect is the opposition to temptation and sin and the complete redemption of the latter. Prayer in this case helps to build a dialogue between the conscious and the subconscious, between the one who prays and God. Purification occurs only after full awareness of the sinfulness of the act and humility before the all-forgiving Almighty.

The “humility” aspect is of great psychotherapeutic value in the area of anxiety relief. To relax, to relieve oneself of the burden of responsibility for an unpredictable future, to let oneself go through the waters of life - a “devoutly” believing person is able to relieve stress and anxiety through communication with God. It is important to strike a balance of "drop the load" and "surrender to bail." A worldly person, fighting for his place in the world, must be able to overcome obstacles. A humble stance can play bad joke at the moment when action is needed.

God's spirit can become a "cure" for peace and anxiety in the soul and illuminate the life of a believer with hope and light. Strong faith is always above doubts, anxieties, worries. But most often a person, overwhelmed and tormented by fears and painful experiences, is not able to “heal himself” through constant prayers. Lack of faith, trust in oneself and in such a hostile world is one of the unpleasant aspects of neurotic disorders.

Advantage modern approach to the treatment of mental disorders - in universality. You should not unquestioningly believe in the psychotherapist, in the miracle of psychotherapeutic help. How not to believe that an injection with an analgesic solution relieves pain. It - scientific categories who do not need faith. They work under almost any conditions, do not argue with religion, and even help to gain faith.

Psychotherapy and anxiety

Psychotherapeutic techniques help to understand the cause of anxiety (or to make sure that it is absolutely absent and “contrived”), and also “teach” the patient to live in a friendly world.

When is it necessary to contact a specialist? In neurotic states that not only intend to firmly enter life (or have already become part of it), but are also expressed by a significant psychosomatic symptom complex. Dizziness, indigestion, motor agitation, panic - these and other companions of hypertrophied excitement can hardly be called a happy stay "here and now" on a planet that is meant for happiness and peace.

For mild anxiety, use the means of home psychotherapy. But it must be remembered: from anxiety to neurosis and more severe mental disorders near. Over the years, the disease progresses and what worried you yesterday can knock you down today.

About medicines

Tranquilizers and antidepressants - symptomatic treatment which does not eliminate the cause. Relapses of the disorder are not only possible, but usually they take on more menacing proportions. Does not exist safe pill, there are only greater or lesser consequences.

Alternative treatment will also not be able to correct the state of a restless person - a sedative infusion will dull the sensitivity of the receptors, enter into a state of drowsiness and oblivion. But a sick tooth will not become healthier, a “sick” soul will not become calmer. Peace is harmony within the individual, between the individual and the world. The balance of emotions and reason, instincts and beliefs cannot be organized with a pill or a cup of tea.

Simple exercises for home anxiety therapy

“Dialogue with yourself”: a heart-to-heart conversation can reduce anxiety levels somewhat. The meeting with oneself should take place in a pleasant atmosphere, questions are asked of the nature “What worries me the most? What is the reason for my fear? and others. Face your anxiety, challenge it to a dialogue.
Worst case scenario: assume the worst that could happen to you. Come to terms with this terrible future, accept it. And then develop a scenario of what to do if the worst happens. Are you afraid of losing your job or a loved one? “Lose” her/him mentally and take concrete action upon the fact of the event. Make sure you are the master of life. You can solve any problem.
"Distraction": A fairly common way to deal with anxiety. Based on distracted activities that bring peace and tranquility. Start cleaning, put things in order, watch a movie (photos), listen to music (Vivaldi's spring) or finally sort out the papers in your writing box.
"Without past and future": play the "present" game. Mentally cut off all the past - non-existent, not capable of harming you. Forget about the future that worries you - it does not yet exist and it is absolutely safe for you. There is only one today and it needs to be filled with actions that are creative and interesting.

It is very important to collect correct information about anxiety (facts) and, based on it, develop an action plan that needs to be implemented without thinking about the end result. Employment – essential condition freeing the head anxious thoughts. You are unable to think about two/more things at the same time. Keep yourself busy, switch the focus. Some emotions and thoughts will crowd out others. Therapeutic action occupational therapy was known even to the ancient scientists and healers of souls. Do not neglect such simple and effective self-help.

Sigmund Freud first identified the concept of "anxiety", describing it as emotional condition, which includes the experience of expectation and uncertainty, a sense of helplessness. Unlike fear (reaction to a specific danger, life threatening human) anxiety is the experience of a vague threat. Anxiety can occur without apparent reason: it seems that there is nothing to be afraid of, but my heart is restless. Such experiences develop into anxiety and become hallmark person, his personality traits.

All our worries come from childhood. At first, we are afraid of the Serpent Gorynych and Baba Yaga, getting older - a dark room, spiders, snakes and cars. At school we are afraid of bad grades, at work - conflicts with the boss and / or dismissal, in the family - misunderstanding and disappointment. Everyone has their own Achilles heel. However, it is common for all of us to worry about the health and well-being of our own, our children and loved ones.

However, the absence of reasons for concern for some people is no less frightening: if everything is fine now, then something unpleasant will certainly happen soon. However, it is important to understand that fear of the future is the basis of all our worries, and all people without exception, even the strongest and most fearless in appearance, are subject to it. The difference is only in relation to anxiety and the degree of experience.

How is she born

The emergence of anxiety in a child contributes to insufficiently competent behavior of parents. Increased demands with an inadequate assessment of it real opportunities can cause a child constant fear that he does not live up to his parents' expectations and does not deserve their love. Anxious child, as a rule, is passive, not independent enough, he is inclined to dream, but not to act, to live in a fictional world, it is difficult to build relationships with peers. With this behavior, parents begin to worry even more, thereby provoking his self-doubt.

On the other hand, a child can become anxious even with overprotective parents - in an atmosphere excessive care and precautions. Then he gets the feeling that he is insignificant, his opinion and desires are actually not needed or interesting to anyone. And if so, then the world seems unpredictable and filled with continuous dangers.

The next scenario is the conflicting demands of parents: when the father approaches the upbringing process harshly, and the mother underestimates all his requirements. Torn between one pole and another, the child is unable to make decisions, which increases the level of his anxiety.

– Not so long ago, the concept of “family anxiety” appeared in psychology, – says psychologist Zhanna Lurie. - It refers to a state of often poorly realized anxiety experienced by one or more adult family members. Anxiety can be caused by doubts about the continuation of relationships, problems with money, different views on education ... All this, of course, is transmitted to the child, very often he becomes an indicator of problems in the family.

In addition, on psychological level anxiety can be caused internal conflict associated with misconceptions about one's own image of "I", an inadequate level of claims, insufficient awareness of the goal, the need to choose between various areas activities and so on.

Threat Universe

What happens to a person when he is in a state of anxiety?

- One of characteristic features- muscle clamp, in which a certain group of muscles is tensed - usually collar zone- says Zhanna Lurie. - Often a person is not aware of the tension, feeling only some discomfort. If this happens constantly, the clamps threaten to become chronic and turn into a kind of shell that will limit freedom of movement and can lead to loss of sensation in this area. Periodic massage of the collar zone, of course, will relieve tension for a while, but will not get rid of the problem if a person continues to live in stress.

An anxious person becomes agitated, irritable, is on the verge of a breakdown, easily frightened, unable to concentrate, suffers from insomnia, quickly gets tired. The world is perceived by him as a universe of dangers and threats, and this state can subsequently turn into a neurosis, - says Jeanne Lurie. - He often hears what he is told differently, reacts sharply and painfully to harmless messages, perceives any words of the boss as a personal insult. Such a person is very afraid of making a mistake, perceiving it as the collapse of his whole life.

However, anxiety has positive sides. It warns us of real dangers, the possibility of injury, pain, punishment. It's normal for a person to be anxious about going on a first date or speaking in front of an audience if they're worried about going to important meeting in time.

We fight and win!

Experts say: anxiety occurs almost always when a person is forced to make some decisions, when he is not sure that he can implement them, and when the result is very important for him, valuable. That is, in fact, anxiety accompanies us most life. Therefore, it is very important to understand how to deal with them and how to direct your experiences in the right direction.

● It is important to understand the nature of your anxiety: whether it is real or imagined. To do this, ask yourself a few questions: how important and necessary is what I fear for me? What's the worst that can happen if everything turns out the way I'm afraid? What will happen if it happens differently? This will help separate what is important from what is not.

● Try to think positively. Calm down and set yourself up for what is more in the world good people and not everyone in this life wishes you harm.

● Rest and relax more often, do not drive yourself: in an exhausted state, all reactions are experienced much more acutely.

● Set yourself up to deal with the situation that makes you anxious or at least, try to do it. But it is advisable not to slide into auto-training: in this case, the person does not realize real dangers and does not evaluate his strength to deal with them, but pretends that the problem simply does not exist.

If you are tormented constant anxiety and you can’t say what exactly you are afraid of, ask yourself: what worries you so much about this moment? What can you do right now? If the answer is not found, try imagining something positive. And do not put off a visit to a specialist: he will help you figure out the reasons and understand what to do next.

By the way

If anxiety goes off scale, it can turn into panic. Here are its main symptoms: the inability to breathe full chest, dizziness, semi-fainting / fainting, clouding of consciousness, frantic heartbeat, trembling throughout the body, severe sweating, suffocation, vomiting. As well as indigestion, numbness or tingling in the body. A person is thrown into the cold, then into the heat, he feels the unreality of what is happening (the body seems not to be mine), pain or oppressive feeling in the chest, it seems to him that he is about to die or go crazy. At least three or four signs from this list are enough to understand that panic attacks have begun. And here you can’t do without a specialist.

Personal opinion

Alexey Romanov:

- The feeling of anxiety is common to everyone. But you don't have to give in to it. I recommend distracting yourself by uncorking a bottle of champagne or rereading The Marriage of Figaro. Try to think positive. It's not as difficult as it seems. It rescues me. For example, you walk down the street, you hear some bad music coming from a stall, it will definitely cling to you and spin in your head, then I force myself to remember something good from music by an effort of will. And she pushes out nonsense. So it is with anxiety. Gloomy people on the streets think about the bad. it bad habit but very easy to deal with. You just need to make an effort. It is difficult to cope with strong emotions, you need a colossal training under experienced guidance. AT young age super-emotions helped in creativity, now I avoid them. A wise figure avoids stress itself, this is just a property of an adult organism. There is no getting away from experience, it turns you into an armed ship when you foresee - armed, warned and not getting involved in anything.