How to restore the nervous system after stress?

Stress is a biologically sound and useful response of the body to unusual situations. However, it often goes out of control and leads to exhaustion.

Today we will talk about the period that comes after a long negative stress - a period of fatigue, irritability, loss of strength and even asthenia. All that drove you into this state passed, but the consequences remained. What to do with them? How can we fill the depleted resources of our nervous system? Let's find out.

Neuromuscular relaxation

An extravagant but incredibly effective method of gaining control of your condition. It has long been noted that the muscle tone, the state of our body( soma), even at the level of micro-changes affect our emotional state. And if it is very difficult to directly control emotions, then why not use roundabout ways to achieve results?

Neuromuscular relaxation allows you to cope with the manifestations of stress.

The essence of the method is that a person gradually( at the psychologist, or independently) learns to listen to his body. Cyclically and regularly tensioning and relaxing various muscles, we learn to find the difference between states of rest and tension, and with it we notice changes in our emotions. Of course, blind squeezing-unclenching of the kulaks will not yield any result. The idea is to concentrate as much as possible on your sensations and to distinguish between subtle changes in them.

In general, the classic session lasts 40-45 minutes and with a purposeful work gives a good result. Since prolonged or acute stress leads to exhaustion of the body, it is extremely important to learn to listen to your body in order to understand your "weak spots".No matter how unscientific this may sound, the regular sessions of neuromuscular relaxation conducted according to the standard program( by the way, it can also be found on the Internet) will give very good results.

If we talk about these exercises within the framework of psychotherapeutic training, then usually the cycle is designed for 6-8 classes, and a distinctive feature of them is the requirement to apply the acquired control skills in real life. And really, what is the point of the training, if you do not apply your new abilities in everyday practice?

Meditation as a form of relaxation

At the same time, for those familiar with any of these practices - meditation is a great way to restore your tone. Moreover, meditation itself does not imply time limits: you can be in a comfortable state for 5 minutes, or you can even spend an hour. In the simplest sense, meditation is a form of managing one's attention, its arbitrary focusing and concentration.

At first, concentration on something requires additional effort, but when an optimal state is reached, the process is "automated", at some point there is only you and the object of meditation. The brain does not need to spend its resources on the environment and therefore it simply rests. In principle, a good way to gradually stabilize your condition.

If you talk about recommendations, then you should start practicing meditation techniques with concentration on external, but small objects: for example, a small statuette. The important thing is that the object is pleasant. The task is simple - to concentrate all your attention on an external object and study-study-study it. Even later you can go on to study your body: listen to the rhythm of the heart or focus on the sensations that causes the air coming out of the nostrils. Again, several sounds are not psychological, but many psychological training and relaxation practices are built on the principle of meditation.

Breathing practices and easy gymnastics

As we have already said, the state of the body affects our emotional status. So if you want to sleep - sleep well. This is for a start. Like meditative practices, the East gave us breathing exercises and special exercises for control and plasticity behind the body. Of course, you can start practicing and studying Taijiquan, or you can just devote 10-15 minutes a day to regular stretching.

Gymnastics and physical exercises help to overcome the consequences of severe stress.

Therefore, depletion after stress can be corrected with the help of light and simple exercises for stretching all muscle groups. Of course, simple gymnastics will not help to get rid of all the negative conditions, but it will help to supply the body with resources that will ensure the fastest recovery.

Breathing practices can be considered as a form of meditation, since the goal of most of them is to give a person an idea of ​​their breathing and will learn how to control it arbitrarily. This is a useful, but time-consuming skill, so immediately after the exit from acute stress we do not recommend to resort to it.

Communication treatment

Man - a social animal, is it possible to argue with this? And we all draw strength from our environment, no matter how we try to deny it. And so it seems logical to use what brought the person to the top of evolution - communication.

Communication in a suitable circle of people can be the best cure for stress and its consequences.

However, not always in our circles there are people who are able to create a truly safe communicative space. And here are the usual therapeutic groups, where a completely neutral and safe atmosphere for communication is set under the guidance of a professional. Neither criticism, active disagreement and rejection is the key to the successful functioning of such groups. We feel safe when we are not threatened by confrontation with the environment and we do not need to spend resources on constantly being "on the alert".

No need to wait for attacks and be prepared to respond to undue criticism seriously saves our mental resources, and in itself communication has truly incredible properties.

Every day

To begin with, it's a good idea to stabilize your schedule. Even if your work day is not predictable, then the time to go to bed and rise can always be controlled. How much you would not sleep, if the time of falling asleep and awakening is regular - you will feel better. Probably, many people know this feeling from the army years: it's hard to get used to a new and quite tough sleep regime, but after a month and a half a clear regime becomes so familiar that it seems strange for him already.

Secondly, do not write off the motor activity. Even if you regularly do gymnastics and give time to meditation, find an hour for ordinary walks. Walks on the principle of "where the eyes look" to some extent give newness and do not allow you to get stuck on unnecessary unpleasant experiences.

If there are no forces

It also happens that the stress experienced takes so much energy that at some point life becomes too heavy. Often, thoughts of suicide can be overcome, a chronic decline in strength occurs and the ability to enjoy life simply disappears. In this case, we see one way out - to turn to a specialist.

First, so we use the healing resource of communication, and we find unconditional acceptance. Sometimes serious shocks are turning points in life, and we are faced with the question: will life go awry, or is it a new chance, a clean page? And, perhaps, it is the trip to the professional consultant that will help you to find a new self.

Doctor-psychologist Borisov OB B.

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