From the author: In a previous article, I wrote about genetic programs that are launched in difficult life situations, preventing us from calmly and adequately perceiving the situation. This article tells you how to distinguish biological stress, where our body's reactions are adequate, from psychological stress, where you need to block the genetic response, calmly think about the problem and find the optimal solution. Our body is full of genes that we inherited from our great-grandparents. They were once useful and helped our distant ancestors survive in the struggle for existence, but now these genetically programmed reactions, such as a pounding heart before an exam or sweaty hands during an important business meeting, only interfere with life. The fact is that there are two main types of stress - biological and psychological, and you need to be able to distinguish between them in order to choose the right tactics of action. Let's list the main differences that will help you understand what you are facing at the moment - with biological stress, when the body's reactions and instincts really help you cope with the problem, or is it psychological stress, in which genetic reactions will only interfere and need to be blocked them using self-regulation methods: In the case of biological stress, its cause is a physical, chemical or biological effect on the body, and in its psychological version, the cause is social influence or one’s own thoughts (compare: the boss threatens to fire you or hits you on the head with a keyboard...) . In other words, the nature of the danger under biological stress is always real, but under psychological stress it is rarely real, but more often virtual. The action of the stressor in the first case is aimed at life, health, physical well-being, and in the second - at social status, reputation, financial condition, self-esteem, etc. The nature of emotional experiences will also differ. In the first case, “primary” biological emotions will prevail - fear, pain, fright, anger, etc., and in the second - “secondary” emotional reactions combined with a cognitive component - anxiety, anxiety, melancholy, depression, jealousy, envy etc. Temporal boundaries of the subject of stress (where it is located): With biological stress they are specific, limited to the present or near future, and with psychological stress they are blurred (the source of stress can be in the past, distant future or in an indefinite time). The main differences between biological and psychological stress can be expressed in one control question: “Does the stressor cause obvious damage to the body?” If the answer is “Yes,” this is biological stress. If “No” - psychological. If in the first case your body will cope with the troubles on its own or, as a last resort, you will need to see a doctor, then in the event of psychological stress you will have to not only solve the problem that has arisen, but also block those inadequate reactions that will be automatically launched by genetic programs. Otherwise, physical problems may be added to the virtual problems created by our rich imagination - in the form of psychosomatic diseases such as hypertension, thyrotoxicosis, colitis or neurodermatitis. You can stop unnecessary reactions to stress using various psychological techniques - anchoring, dissociation, visualization, etc., and the right choice among them is the topic of a separate article.