HOW TO OVERCOME ANXIETY IN DIFFICULT TIMES Difficult times have become a permanent normality for us. No sooner has the Covid scourge passed than we are overwhelmed by another, even more vague and global one. We have already realized that every few years we are shaken by one crisis or another, casting doubt on stability and ruining all plans. It would seem that it is time to develop a strategy for survival in critical periods, but this is not the first time that events have followed a scenario that previously seemed incredible. In such a situation, an anxiety-depressive disorder can take over a person completely, subjugate his personality, deprive him of normal sleep, and create a total tension, deprive him of joy, narrow his consciousness. In such a state, it is difficult to make rational and adequate decisions, and we see many of our fellow citizens taking irrational actions in panic. This is how they try to cope with their anxiety. And we will try to find more effective ways to restore mental balance. THE NATURE OF THE CRISISThe topic of crisis - general social or personal - requires separate consideration. However, one thing can be said briefly: a crisis occurs because enough prerequisites have accumulated for it, which were not resolved in a timely “peaceful” way, the conflict of interests has crossed the “point of no return.” This applies equally to acute geopolitical situations, to business, and to the private life of an individual. A crisis is a way to resolve a situation, to change reality, although it is quite painful. For all people related to the crisis, their usual reality is collapsing. But this is the hard truth about any crisis, its theoretical basis. In order to understand the nature of the crisis, to at least remotely foresee what resolution events may lead to, to protect yourself from ill-considered actions, to get out of all life’s difficulties with minimal losses, and most importantly, with new opportunities and gains, you need to bring yourself into a calm, balanced state. condition, perform several steps and actions, and also concentrate your attention on certain positive aspects. Let's do this. ASSESSMENT OF THE CRISIS SITUATION Professor Preobrazhensky's recommendation from Mikhail Bulgakov's novel “Heart of a Dog” - “Do not read Soviet newspapers before dinner” - is not entirely appropriate now. News is needed at least in order to react to it in a timely manner on an everyday basis, to have time to do something on time. It is important now not to give up watching the news, and especially not to ignore what is happening, but to be able to work with information. This means comprehensively assessing it and the potential risks resulting from it. FactologyAn important skill in working with information is an impartial assessment of the facts. What's happening in reality? Only facts, without any emotional assessment, much less exaggeration. It is very important to check any information received. As a rule, what has actually happened is reflected in several resources. Check. This should be a reliable source of news, and not Panorama or a fake website. Information warWho owns the information, owns the world. Therefore, in any difficult situation there are those who seek to benefit from it by “rocking the boats” and further destabilizing the situation. Any prohibited methods of propaganda and manipulation are used. The purpose of all this is to quarrel people among themselves, to direct people’s attention along the wrong path, distracting them from the main thing. Today, bot accounts with flags of different colors on their avatars are trashing each other, no matter what the light is, without choosing expressions! God forbid you take them seriously! If a stranger, whom you have not offended, suddenly begins to respond to your statement in an offensive tone, do not get into an argument with him, block him immediately. He found you using some keywords, and his task is to insult and disorient you, to prove at any cost that you are wrong, to suppress and break you morally, to turn off your will. The people behind theseBot accounts are often called paid online trolls. They ignore the principles of civilized debate; any dissent on your part is met with total insults in response. In this case, your psychological well-being is closely related to information hygiene: as soon as you notice a “troll” or “bot” on your page who is conducting an aggressive discussion with you, taking it away from the essence, from the edge of the problem, without entering into arguments , without wasting effort on argumentation, send your “comrade” to a ban, block his ability to see your page, your statements, write comments in response. Combat NLP. This is the name of that part of NLP that studies the most vicious, harsh, far from therapeutic types of manipulation , destroying a person’s personality, his goals and values, relationships, self-identification. There are special combat NLP techniques that are used in information wars. One of these methods is deliberate, reasoned evidence, supported by all authoritative opinions - real and far-fetched - that the whole situation will go according to the worst-case scenario. When you encounter such “reasoned evidence” of the worst-case scenario, just know that this is one of the manipulative combat techniques designed to destroy you, your future, all the brightest things that exist within you. As soon as you feel this alarming cold of internal destruction, shake yourself up, realize that you have been affected by a psychic combat technique and throw it off yourself. Panic merchants. There are people who seek to infect other people with their anxiety. They are unable to cope with it on their own, so they drag other people into their panic state. They repost bad news on social networks, accompanying it with emotional comments; they write posts calling for ill-considered actions with far-reaching consequences. They write that a whole list of the most negative and unpleasant things awaits us all (they know for sure, believe them, they are unsurpassed experts in this matter!). Moreover, there are people who do this because they cannot calm their own anxiety, and there are those who deliberately create these moods. Intimidated people are easier to control, and these sentiments may be beneficial to someone. Trigger headlines: Crisis, default, complete collapse, collapse of the economy... You go online and see all these “inspiring” words, of course, click on the article or video, read or watch and the anxiety grows. You don’t find anything scary in some of the articles or videos; you didn’t have to read or watch. However, the modern information space is structured this way: if the reader or viewer is not hooked from the first few lines or frames, then they will not read or watch. What can you catch? That’s right, with the words that are on everyone’s lips today, the current topics. This is also called “hype” - to attract attention with a speech on a hyper-relevant topic. Many bloggers adhere to the current information agenda just to gain views, but there is nothing particularly meaningful and useful in their statements. But you have already reacted to the title, title or summary, and the nervous reaction has already begun. Moreover, the more you click on these trigger screens, the more contextual advertising will select this “interesting” topic for you based on the matching principle. This is how the modern Internet works with its “smart” marketing mechanisms. Just know this system and watch yourself the next time you look at the news. MORAL SELF-PRESERVATION In any toughest situation, it is important to preserve yourself, your human face and dignity. By maintaining internal integrity, it is much easier to confront and overcome difficulties, to be internally calm and make adequate decisions. It is this value that the information war destroys. A person cannot speak badly about those things that are associated with his family: about his parents and children, about his family and hishome, about his country and his ethnic group. These are its roots, and these concepts are an important part of a person's self-identification. Accordingly, you should not communicate with those who tell you bad things about all this. When a person is removed from his ethnic culture, his national identity is devalued, this humiliates and weakens him. If someone tells me something bad about my mother, this person will become persona non grata for me; honoring my parents gives me strength in any situation. The same goes for my country. I don’t have another, and I don’t allow anyone to insult my people and my culture, to write the name of my country with a small letter - in any situation, no matter what happens. Do not belittle the importance and significance of this value. If someone is trying to do this for you, cut him off from communication with you - online or personal, in reality - it doesn’t matter. False guilt and false shame. Today we often hear “I’m ashamed, I’m hurt, it’s a disgrace,” etc. On the one hand, we are characterized by empathy; we cannot calmly look at the pain of others. This is an ethnic quality. On the other hand, there is neurotic guilt and neurotic shame - for the actions of others, for what could not be controlled. Remember at school: your classmate answers poorly at the board, but you feel awkward? Be aware of this phenomenon and do not take blame for something you did not do. The average American does not feel guilty for the fact that one or another of their presidents gave the order to bomb this or that point on the planet, and you shouldn’t. And the Russophobia that is being so actively whipped up outside our country today is a manifestation of the information war launched in background of current events. This shows the true face of the notorious European tolerance when the masks are removed. Be close to yours. Every person has his own people - his family, loved ones, friends. Difficult times are a reason to forget about all differences and unite, remember that you have each other and support each other. Cutting off the unnecessary. The good thing about difficult times is that during this period many things become obvious. What is relevant and what is not, true and false, who treats us how, many show their true face, which was previously covered with a mask of social decency. A crisis is a time of separation. With those who are not with us, with strangers. Previously, we wasted time on something or someone who didn’t deserve it, but these were some kind of social curtsies, and now it’s time to speak directly. A crisis is a time to say goodbye to everything that does not support us. WORK IN TOUGH TIMES If you have a job, do it diligently and thoroughly. Habitual daily routine work, familiar forms of employment tend to relieve anxiety. Do not get involved in conversations about politics with colleagues, clients, or partners. You will not change anything in the current situation, but you may waste your energy, which you need for action. If you lose your job, or the outflow of clients begins, look for another job. Take on the work that can give you your daily bread. This is a key value today. Clean up your home and get rid of everything unnecessary, update something in your space, sell something. This is also an activity. It is in times of crisis that everything needs to be reviewed and shaken up to make room for the new. HOBBIES AND LITTLE JOYS Despite the fact that there is a temptation in difficult times to tighten the belt, not only in the material, but also in the cultural, emotional and spiritual aspects, to completely deprive You can't indulge yourself. The depression that follows will not lead you to the right decisions and actions. If money is tight, cut back on expenses, but you should have small joys at any time. Moreover, do not deprive your children of them. Leave for yourself at least that minimum of joys without which you can hardly imagine your daily existence. At all times, they must remain an emotional anchor in a turbulent world. REST AND SLEEP In difficult times there is a temptation to work withoutweekends and holidays. This is a fundamentally wrong position. To overcome difficulties you need strength. If you cannot afford to fly to warm seas in distant countries, you can purchase a ticket to a sanatorium or holiday home located near you. You can go to the village, rent a house there and live in the fresh air for a couple of weeks, eating farm products. Fresh air, nature and natural nutrition (plus information hygiene) will restore your strength quickly, and you will return to your current affairs. Sleep. Anxiety attacks him first. However, right now you need to get enough sleep. Good sleep will be facilitated by a set of recommendations for relieving anxiety, the main one of which is sufficient physical activity on the body. and maintaining the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness. Go to bed and get up at the same time. Repeatability of routine moments and support of established circadian rhythms is also a way to overcome anxiety in difficult times. The same thing, by the way, applies to meal times. Remember the old saying: “war is war, but dinner is on schedule”? COHERENCE Coherence is a concept in physics that means the coordinated occurrence of several wave processes in space and time. At one time, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a quantum physicist by his basic, secular education, put forward a hypothesis according to which all natural disasters and military clashes occur from the fact that a critical mass of people in this area accumulates internal turbulence (the predominance of chaotic processes and their inconsistency in wave medium), causing coherence to dissipate. In contrast, the spiritual leader gathered so-called “coherent groups” and sent them to hot spots. The people in these groups were trained in special practices of siddhi (as certain superpowers are called in the Hindu tradition), and their task was to practice them together for several hours a day, while in a turbulent region. We can all perform prayers and meditations for peace, each in our own way denominations. Having agreed on a time, or gathered for a short time, we can perform those practices that we know how to do and that are close to us. Perform on your own all possible anti-stress techniques that you know, devoting at least a few minutes to them a day. Your contribution to the world can be to create and maintain peace within yourself and, if possible, transfer this state to those with whom you communicate. SET UP PERCEPTION FILTERS We ourselves decide which fragments of the world around us to perceive. Most of the time we do this unconsciously. Some see problems, others see opportunities. If our brain is configured to see the bad, it will fragmentarily isolate confirmation of this bad from the flow of events. If, on the contrary, he is tuned to the good, he will highlight the positive aspects. Moreover, we accept the totality of fragments isolated by our brain from the general flow of events as our reality, and this influences our decisions and actions. You can take control of these filters by performing a simple exercise. Every day, write down 10 good moments from your life that happened during the day. First of all, this concerns the areas of finance, work, relationships, and health. Even if it seems that “everything is bad,” pay attention and find the good. Not with you, but with a neighbor or one of your friends or acquaintances. Not from them, but from someone from a distant circle of acquaintances or famous people. What good things you saw, heard, what good things you learned about, what good news you received - write everything down. What you noticed in someone today will begin to happen to you after some time. It is your brain that will begin to create a new reality for you. Over time, this practice results in positive events becoming more frequent in your life. You begin to enjoy little things that you previously did not pay attention to, and in general the emotional background of your life improves. MOVEMENT IS LIFE Physical activity relieves stress and anxiety. InDuring active movement, metabolism accelerates, and stress hormones - adrenaline and cortisol - leave the body much faster, and joy hormones - endorphins, on the contrary, are produced intensively. Now is spring, the time for walking and cycling. Make them regular. The summer season will begin soon. Do whatever work you can on your plots. Pleasant body fatigue will provide you with good sleep, and this is very important for restoring mental strength. Body practices Massage, yoga, stretching, qigong - all these methods align the body’s energy and relieve anxiety. Practice everything that seems possible.NUTRITION IN TOUGH TIMESDiet also affects our mood. If you're feeling anxious, try going vegan for a while. Cereals, vegetables, legumes, green tea - these foods are very calming. Orthodox tradition prescribes fasting for more than half the days of the year. During such a diet, the hormonal background of the body changes, again due to a decrease in adrenaline and cortisol and an increase in serotonin, the hormone of calm. Products with the most pronounced vasodilating - and, therefore, relaxing - effect are boiled potatoes and fresh tomatoes. Their combination causes a very specific sensation in the body after you eat them. They lower blood pressure, and a characteristic bliss spreads throughout the body after such a meal. Try and use as needed. As Hippocrates said, let your food be your medicine! If anxiety has brought the body into a state of uncontrollable stiffness, when even breathing is difficult, use short one-day fasts with drinking plenty of clean water. This should relax you. Water regime During periods of stress, regular drinking of clean water should be taken under special control. Bad news - a glass of water, something went wrong - a glass of water, someone wrote an angry comment to you - another glass of water. Have an argument with someone or participate in stressful negotiations - again, a glass of water. Water enhances metabolism and promotes faster removal of metabolic products from the body. SedativesLavender, lemon balm, St. John's wort, passionflower, passionflower, valerian, motherwort - these are the plants that soothe and relax. Vitamins B1 and B6, as well as the trace element magnesium, stabilize the nervous system. In the morning you can take motherwort and the MgB6 drug, you can drink St. John's wort tea all the time, it is a natural antidepressant, and in the evening - a soothing tea (I like "Relax" from the Tess company), at night - the herbal drug "Novopassit" or "Persen". In the evening, the drug “No-shpa” is also useful, it relieves all muscle spasms, including the bile ducts and intestines, this helps improve digestion. Relaxing all the muscles of the body helps you fall asleep faster. If you fall asleep quickly in the evening, but wake up at night or early in the morning, this is also a manifestation of an anxiety sleep disorder. In this case, take a sedative at night. BREATHING PRACTICES TO RELIEF ANXIETYDeep diaphragmatic breathing relieves stress. Breathe deeply from your belly. Take a deep breath and hold it every time something makes you angry. This should be an automatic action. Breathe so that the air flows along the back wall of your sinuses. This is the so-called “sleeping breath”, in yoga it is called ujjayi. Mimicking breathing during deep sleep, this type of breathing is radically calming. However, do not practice it while driving! Go out into the fresh air whenever you feel the influence of any stress factor. Take a walk; while moving, the depth of breathing increases automatically. “CINEMA” EXERCISE TO RELEASE TENSION Often we unconsciously “swallow” something that has greatly upset us. We feel uneasy, but we cannot remember what exactly triggered this feeling. The “Cinema” exercise will help you get rid of this. Before going to bed, mentally run through the events of the day. What happened today, scan all the impressions of the day at fast speed. Traumatic episodes will linger in your mind's eye..../