Is anxiety a disease of the material world? In the spring of 1871, one young man came across a phrase in a book (21 words in total) that had a tremendous impact on his entire subsequent life. A medical student at a Montreal hospital was worried about his upcoming final exams and what lay ahead. The words he read helped him become a professor and head a department at Oxford, established by the English king; to establish the world famous medical institute named after. John Hopkins. His name is Sir William Osler. This phrase from Thomas Carmel goes like this: “Our main business is not to look at what lies in the foggy haze at a distance, but to do what lies immediately at hand.” In other words, to avoid anxiety, one must: “live in the “compartment” of today.” In the 1950s, a laboratory experiment was conducted in the United States with rhesus monkeys, which became a classic example in the field of behavioral studies. Eight monkeys were divided into pairs. Each pair received periodic electric shocks, but one of the monkeys in each pair had the opportunity - when the light bulb came on - to relieve itself of the discomfort by reducing the intensity of the current. The second macaque in the pair did not have this opportunity. The shocks were applied continuously for several weeks. Four of the eight monkeys suffered stomach lesions and ulcers and died. The rest were fine. Which monkeys got sick? The answer may surprise you. Those four monkeys who could reduce the strength of the current fell ill and died. Why? They were worried whether they would be able to avoid pain! Many people, from an early age, contract a contagious and extremely dangerous disease that causes incredible suffering - the power of the disease is so great that thousands and thousands of people are ready to give up their lives because of it, but do not try to find a way to recover. This terrible disease is anxiety. What is it and how does it affect us? Our regular consultant, practicing psychologist Anatoly Malish, shares his thoughts on this topic. - What is anxiety? Can concerns be divided into different groups: parental; because of work; due to deviations in the usual routine; due to lack of time; global disasters... We can rather divide into groups the triggers or factors that initiate the process of anxiety. Anxiety itself is a complication of the situation, excessive thinking. A way to justify reluctance to act due to internal unpreparedness. We are afraid of making a mistake, and in order not to make it, we do not act, but worry. We push back a result that may upset us. We spend energy and time, but we reduce the feeling of guilt (after all, there is an excuse - “I’m worried!”). The inner image of oneself does not deteriorate. At the same time, we do not accept ourselves as we are. Worry is the illusion of action. - What then are the causes of concern? The most common reason is lack of self-confidence and the habit of delving into your past instead of living in the present. Further, this is an unhappy marriage, loneliness, long-hidden anger or resentment towards someone, the desire to listen to the opinions of strangers, and, well, financial catastrophe or misfortune. Fear of death. - What is the fundamental difference between worry and care, love and worry? Why do people tend to equate these concepts? The main difference between care and love and anxiety is that they are its consequences. Most often, it is precisely because of the lack of confidence in one’s abilities and the ability to cope with caring about someone (something) or one’s own merits and the impression made on someone that anxiety arises, and we call it care or love.- Why leads to anxiety? It is worth pointing out the most important of the negative consequences of anxiety - these are, of course, health problems. Anxiety leads to heart disease, hypertension, cardiac and joint forms of rheumatism, as well as to the loss of calcium by the body and, as a consequence, to osteoporosis, bonedamage and caries. Anxiety also leads to gastritis and stomach ulcers, colds due to decreased immunity, thyroid diseases and diabetes. Well, naturally, anxiety leads to premature aging (skin aging, hair loss...) - How to get rid of anxiety? And how to stop worrying about a variety of reasons? If you want not to worry, live today and don’t think about the future. Just live this day as you wish and go to bed. If there is a problem in your life that confuses you, try to use the following tips: 1. Imagine the worst case scenario.2. Prepare to accept it if no other opportunity arises.3. Calmly take steps towards improving the current situation with which you have mentally come to terms. Or use the Worry Interruption Strategy: Ask yourself the question: “What will I do if X happens?” Create constructed, dissociated internal images of several possible options for your actions. View them as if from the outside. Choose an option that gives you a pleasant feeling. Conduct a mental rehearsal of this plan, imagining how you take these actions and get the desired result, scrolling through the constructed associated image. Make sure that this rehearsal evokes you feel good. Return to step 2 if you need additional options. Abort this condition. - Is it right to worry? Worrying is useful if it helps you be more alert or prevent an accident. So, worry is not a waste of energy if it forces you to quit smoking, get a breast exam, or change your car brakes. Worry can also prepare you for an unpleasant event or a bad outcome. In Alice Through the Looking Glass, the Red Queen advised Alice to worry in advance. This way, the Queen said, when real trouble comes, Alice will be able to cope with it calmly. That is, anxiety makes it possible to “rehearse” possible negative situations and prepare for them. It will be easier for you to cope with them, because you are already worried. How else can you get rid of anxious thoughts? Don't just try to ignore them, don't pay attention to them. If you want to try to simply forget a random disturbing thought, it will come back to you again and again. Trying to drive away a thought, a person involuntarily “replays it in his mind” many times. While you are trying to get rid of it; she will come back annoyingly. Against your will, each time you seem to re-awaken an alarming thought and thereby consolidate it in your consciousness. It is the desire to drive away the thought that creates the problem. It's better to speak up, think things through, and share your worries with friends. I encourage anxious people to keep notes. For four or five days in a row, write down everything that upset you or upset you. By keeping notes about your worries, you get used to them, get the opportunity to put your thoughts in order, and deal with your fears. Keeping such notes daily for 20 minutes is quite enough. And don't expect immediate results. It may take days or weeks. In addition to journaling, you can share your anxious thoughts with someone you trust. And find a suitable activity to take your mind off your troubles. Draw, play some musical instrument or dance. If you are not satisfied with the results of working with recordings, then a little trick will certainly help. "Time to worry." Build your worries into your daily schedule. Your anxiety is associated with many and varied situations precisely because you can indulge in it anytime and anywhere. So, to do this less often, you need to limit the number of such situations. In the end, you will be able to reduce them to a minimum. Following the self-control system, complete.