What is stress?
the psychoanalytic approach
In his psychotherapeutic group on "Effective stress management" https://www.b17.ru/trainings/grupovay_psihoterapiya_simvoldrama_ypravlenie_stressom I have combined the approaches in different psychotherapeutic directions, and, in my opinion, are critical to each other. Such synthesis allows to work at different levels of the psyche. On the conscious and the unconscious.
In his book "Running with the wolves" by C. Estes writes, that the auditory nerve is divided into three or more branches. Ancient anatomists assumed it was given to man to hear and then to understand on different levels. One branch exists in order to perceive household conversations, the second is scientific knowledge and art, and the third in order to hear your soul. More precisely, to the soul heard the teachings and acquired knowledge. the Problem of analytical therapy is to become aware of their unconscious motivations, underlying the satisfaction of the symptom.
I will now explain how this relates to stress and its effective management. I hope that each reader information is accessible and understandable.
For starters, I propose to consider the concept of stress as natural tension arising from the violation of homeostasis. Now about homeostasis. In this psychological context, we will consider the concept of homeostasis as a feeling of comfort and complete image of yourself, including subjective picture of the world, beliefs, and installation. That is our normal calm state. In the event of conflict, our image of ourselves is threatened with destruction. For example, the source may for his criticism of suspect and question our beliefs. I do not cite here the example of physical effects, consider the psychological aspect. (I want to remind you that our body at the biochemical level, virtually unaffected by physical and mental danger).
If the person can't save the image itself, that is how it is, we will deal with mental trauma. Injury occurs when the mental protection of the rational and the irrational destroyed, and the person feels hopelessness.
so, in violation of homeostasis, we feel discomfort. Psychological condition, physically can be hot or cold. Increased sweating, may occur physical weakness, contractive sensations in the solar plexus, hard to sit still. This is the symptoms of stress. There is a deficiency, which leads to the stress condition.
Our mind is so constructed that any way to fill this gap.
Symptom - unconscious compensation deficit. In this case, the lack of security. (Although, in my opinion, any deficit: care, attention, rest, level of control etc. will be associated with safety, how the mind will perceive at a deep level any failure. Everything we do has an unconscious motive to gain security and comfort. But this is only my opinion, maybe it will change someday).
Symptom can manifest in the form:
addiction (alcohol, drugs, gaming);
- anxiety disorders;
- obsessive - compulsive disorders (obsessive action, motion);
- hyperopic;
- psychosomatic diseases.
On the external level we can deal with a real conflict situation between two adults. At the second, the scientific level, having the necessary knowledge, we rationalize and explain to myself what is happening to us now. On the third, spiritual level, we are dealing with a conflict between our superego ( controlling, moralizing the internal object of the mind) and the fact that C Freud called "ID", the unconscious, filled with desires, instincts, and pure emotions. This conflict can be compared with the conflict between a strict parent and a reckless child. The child depends on the parent and so he would have to submit to his demands, but he will still find a way in secret from parent, welcome to eat forbidden candy. Even to the detriment of their health.
Any action is preceded by desire. If you have the desire, there is a voltage, which requires discharge. Desire can manifest at the simplest level, for example, something to eat, and at the mission level, the meaning of life – to be held in a particular social role.
If the desire cannot meet directly, we experience frustration. A very uncomfortable condition that is accompanied by irritation, turning into anger, even rage. With prolonged stress, i.e. the stress we feel anxiety, fear. The voltage needs to be discharged. Discharge is a kind of stress response. Reaction to stress can take the form of a symptom or expressed directly. Anyone can show anger to the external environment, someone sends it inward, taking the devastating to your personality and lifestyle. Someone panics, runs away from tension. Sometimes literally runs away, leaves the site or moves away from the communication. Or falls into a stupor, when in the thoughts – it's impossible to concentrate, to remember something, to answer, to respond. All of this is a psychological reaction to stress.
Task of psychotherapeutic work, both group and individual therapy is to :
learn to manage his natural aggression and direct it towards the achievement of the goals (i.e. satisfaction of desires);
to build your Ego, which in the structure of the personality in psychoanalytic theory is represented between the superego (control, criticism) and the ID (desires, emotions);
- a strong Ego will allow to withstand natural tension that occurs and will occur while we live, communicate, grow. In other words - you will not be able to "push".
- as a consequence - you will be able to satisfy their desires directly, without using symptom and dysfunctional patterns of behavior.
under these processes happen faster, but sometimes a person needs to start with individual therapy and then go to the group. Therefore, before you work in the psychotherapeutic group, we conduct a personal interview, which discussed opportunities and challenges that need to be solved in cooperation.
In psychodynamic therapy we consider identity as a dynamic, constantly changing structure. Homeostasis is constantly disrupted and recreated anew. And it will be a different "norm". It will be a slightly different person.
Remember the parable of the suit.
One fine gentleman, very nice and respectable decided to sew myself a suit. He went to the tailor and he measured it, and promised that after a week, the suit will be ready. The Lord came in a week, wearing the finished costume and looked at myself in the mirror. In the mirror he saw that one shoulder of the suit was higher than the other, one leg was shorter than the other, and the length of the sleeves were also different. The tailor said nothing, I will help you. And he invited the master to lower one shoulder, pinch her chin single lapel and slightly preload one leg. Here, look, now the suit is smooth and correct. All Skorzeny Mr. could not agree more. Looking at the reflection in the mirror he saw a symmetrical costume. He paid the tailor and walked outside, trying to twist his body so as to preserve the symmetry of the suit. Passers-by turned around, and he could hear them whispering to each other: "What a beautiful costume on such a crippled Lord!"
This parable, in my opinion, most accurately reflects what a man does with symptom.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is used in our classrooms as a concrete, real steps to resolve your difficulty. This kind of, such a desirable for many patients a pill that helps to cope with stress in the here and now. But it also needs to be taken regularly:).
for Example, what to do under stress:
- to recognize discomfort in soul and body;
to call something a feeling, an emotion that I have and scan your body for tightness, tension and discomfort;
to determine the desire that needs satisfaction by asking yourself the question: What do I want now? It may be the desire to drink, warm up, eat, go outside, etc.;
- to do for yourself what you want, guided by the reality principle, of course. Ie I can now do for yourself. What can I do now with this situation;
If this is the desire for someone to hit, then it is better to say "I am angry . I'm offended." It will be a little easier, I know for myself:).
If this is severe anxiety, then a good helping of deep belly breathing in which the exhale two times longer than inhalation. Using the breath, we regulate the actions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Inhibiting the action of the sympathetic and enhancing the parasympathetic action. ( As in the car pedals gas and brake. Two pedals at once is not working). Changed the biochemical composition of blood and, thus, we can affect your emotional background.
In a psychotherapeutic group on "Effective stress management" https://www.b17.ru/trainings/grupovay_psihoterapiya_simvoldrama_ypravlenie_stressom/, members first feel the usual tension in contact with others. And who earlier, some later, real-time group space to change their dysfunctional patterns into constructive communication. This process is promoted by the leader of the group and secure feedback from other participants.
the Illustration is taken from the website http://artpo.ru/gallery/paintings/1161_artist/p47719?comments&