From the author: Self-regulation is a phenomenon quite familiar to everyone. However, a person does not often resort to conscious use of it. Forgetting about the inexhaustible resources of our body, during periods of mental or physical suffering, we turn to specialists in various fields for help. But can this help always be at hand? Not everyone can afford regular visits to a psychologist's office or participation in therapeutic groups. Having learned the basics of self-regulation, you can maintain yourself in good condition on your own. Self-regulation is the art of self-control. The one who, unable to control himself, wants to control others is insane. Publius Sir (ancient Roman poet) Psychological stress caused by everyday problems, interpersonal relationships, the content of professional activity and information overload, has long become an integral part of our lives. Its consequences - emotional and physical stress, increased anxiety, restlessness and self-doubt are becoming characteristic features of modern man. In order not to drive yourself crazy and increase your resistance to stress, you need to master the skills of mental self-regulation. When is it time to self-regulate? Psychological research shows that one of the main reasons people turn to learning self-regulation is dissatisfaction with their condition, which is expressed in: frequent irritability; imbalance; feelings of internal tension, bad mood; depression, lack of joy in life; frequent experiences of anxiety, anxiety, fear; fatigue, lethargy; low performance, poor endurance. Among the psychological problems, problems of relationships and self-esteem are indicated: lack of confidence in oneself and the future; lack of internal freedom and ability to influence the life situation; lack of “strength of spirit”; dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships; · inadequate self-esteem. Since the state of stress is accompanied not only by a violation of mental balance, but also by a number of negative changes in the functioning of physiological mechanisms, among other reasons, symptoms of deteriorating health were also named: · poor health; · frequent pain; · sleep disturbance; · problems with excess weight (data from Nikiforov G.S., 2006) What is mental self-regulation? Stress resistance, protection of one’s physical and mental health from the influence of stress factors largely depends on the person himself, his desire and ability to use certain techniques of mental self-regulation (PSR). Due to the lack of consensus in the psychological literature in the definition of the concept of self-regulation, in the most general form under mental self-government (self-regulation) is considered to be a person’s conscious influence on his inherent mental phenomena (processes, states and properties), as well as the activities he performs and his own behavior in order to maintain (preserve) or change the nature of their course (functioning) (according to Nikiforov G. S.).It is generally accepted that a person is able to influence himself using three ways, which are used to varying degrees in PSR: changing the tone of skeletal muscles and breathing; active inclusion of ideas and sensory images; use of the programming and regulating role of the word. Currently, there are a significant number of methodological varieties of RPS that are successfully used in practice. The most well-known are autogenic training (AT), biofeedback (BF), meditation, psychomuscular relaxation, ideomotor and visuomotor training. Biofeedback method. The biofeedback method (BFB), which is based on various instrumental techniques for implementing feedback, allows you to learn conscious control and voluntary influence on a number ofinitially imperceptible and unconscious processes (functions) in the body (bioelectric activity of the brain, heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, muscle relaxation, etc.). BFB is provided with the help of electrophysiological equipment, which measures and presents (in visual or auditory form) the current results of the impact on the course of one or another involuntary physiological process, thereby giving the subject of self-regulation a constant opportunity to control the nature of its development. Taking advantage of the opportunity provided by BFB, a person produces a kind of conditioned reflex, learns to master a function that was previously not amenable to voluntary regulation. Since this method is one of the most interesting and promising in a number of scientific disciplines, in the future we plan to continue introducing readers to the capabilities of this method. Meditation. Recently, abroad, especially in Western countries, the method of meditation is becoming increasingly widespread in the formation of stress resistance. Meditation is achieved by concentrating internally directed attention, possibly greater muscle relaxation (relaxation) and emotional peace. One of the significant advantages of meditation over other PSR methods is its comparative simplicity. It allows you to relieve emotional stress and bring your mental state to balance. Meditation has proven itself to be an effective defense for the body against the destructive effects of stress. It helps reduce muscle tension, regulate breathing, normalize pulse, relieve the severity of feelings of anxiety and fear. To normalize a person’s psychophysical state, psychology uses nonspecific self-regulation exercises, close to meditative techniques. In addition to optimizing the physical state, these techniques help a person manage the state of his consciousness and involve training such types of bodily psychocorrection as: * muscle relaxation, * respiratory self-regulation, * sensory awareness. The experience of our therapeutic groups shows that the use of such an integrated approach in bodily psychotherapy gives the most maximum effect: not only an improvement in the psychosomatic state is achieved, but also the range of an individual’s opportunities for self-realization in various spheres of life is significantly expanded. Ideomotor and visuomotor training. The basis of mental self-regulation, that is, the programming effect of imaginative thinking on a person’s psycho-emotional state, is imagination. This pattern is effectively used in such self-programming technologies as ideomotor training and creative visualization. Ideomotor and visuomotor training is usually understood as systematically repeated, conscious, active representation and feeling of the skill being mastered. Active representation of actually performed motor skills contributes to their mastery, strengthening, correction, and acceleration of improvement. The use of visual representations (as the basis of the technique) helps in developing skills such as confidence, composure, the ability to relax or develop strength and endurance. The action of mental relaxation is based on the same principle. When, against the background of muscle relaxation, the student imagines (or remembers) images that have a pronounced positive connotation for him. For psychotherapeutic purposes, the influence of the power of imagination on the psychophysical state of a person is used in neuro-linguistic programming and the Retri method (method of physiologically oriented psychological self-regulation, M. Sandomirsky), which is a modern analogue of body-oriented NLP. As we see, there are a sufficient number of methods of self-regulation. And yet, respiratory self-regulation is rightfully considered the primary and indispensable way to balance one’s psychophysical state. Self-regulation skills trainingBelow are exercises that will introduce you to the basics of self-regulation: concentration on bodily sensations and directed breathing. The first exercise is designed to develop the skills of introspection and concentration, namely, the ability to perceive the so-called “subtle” sensations, which are indistinguishable in the normal state of consciousness, in physiology – “subthreshold”. This achieves a number of useful side effects (the ability to quickly influence your condition, calm down, “pull yourself together”), thanks to which, after some training, you can use this exercise in any environment to quickly cope with emotions and normalize your well-being. In the second exercise Concentration skills are combined with directed breathing. At the same time as performing the exercise, remember the achieved comfortable state so that you can return to it at any time (rest, psychological protection, stress relief). The anti-stress effect of these exercises is associated with the use of reflex mechanisms of the relaxation reaction (see the article “Relaxation is not just relaxation, and the path...to health! "No. 9 of the magazine "RiTM Psychology for Everyone", 2011). Exercise No. 1 “The hand feels the hand” Take a comfortable position for relaxation in a sitting position, palms on your knees, arms relaxed. Raise your forearms slightly, turning your palms towards each other and holding them parallel. Feel the palms and fingers of your hands, try to distract yourself from everything else that surrounds you, from everything external. Close your eyes to focus all your attention on the sensations in your hands, tracking the smallest changes in them. Then begin to very slowly move your hands towards each other, gradually bringing them closer until at a certain distance one palm begins to feel the other (usually from 5 to 30 cm). Stop in this position, listen to the sensations, remember them. Then continue bringing your palms closer together, bringing them closer to a distance of 2-3 cm. Notice whether attraction or repulsion is felt between the palms. If, as sometimes happens, the palms initially stop at a relatively large distance from each other, if they move jerkily, if resistance to their approach is felt, overcome this resistance while deepening your breathing. Observe the sensations in your palms and their changes continuously for 5-6 minutes. Then proceed to the second exercise. Exercise No. 2 “Breathing through your palms” Observe how the sensations in your palms (especially the feeling of warmth) change when you inhale in one direction, and when you exhale - in the opposite direction. Then mentally direct your breath into your palms. You can imagine how, during exhalation, a warm wave from the center of the chest spreads along the outer side of the shoulder... forearm... and finally reaches the hand. Observe the passage of the heat wave for 8-10 exhalations. Make sure that the warmth in your palms and fingers increases. Continue breathing “through your palms” for a few more minutes, achieving a stable, intense, symmetrical feeling of warmth. To harmonize the state of the nervous system, it is necessary to bring the sensations to alignment. At the same time, a state of peace and inner comfort is achieved. Having remembered this state, perform an activating exit and finish the exercise (for detailed instructions on the activating exit, see the previous issue of the magazine). The effectiveness of such exercises is based on physiological mechanisms of psychocorrection, which include: - sensory awareness, thanks to which the left hemisphere of the brain is occupied with breathing control and awareness of bodily sensations, which leads to a relative “liberation” of the right hemisphere; - abdominal, diaphragmatic breathing, activating the relaxation reaction through natural physiological stimulation of the vagus nerve; - observation of the asymmetry of sensations in the right and left hands, as well as in general on the right and left half of the body, which contributes to the synchronization of the activity of the cerebral hemispheres; - observation of sensations