Very high anxiety. "Ship and Wind"

The results of the answers obtained using the method of C.D. Spielberger were entered in table No. 2:

Summary table for diagnosing the level of situational and personal anxiety of students

	students	Personal anxiety (PT) (point)	Situational anxiety (AT) (score)

	Veronica K.
	Dmitry Z.
	Alexey V.

	Sergei T.

	Xenia B.

	Nicholas S.


	Andrew K.

	Anastasia G.
	Maxim Yu.
	Vladimir D.
	Catherine K.
	Vasily K.
	Ruslan S.
	Regina S.
	Oksana K.
Mean
Standard deviation

According to our study, in adolescents of this group, the average value of the indicator of personal anxiety corresponds to 39.05, and the average value of the indicator of situational anxiety corresponds to 36.36. These values indicate that, on average, the group has an average level of situational and personal anxiety.

An analysis of individual values allows us to say that the main group of students (in the amount of 17 people) has a moderate level of personal and situational anxiety. With moderate AT, a person attaches increased importance to individual elements of the situation or finds the strength and ability to control his emotional experiences. Such a person tries to objectively assess the situations that arise, however, he succeeds either not immediately, or he is not entirely confident in his strengths, capabilities, experience. Therefore, a short-term, but not very significantly disturbed emotional balance, a decrease in working capacity is possible. Restoration of emotional comfort, self-confidence occurs quite quickly. With a moderate level of LT, a person feels comfortable, maintains emotional balance, working capacity mainly in situations to which he has already managed to successfully adapt, in which he knows how to behave, knows the measure of his responsibility. When situations become more complicated, anxiety and anxiety may appear. However, in such cases, people with moderate anxiety quickly restore emotional balance.

Olga and Dmitry have a low level of personal and situational anxiety. A low level of AT reflects an insufficiently high significance for a person of the situation in which he finds himself at the time of the examination. This is a sign of insufficient actualization of the needs of the body, a lack of interest in what is happening in the world and in oneself. A low level of anxiety can also be observed in people who have experienced similar situations in their emotional experience. Such a person perceives what is happening either in accordance with his objective emotionality, or as insignificant, or as surmountable. He is self-confident, satisfied with himself, his condition, the state of affairs, he is internally relaxed, set to successfully overcome obstacles and feels enough strength in himself for this. A person with a low level of LT, as a rule, perceives the difficulties that have appeared adequately to their objective emotional saturation. Mostly situations that pose a real danger to life, putting him on the brink between life and death, become threatening for him. Behavior, relationships with others are regulated by confidence in success, in the possibility of resolving conflicts. He often blames other people for causing conflicts; tolerates critical remarks of others calmly, without irritation; praise, approval perceives as really deserved.

Alexey, Regina, Oksana have a high level of personal and situational anxiety. What makes it possible to attribute these adolescents to "risk group". According to the class teacher and school psychologist, these children are indeed distinguished by a high level of personal and situational anxiety, which manifests itself in a number of verbal and non-verbal signs. These methods are confirmed by observations. A high level of AT indicates that the situation in which a person is located is extremely important for him. It affects the current needs of the moment, a person perceives it as a threat to his physical existence, prestige, authority in the group or his own assessment of himself. A person with high AT feels tension, anxiety, muscle stiffness. He is focused on what is happening, which seems to him dangerous and insurmountable. He is dissatisfied with himself, the people around him, often withdraws into himself. A high level of LT means that most of the situations in which a person finds himself are perceived as threatening him, his prestige or self-esteem. Behavior, interaction with others are regulated primarily by emotions. High emotional sensitivity is combined with increased vulnerability, resentment. The remarks of others are perceived as a censure, an insult. Approval, support, especially compliments, do not inspire confidence or are mistaken for flattery. Conflict situations are either avoided or cause a feeling of own guilt. Failures are often experienced as tragedies and attract attention for a long time, reduce the activity necessary for their real overcoming and analysis.

Anxiety as a stable personality trait is formed only in adolescence. Until then, it is a function of the situation. Anxiety can play a mobilizing role associated with an increase in the efficiency of activity, starting from adolescence. A certain level of anxiety is a natural and obligatory feature of the active activity of the individual. Everyone has their own optimal, or desirable, level of anxiety - this is the so-called useful anxiety. Assessment of one's condition in this regard is an essential component of self-control and self-education. Schoolchildren classified as highly anxious tend to perceive a threat to their self-esteem and life in a wide range of situations and react very tensely, with a pronounced state of anxiety. During adolescence, anxious schoolchildren experienced constant doubts, hesitation, uncertainty about the correctness of their perception of success and failure, and significant dissatisfaction with them. Anxiety affects both boys and girls. Anxiety levels are on average higher in girls than in boys. At the same time, the anxiety of girls differed in its content from the anxiety of boys: girls are more concerned about relationships with other people, boys are more concerned about violence in all its aspects. Adolescents aged 14-15 are characterized by interpersonal anxiety associated primarily with relationships with peers (friends, classmates). Anxious adolescents were characterized by increased accuracy in assessing their position among their peers, but at the same time a low degree of confidence in this assessment. Emotionally well-off adolescents, on the contrary, were distinguished in this respect by relatively weak accuracy, since they focused mainly only on their close friends, but showed a high degree of uncertainty. “Inadequately calm” schoolchildren showed insensitivity to their really unfavorable position among their peers, and this insensitivity was of a protective nature.

The low level of ST reflects the insufficiently high significance for the adolescent of the situation in which he finds himself at the time of the survey. This is a sign of insufficient actualization of the needs of the body, a lack of interest in what is happening in the world and in oneself. A low level of anxiety can also be observed in schoolchildren, in whose emotional experience such situations were encountered. Such a student perceives what is happening either in accordance with its objective emotionality, or as insignificant, or as surmountable. He is self-confident, pleased with himself, his condition, the state of affairs, is internally relaxed, set to successfully overcome obstacles and feels enough strength in himself for this.

With moderate ST, a teenager attaches increased importance to individual elements of the situation or finds the strength and ability to control his emotional experiences. Such a teenager tries to objectively assess the situations that arise, however, he succeeds either not immediately, or he is not entirely confident in his strengths, capabilities, and experience. Therefore, a short-term, but not very significantly disturbed emotional balance, a decrease in working capacity is possible. Restoration of emotional comfort, self-confidence occurs quite quickly.

A high level of ST indicates that the situation in which the teenager is located is extremely important for him. It affects the needs of the moment, the teenager perceives it as a threat to his physical existence, prestige, authority in the group or his own assessment of himself. A teenager with high CT feels tension, anxiety, muscle stiffness. He is focused on what is happening, which seems to him dangerous and insurmountable. He is dissatisfied with himself, the people around him, often withdraws into himself.

A teenager with a low level of LT, as a rule, perceives the difficulties that have appeared adequately to their objective emotional saturation. Threatening for him are mainly situations that pose a real danger to life, putting him on the brink between life and death. Behavior, relationships with others are regulated by confidence in success, in the possibility of resolving conflicts. He often blames other people for causing conflicts; tolerates critical remarks of others calmly, without irritation; praise, approval perceives as really deserved.

With a moderate level of LT, a teenager feels comfortable, maintains emotional balance, and efficiency mainly in situations to which he has already managed to successfully adapt, in which he knows how to behave, knows the measure of his responsibility. When situations become more complicated, anxiety and anxiety may appear. However, in such cases, students with moderate anxiety quickly restore emotional balance.

A high level of LT means that most of the situations in which a teenager finds himself are perceived as threatening him, his prestige or self-esteem. Behavior, interaction with others are regulated primarily by emotions. High emotional sensitivity is combined with increased vulnerability, resentment. The remarks of others are perceived as a censure, an insult. Approval, support, especially compliments, do not inspire confidence or are mistaken for flattery. Conflict situations are either avoided or cause a feeling of own guilt. Failures are often experienced as tragedies and attract attention for a long time, reduce the activity necessary for their real overcoming and analysis.

W.N. Auden called the modern era "the age of anxiety". The complexities of civilization, the speed of change and the partial rejection of religious and family values create new anxieties and conflicts for individuals and society as a whole. Much attention is now being paid to the size, type, and impact of anxiety, which is reflected in modern medicine. Indeed, anxiety is an integral part of psychosomatic medicine, as well as the theory and practice of psychiatry. Even in patients with damage to any structures, anxiety about possible disability, inferiority and helplessness is found, which is an essential feature of these diseases.

Anxiety is a diffuse, very unpleasant, often vague feeling of being afraid of something, accompanied by one or more somatic sensations—for example, an empty feeling in the pit of the stomach, a feeling of tightness in the chest, palpitations, sweating, headache, or a sudden urge to have a bowel movement. Restlessness and inability to stay in one place are also typical.

Anxiety is a warning signal that warns of impending danger and forces a person to take action to cope with the danger. Fear, which is also a warning signal, differs from anxiety in the following ways: fear is a reaction to a known, external, definite and non-contradictory danger; anxiety is a reaction to a danger that is unknown, internal, vague or contradictory in nature.

The difference between fear and anxiety is random. Freud's early translators mistranslated "angst", the German word for "fear", as "anxiety". Freud himself generally ignored the distinction between anxiety associated with a repressed, unconscious object and fear associated with a known, external object. Obviously, fear can refer to an unconscious repressed internal object being transferred to another "thing" in the external world. For example, a boy may be afraid of dogs because he is actually afraid of his father and unconsciously associates his father with dogs. Another example is when a child has a vague feeling that he will have to leave his home because he felt sexual arousal when he witnessed two dogs mating in the street and now unconsciously associated the dogs with guilt for his sin in the form of sexual sensations. .

PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF ANXIETY AND FEAR

According to psychoanalysts, the division into fear and anxiety is psychologically justified. The emotion that arises from the rapid approach of a car when a person crosses the street is different from the vague discomfort when a person meets new people in an unfamiliar environment. The main psychological difference between these two emotional responses is whether they are acute or chronic. Darwin supported the view that the word "fear" comes from something sudden and dangerous. From a neurophysiological point of view, the duration of the phenomena of anxiety and fear is also very important. In 1896, Charles Darwin gave the following description of the physiological manifestation of acute fear, turning into horror:
“Fear is often preceded by surprise, and is so akin to it that both lead to sensations of seeing and hearing that are instantly activated. In both cases, the eyes and mouth are wide open and the eyebrows are raised. A frightened person first stops as if rooted to the spot, motionless and breathless, or crouches to the ground, as if instinctively trying to get away from what he saw. The heart beats hard and fast, so that it flutters or "beats in the ribs"; but it is very doubtful whether it would at this time work more effectively than usual, i.e., that it would send more blood to all parts of the body, since the face usually becomes as pale as when fainting is beginning. This pallor of the skin seems to be largely or solely due to the fact that the vasomotor center is affected in such a way that it causes narrowing of the small arteries of the skin. That the skin is strongly affected by a state of great fear, we see in a brilliant and inexplicable example, when sweat immediately comes out of it. This exudation is all the more remarkable as the surface of the skin remains cold; hence the name "cold sweat"; at the same time, the sweat glands are usually activated when the surface is heated. The hair, also on the skin, rises, and the superficial muscles tremble. In connection with the disturbed work of the heart, breathing accelerates. The function of the salivary glands is impaired; the mouth becomes dry and opens and closes frequently. I have also noticed that when there is little fear, there is a strong urge to yawn. One of the most pronounced symptoms is Trembling of all the muscles of the body, and this is especially noticeable on the lips. For this reason, and also because of dry mouth, the voice becomes hoarse or indistinct, and sometimes disappears altogether ...

As the fear intensifies, turning into the torment of terror, we notice how, under the influence of very strong emotions, various phenomena arise. The heart beats very strongly, or may fail, and fainting occurs; deathly pallor is noted, breathing is difficult, the wings of the nose are greatly expanded, the lips make convulsive swallowing movements, there is a tremor of sunken cheeks, “choking” and “catching air” movements of the larynx; the eyeballs, uncovered and protruding, are fixed on the terrifying object, or they may roll restlessly from side to side. The pupils are abnormally dilated. All the muscles of the body become stiff or jerky. The hands are alternately clenched and unclenched with frequently twitching movements. The arms may be stretched out, as if to avert a terrible danger, or they may cover the head ... In other cases, a strong and uncontrollable desire for immediate flight is revealed, and it is so strong that even the most courageous soldiers succumb to sudden panic.

Individual manifestations of anxiety are very diverse. Some patients have cardiovascular disturbances such as palpitations and sweating, some have gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, a feeling of emptiness and nervous trembling (in the stomach "throbbing with fear"), bloating or even diarrhea, some have increased urination, others have shallow breathing and chest tightness. All of the above reactions are visceral. However, in a number of patients, the phenomena of muscle tension predominate, and they complain that the muscles do not bend, or spasms, headaches and curvature of the neck.

STRESS AND ANXIETY

Whether any events are stressful depends on the nature of the event, as well as on the resources and ability to protect and mechanisms for coping with stress in a given person. This all includes his "ego", a general abstraction that is related to how the subject perceives, thinks and acts in response to external events or internal urges. If the subject's ego functions normally, then it is in a state of adaptive balance with both the external and internal worlds; if it does not function normally and this imbalance continues long enough, he will develop chronic anxiety. The time of onset of psychoneuroses varies from person to person.

Whether the imbalance is external, developing between the influences of the external world and the patient's ego, or internal, developing between his impulses (for example, aggressiveness, sexuality or addiction) and his consciousness, in any case it causes conflict. Conflicts caused by external events are usually called "interpersonal", while those caused by internal phenomena are called "intrapsychic" or "intrapersonal". A combination of both is possible, for example, in the case of a petty official who had an overly demanding and disgruntled boss, and who had to constantly restrain himself, resisting impulses to hit the boss on the head for fear of losing his job. Interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts are usually combined, because people are social beings and their main conflicts lie in the area of relationships with other people.

Conflicts are another essential feature of anxiety, but their absence does not mean that there will be no fear, as conflict is contained in a certain type of fear called phobias. In the genesis of experimental neuroses there is always a conflict. Conflict also exists in cases where there are obstacles or hindrances to sexual activation, so that strong excitement cannot be discharged, or when a fit of rage does not find external expression due to inhibition of movements.

The cause of chronic anxiety can be determined as follows. Repeated attacks of fear - or single episodes in exceptional cases, such as streets with post-traumatic stress disorder or with some types of phobia - cause chronic stress, which causes an intense and prolonged neuroendocrine response, accompanied on a psychological level by conflict. As a result, chronic anxiety develops.

Anxiety levels

For all emotions, including anxiety, there are three levels. In ascending order, there is a neuroendocrine level, a motor-visceral level, and, finally, a level of conscious awareness. In general, a subject experiencing anxiety experiences only unpleasant sensations and rarely feels severe discomfort; a person usually does not realize the causes of his anxiety.

An unpleasant feeling consists of two components: 1) awareness of physiological sensations (heartbeat, sweating, emptiness in the stomach, tightness in the chest, twitching of the knees, trembling of the voice); 2) a person's awareness that he is nervous or afraid. Anxiety is sometimes exacerbated by a sense of shame - "Others will see that I am afraid." Many are surprised that others do not recognize their anxiety or, if they see it, do not understand how strong it is.

In addition to motor and visceral manifestations of anxiety, its influence on thinking, perception and learning should be taken into account. The brain is the central integrating mechanism, but it is also the terminal organ. Anxiety causes confusion and disturbances in the perception not only of time and space, but also of people and the meaning of events. This can interfere with learning and reduce the ability to concentrate, impair reproduction and impair the ability to relate one to the other (associations).

An important aspect of emotional thinking, including anxious or complete fear thinking, is its selectivity (selectivity). The anxious subject tends to choose certain topics from the environment and ignore the rest to prove that he is right in viewing the situation as frightening and reacting accordingly, or, conversely, that his anxiety is in vain and unjustified. If he mistakenly justifies his fear, his anxiety is reinforced by a selective response, creating a vicious cycle of anxiety, impaired perception, and increased anxiety. If, on the other hand, he erroneously reassures himself through selective thinking, then justified anxiety may be reduced and the subject will not take the necessary measures.

Selective perception and thinking can influence not only the turning off and on of events, people and objects, but also the meaning of words and actions. Selective attention thus becomes a biasing tool that a priori determines the meaning of an event before it happens, or stereotypically assigns a person or event to a certain class or group on the basis of their common properties.

Adaptive alarm functions

Because anxiety is a warning signal, it can be seen as the same emotion as fear. She warns of external or internal danger; it is essential to saving lives. Anxiety at a low level warns of the danger of damage to the body, pain, helplessness, possible punishment or frustration of social or bodily needs, separation from a loved one, a threat to one's success or position, or danger that threatens to destroy harmony and unity. In this way, it prompts the organism that it is necessary to take the necessary measures to prevent the danger or at least reduce its consequences. A few examples of how anxiety helps ward off danger in everyday life are when you take on the drudgery of exam preparation, sneak into your bedroom after being late hoping to avoid punishment, and run fast to catch the last passenger train. Anxiety prevents harm by alerting a person and forcing him to perform certain actions that are ahead of danger.

Since it is clearly beneficial to respond with anxiety to certain dangerous situations, one can speak of normal anxiety as opposed to abnormal or pathological anxiety. Anxiety is normal for an infant who is frightened by separation from parents or loss of love, for a child who goes to school for the first time, for a teenager on a first date and for an adult thinking about old age and death, as well as for all people who have been afflicted with illness. Anxiety normally accompanies growth, change, or experiencing something new and unknown, as well as the search for one's personal role and significance in life. Pathological anxiety, on the other hand, is an inadequate response to a given stimulus, either in intensity or duration.

Anxiety usually leads to actions to eliminate or reduce the danger. These actions are usually constructive, performing them, the person uses mechanisms to cope with difficulties, if the action is mainly conscious or deliberate (such as preparing for an exam) or defense mechanisms, if the behavior is mainly due to unconscious forces (for example, suppression or repression of awareness frightening impulse or thought).

The defense mechanism can be adaptive or maladaptive depending on the results. Suppression is often used by a person throughout his life in order to achieve harmony with. those around you and with yourself. Inhibitory mechanisms or other defense mechanisms can only be considered impaired when this is manifested in a behavioral disorder.

We list in a general form the protective mechanisms.

Negation. A mechanism that does not recognize the existence of unpleasant facts. The term refers to those cases where the conscious understanding of any aspect of reality is excluded; if it were conscious, anxiety would arise.

Bias. The mechanism by which the emotional component of an unacceptable idea or object is translated into a more acceptable one.

Dissociation. A mechanism that includes the selection of each group of mental or behavioral processes from other types of mental activity of the subject. It may consist in separating an idea from its accompanying emotional tone, as is seen in dissociative disorders.

Identification. The mechanism by which the subject builds his own image in the image of another subject; at the same time, violations of one's own "I" occur more or less constantly.

Identification with the aggressor. The process in which a person internally unites with the mental image of another person, which is a source of frustration from the outside world. This is a primitive defense, acting in the interests and serving the developing ego. A classic example of the defense that appears towards the end of the Oedipus stage is when the boy, whose main source of love and pleasure is his mother, identifies himself with his father. The father is a source of frustration, being a powerful rival to the mother, and the child cannot cope with or escape from the father, so he must identify with him.

An association. A mechanism by which a physical representation of another person or some property of another person is assimilated into itself through the figurative process of symbolic oral eating. It is a special form of introjection and is the earliest identification mechanism.

Intellectualization. A mechanism in which conditioning or logic is used as an attempt to avoid confrontation with an unwanted impulse and thus protect against anxiety. It is also known as rumination compulsion or thought compulsion.

Introjection. Unconscious, symbolic internalization of the physical image of a hated or loved external object in order to establish closeness with it and its constant presence. Seen as an immature defense mechanism. If the object is loved, the anxiety resulting from separation or the tension arising from an ambivalent relationship to the object is reduced; in case this object evokes fear and hatred, the internalization of its malevolent or aggressive features serves to avoid anxiety by symbolically subjecting these features to its own control.

Insulation. In psychoanalysis, it is the mechanism of separating an idea or memory from the emotional tone that accompanies it. Unacceptable thought content is thus relieved of disturbing and unpleasant emotional burdens.

Projection. An unconscious mechanism by which the subject attributes to other people those usually unconscious thoughts, ideas, sensations, and impulses that are undesirable or unacceptable to him in himself. Projection protects the individual from anxiety resulting from internal conflict. Embodiing everything that is unacceptable for him, the subject acts externally with it as if the situation is separated from him.

Rationalization. The mechanism by which irrational or unacceptable behavior, motives or feelings are logically justified or made consciously bearable in plausible ways.

Regression. A mechanism in which the subject undergoes a partial or complete return to earlier adaptation patterns. Regression is observed, in particular, in schizophrenia.

Repression. A mechanism in which unacceptable thought content is expelled from consciousness or kept out of it. The term was introduced by Freud; the mechanism is important both for normal psychological development and for the formation of neurotic and psychotic symptoms. Freud singled out two types of repression: 1) the actual repression - the repressed material once dominated the mind; 2) primary repression - the repressed material has never been in the sphere of consciousness.

Sublimation. A mechanism in which energy associated with unacceptable impulses or urges is diverted into personally and socially acceptable channels. Unlike other defense mechanisms, sublimation gives some minimal satisfaction from instinctive urges or impulses.

Substitution. A mechanism in which the subject replaces unacceptable desires, urges, emotions with more acceptable ones.

Suppression. The conscious act of inhibiting and controlling unacceptable impulses, emotions, or thoughts. Suppression differs from repression in that repression is an unconscious process.

Symbolization. A mechanism by which one idea or one thing is translated into another because they have some aspect or quality in common. Symbolization is based on similarity and association. The symbols that form protect the subject from anxiety that is associated with original ideas or objects.

Cancellation. A mechanism by which the subject symbolically acts in opposition to something unacceptable that has already been done or against something from which it is supposed to protect itself. As a primitive defense mechanism, revocation is a form of magical action. Repetitive in nature, it is often seen in obsessive-compulsive disorders.

The state of anxiety, anxiety was first identified and emphasized by Z. Freud. He characterized this state as an emotional one, including the experience of expectation and uncertainty, a feeling of helplessness, all this is based on internal causes. As a result, many well-known psychologists and psychotherapists have been studying the state of anxiety, and a large number of works have been written.

To begin with, it should be said about the difference between the concepts of anxiety as a state and anxiety as a personality trait. The ambiguity in understanding anxiety as a mental phenomenon stems from the fact that the term "anxiety" is used by psychologists in different meanings.

It could be:

- Temporary mental state arising under the influence of stress factors
- Frustration of social needs
- The primary indicator of trouble, when the body does not have the ability to naturally meet the needs
- Personality property, which is given through the description of external and internal characteristics using related concepts
- Reaction to the presented threat.

Most often, the term "anxiety" is used to describe a mental state that is unpleasant in its color, which is characterized by subjective sensations of tension, anxiety, gloomy forebodings, and on the physiological side is accompanied by the activation of the autonomic nervous system. Being a natural state, anxiety plays a positive role not only as an indicator of a violation, but also as a mobilizer of mental reserves.

However, most often anxiety is considered as a negative state associated with the experience of stress. The state of anxiety can vary in intensity and change over time as a function of the level of stress to which the individual is exposed, but the experience of anxiety is inherent in any person in adequate situations.

Causes causing anxiety and affecting the change in its level are diverse and can lie in all spheres of human life. Conventionally, they are divided into subjective and objective reasons. Subjective reasons include informational reasons associated with an incorrect idea of the outcome of the upcoming nature, leading to an overestimation of the subjective significance of the outcome of the upcoming event. Among the objective causes of anxiety, there are extreme conditions that place high demands on the human psyche and are associated with the uncertainty of the outcome of the situation.

The term " personal anxiety" is used to refer to relatively stable individual differences, in an individual's propensity to experience state of alarm. Level personal anxiety determined on the basis of how often and how intensely an individual experiences state of alarm. Functional aspect of research personal anxiety involves considering it as a system property. Which manifests itself at all levels of human activity.

The role of this property in the social sphere is revealed, where anxiety has an impact on the effectiveness in communication, on the socio-psychological indicators of the effectiveness of the activities of managers, on relationships with comrades, giving rise to conflicts. In the psychological field anxiety manifests itself in a change in the level of claims of the individual, in a decrease in self-esteem, determination, self-confidence. Personal anxiety affects motivation. Feedback is noted anxiety with such personality traits as: social activity, desire for leadership, emotional stability, degree of neuroticism and introversion. Anxiety is also manifested in the psychophysiological sphere, there is a connection between anxiety and the characteristics of the nervous system, with the energy of the body, and the development of psychovegetative diseases.

Causes of anxiety at the social level - a violation of communication. At the psychological level, the subject's inadequate perception of himself; at the psychophysiological level, the causes of anxiety are associated with the features of the structure and functioning of the central nervous system.

Personal anxiety It does not necessarily manifest itself directly in behavior, it has an expression of the subjective ill-being of the individual, which creates a specific background for her life activity, which depresses the psyche.

The main negative aspects of a high level of personal anxiety are identified.

1. A person with a high level of anxiety is inclined to the surrounding world as containing threat and danger to a much greater extent than a person with a low level of anxiety.
2. A high level of anxiety poses a threat to the mental health of the individual, contributes to the development of pre-neurotic conditions.
3. Negatively affects performance. There is a correlation of anxiety with personality traits on which academic performance depends.
4. Anxiety has an impact on professional
orientation.

A comparison of professional orientation with individual psychological characteristics revealed a significant influence of the latter on the nature of professional orientation. A person focused on professions of the type "man - a sign system" is characterized by the fact that these students have high success rates in intellectual tests, the highest rates of verbal intelligence, and high learning success. They are characterized by the lowest level of anxiety, average nervousness, and low exterversion.

In addition to the negative impact on health, behavior and productivity, a high level of anxiety also adversely affects the quality of the social functioning of the individual. Anxiety leads to a person's lack of confidence in their abilities in communication, is associated with a negative social status, formulates conflict relations.

Solution anxiety problems is one of the acute and urgent tasks of psychotherapy Study, as well as timely diagnosis and correction anxiety level help to avoid the difficulties that arise when it affects human life.

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Anxiety is a condition that manifests itself in the form of anxiety and other similar feelings (fear, apprehension, anxiety), while there may be no visible and objective reasons for these manifestations. Anxiety as a condition is important to distinguish from anxiety. The latter is short-term or has serious grounds. The state of anxiety, as a rule, is long-term, it is often difficult for a person to name what is causing it. Sometimes they talk about anxiety as a character trait, when a person, for example, is constantly and strongly disturbed by things that the vast majority of people are calm about. This condition can manifest itself at any age and is diagnosed in both adults and children. Extreme manifestations of anxiety significantly spoil life and require psychological correction.

Anxiety is a negative feeling. It can appear in various situations, including those that are not considered a cause for concern. Different categories of adult patients may have negative expectations about various upcoming events, as well as close people or some other factors.

Anxiety in men

Although men are considered to be less prone to anxiety than women, some males tend to be more anxious. This condition may begin with anxiety, which has some basis (problems at work, in personal life, general dissatisfaction with one's position). However, if a person chooses to ignore the problem, turns a blind eye to their own emotions (or, even worse, relaxes with alcohol), anxiety can develop into a state of constant anxiety. At that time, the man begins to worry for any reason. In this case, finding the cause and working through it can be much more difficult. In some cases, you can not do without the help of a psychotherapist.

A certain level of anxiety is normal. However, a long stay in this state leads to the fact that men become too vulnerable and vulnerable - primarily in the field of interpersonal relationships.

A separate type of anxiety that is typical for men is sexual anxiety, which manifests itself in the form of anxiety associated with sex and interfering with the realization of sexual possibilities. At the same time, the failures that appear in the intimate life of a man on the basis of sexual anxiety, in turn, aggravate the person’s condition and lead him to a kind of vicious circle, since the repetition of failures increases anxiety, which leads to further problems.

Statistics show that women are more prone to anxiety than men. Some psychologists suggest that such a predisposition is not a property of the female psyche from the very beginning; anxiety is part of the idea of a “typical woman” that is formed in society. At the same time, most adult women are characterized by the acceptance of their anxiety as emotionality and sensitivity, which they do not consider a negative factor.

Anxiety during pregnancy

The period is characterized by certain changes in the thinking of a woman, including an increase in the level of anxiety. Anxiety during pregnancy, as a rule, is caused by a lack of trust - and first of all, a woman lacks confidence in herself. If this is the first pregnancy, then even reading specialized literature and numerous forums cannot rid a woman of the fear of the unknown and the accompanying disturbing thoughts.

The reasons for a serious change in the psychological state of a woman are hormonal changes that begin to occur from the first trimester of pregnancy. The causes of concern are the condition of the baby, their own health, and towards the end of the third trimester, the birth process itself. In order to avoid the formation of excessive anxiety, it is recommended, first of all, to approach pregnancy planning consciously; it has been proven that women who plan pregnancy in advance find it much easier to tune in to a positive mood. But to succumb to the influence of those for whom pregnancy has become a negative experience is not worth it: situations that have not yet occurred and may not occur at all, a woman begins to project onto herself in advance and show concern also about this.

The psychological atmosphere in the family where the pregnant woman lives contributes not least to the formation of a sense of anxiety. Therefore, the environment of a pregnant woman should take care to keep her calm and not provoke conflicts that are unconstructive in nature.

Anxiety in breastfeeding mothers

When the pregnancy is left behind, the woman's body is going through another hormonal change, which affects the mood of the young mother not for the better. In combination with the need to adapt to a new social role and the increased burden of caring for a child, this becomes a factor in the formation of a high level of anxiety. During the period of feeding, nervous tension can provoke the so-called oxytocin blockade - the mother's condition blocks the production of oxytocin, which is responsible for the contraction of the mammary glands, which in turn facilitates the flow of milk from the breast. As a result, increased anxiety can lead to the fact that a lot of milk is produced, but feeding the baby is difficult, which is why both he and the woman experience inconvenience and additional stress.

Anxiety and stress can reverse the process, where a new mother's milk supply begins to decline, which in turn triggers a new cycle of experiences.

Increased anxiety in the postpartum period is noted almost as often as postpartum depression. About 10% of young mothers suffer from clinical anxiety, while symptoms such as restlessness, various fears can appear in the first few weeks after childbirth and last for several weeks, or even more. Since the state of anxiety is negative both for the mother herself and for the child, it is necessary to create conditions for overcoming it: a calm environment, support from loved ones, sufficient rest. If such measures do not help, it makes sense to contact a psychologist who will prescribe a suitable treatment.

Anxiety in the elderly is a common disorder, and about 20% of older people experience this condition on a regular basis. In old age, there are several types of anxiety disorder:

Phobias.

In old age, the most common are the phobia of death, illness (both one's own and those of relatives).

General anxiety disorder.

For such people, anxiety can be triggered by any factor, from family problems to a visit to the doctor.

Social anxiety.

A person in old age may, for some reason, begin to avoid contacts, worry too much about the most ordinary meetings.

Negative self-image

The image of the Self is formed in interaction with significant others. That is why criticizing, comparing, evaluating, overprotective, as well as parents with high expectations or excessive demands doom their child to self-image as “bad”, “not good enough”, “not coping”, “loser”, “weakling”. who needs help all the time.

Which leads to internal tension, insecurity, low self-esteem, and with it a lot of fears and anxiety. They are afraid of new things, afraid of failure, afraid of not being able to cope, afraid of any changes that can be born from this. fear of the future or unforeseen(which cannot be controlled).

Often experiencing constant a poisoned feeling of joy in a prosperous life, as they “live not their own life”, trying to meet someone’s expectations, to do what they should, and not what they want. When everywhere you feel like you're not good enough or not eligible.

How do you deal with anxiety caused by a negative self-image?

1. You have to create a positive image of yourself. It is slow and difficult, but possible. To begin with, in order to assess the scale of the disaster, count for several days how many times mentally and out loud you praise yourself, and how many you scold. This can be ticked off in two columns as you “scold-praise”.

2. If you scold yourself more often than praise yourself, then at the end of the day before going to bed, remember the past day and find at least 5 reasons to praise yourself for. For those from whom parents expected too much (“Olympic victories” and “Nobel Prizes”), it is important to learn to see even in small deeds and achievements a reason for joy and pride in oneself. Often such people habitually devalue themselves and everything that is not a “red diploma” (and often he, too) is not noticed at all. Therefore, find something that yesterday you did not know how or did not try, but today you have learned, decided, done. Remember, before a man could walk, he fell a thousand times, but that didn't stop him from getting back on his feet.

3. Stop comparing yourself to others. You will never compare to a world-class opera singer if your talent is elsewhere. But get wounded to infinity and get a lifelong reason to worry. You can only compare yourself with yourself yesterday.

4. In the morning, before you get up, ask yourself: “How can I please myself today?” and try to do it.

5. Ask your friends about your strong personality traits that can help you cope with anxiety or fear. Ask them to name at least three.

6. Draw or describe in detail your anxiety or fear. Look at her from afar. Ask yourself questions: “When does it appear? What plans does he have for your life? What are your qualities that help her attack you? And which ones make her weaker? Try to think of a time when you dealt with anxiety or fear. What helped you then?

Separately, it should be said about children with borderline parents or those suffering from alcoholism or mental illness. So, in schizophrenia, relationships are ambivalent and often proceed according to the “love-hate” principle.

Such people have a lot of chaos and double messages in childhood (when the words contradict each other or the meaning of the said phrase does not agree with the non-verbal accompaniment. For example, in an angry tone it says “of course I love you” or “I need you so much, go away!”)

In order to survive, these children have to cope with their own frequent anxiety and often become a parent to their parents. They have a lot of repressed emotions and great difficulty in building close long-term trusting relationships. They often have unreasonable fear of the future and inability to rejoice even if at the moment everything in their life is good.

Often it seems to them that for any joy, desire or dream come true, they will have to pay with suffering. The hardest thing for them is to learn to praise themselves, to allow something to be done for themselves and to dream. The inner voice of a parent sounds bright and strong. In these cases, there is a lot of work to be done and it is better to take the help of a specialist.

How to deal with anxiety?

Every family has its own way of coping with anxiety. However, they can be both functional and dysfunctional. The latter include smoking, alcohol and other types of addictions. When in fact a person avoids meeting with himself and his feelings without solving the problem.

Conflict is also a dysfunctional way. At the same time, it happens that the anxiety of one partner provokes the emergence of anxiety of the other and, merging, these two anxieties strengthen, prolong and reinforce each other. Someone goes headlong into TV shows, games, the Internet, work just so as not to live a real life and not face disturbing experiences.

Along with dysfunctional ones, there are ways that not only really help to live through uncomfortable moments, but also bring benefits. These are sports, reading, creativity, communication, art and even cleaning.

Do what brings you joy.

Be in touch with yourself and your feelings.

Learn to comfort your inner child.

Imagine yourself as a little one, take it in your arms and ask: “what are you afraid of, what can I do for you?”

Fulfill desires from childhood (One woman with increased anxiety was helped a lot by her small child, asking her to take daily walks before going to bed and the opportunity to “like in childhood” climb into a snowdrift and lie in the snow; buy a beautiful dress or a talisman toy)

Learn to express your emotions.

Learn to set boundaries and protect yourself.

Know how to distinguish between your own and someone else's anxiety (in co-dependent relationships, they often merge and reinforce each other).

1. General anxiety at school- the general emotional state of the child associated with various forms of his inclusion in the life of the school. It can be positive against the background of general high anxiety. That is, the child is emotionally unhappy, but at school he feels quite confident and calm. The opposite option is also possible: in general, a calm and emotionally stable child feels bad at school.

2. Experiencing social stress- the emotional state of the child, against which his social contacts develop (primarily with peers). Very often, leaders demonstrate high anxiety on this factor. It is important to correlate data on this scale with others. When high anxiety for this factor coincides with similar anxiety for other factors, this is less informative and significant than a single case of high anxiety attributable to this factor.

3. Frustration of the need to succeed- an unfavorable mental background that does not allow the child to develop his needs for success, achieving a high result, etc. It is interesting that in classes studying in elementary school according to the Zankov system, this indicator is much less pronounced than in "regular" classes.

4. Fear of self-expression- negative emotional experiences of situations associated with the need for self-disclosure, presenting oneself to others, demonstrating one's capabilities. Apparently, this is one of the most typical, culturally determined fears for our children from Yakutsk to Kaliningrad. Meets very often. If many students of this class have high scores on it, this indicates an unfavorable pedagogical situation, which provokes the development of a fear of self-expression.

5. Fear of a situation of knowledge testing- negative attitude and experience of anxiety in situations of verification (especially public) of knowledge, achievements, opportunities. Typical for underachieving students. In other cases, it is an important symptom of emotional distress. In a mass manifestation, it reflects a certain pedagogical tradition, which it would not hurt to change.

6. Fear of not meeting the expectations of others- anxious orientation to significant others in assessing their results, actions and thoughts, strong feelings about the feedback given by others, the expectation of negative assessments. Another "cultural" fear, if we take into account its extreme prevalence in Russian schools. Meets en masse. It is important not so much for individual psychological diagnoses as for counseling teachers!

7. Low physiological resistance to stress- features of the psychophysiological organization that reduce the child's adaptability to situations of a stressful nature, increase the likelihood of an inadequate, destructive response to an alarming environmental factor. We can say that this is an individual inability to adapt to troubles. It does not occur very often (2-3 children per class), but each case requires a separate in-depth analysis, primarily from the point of view of the reasons for such low tolerance. Their identification allows to protect the child from traumatic situations.

8. Problems and fears in relationships with teachers- the general negative emotional background of relations with adults at school, which reduces the success of the child's education. This indicator is important in the process of consulting teachers, it reflects the features of the system of relations between adults and children at school. Less informative for unsuccessful students.

High level of anxiety - can be generated either by the student's real trouble in the most significant areas of activity and communication, or exist, as it were, contrary to an objectively prosperous situation, being the result of certain personal conflicts, disturbances in the development of self-esteem, etc. Such anxiety is often experienced by schoolchildren who study well and even excellently, are responsible for their studies, social life, school discipline, but this apparent well-being comes to them at an unreasonably high price and is fraught with disruptions, especially with a sharp complication of activity. Such schoolchildren have pronounced vegetative reactions, neurosis-like and psychosomatic disorders.

Help: raising self-esteem (adults) and developing the ability to cope with increased anxiety through certain exercises. Special attention from an adult (teacher or parent) should be given to support, praise, celebrate successes, and support in case of failure. Avoid value judgment, comparison with the results of more successful students, if compared, then his own results. Avoid criticism in front of others. To help analyze not only failures, but also successes, so that they, in turn, are not perceived by such children as accidental, as a result of some external influences (for example, like a good mood of a teacher, or I just got lucky today).

Intended actions of an adult(teacher or parent) in relation to an anxious child:

Provide support, show sincere concern for the child, more often give a positive assessment of their actions and deeds;
Call the child by name more often and praise him in the presence of other children and adults;
Entrust the implementation of prestigious assignments in this team;
If we compare the results of the work, then only his own (reached yesterday, a week or a month ago);
It is better to avoid solving those tasks that are limited in time;
It is better to ask not at the beginning or end of the lesson, but in the middle;
You should not rush and adjust them with an answer, give time for an answer, and do not repeat the question several times (otherwise the child will not answer soon, because he will perceive a new repetition of the question as a new stimulus);

Establishing eye contact - "eye to eye" - instilling a sense of trust in the child's soul;

Conversations in the class about the problems of each child (that anyone has difficulties), so that he feels that he is not alone;
Be patient, the results are not quick.

Low Anxiety - "hidden anxiety" - defensive behavior often say that they do not experience anxiety, but constantly fail due to their bad luck, insolvency, other people's attitudes. Many situations of success are assessed as unsuccessful (devaluation). There is also a depreciation of failures - such sensitivity to trouble is, as a rule, compensatory, protective in nature and prevents the full formation of personality. The student, as it were, does not allow an unpleasant experience into consciousness. Emotional well-being in this case is preserved at the cost of an inadequate attitude to reality, negatively affecting the productivity of activity. There is no analysis of the experience gained. Chooses to perform more often simple tasks in order to avoid exciting situations in every possible way (because he is sure that he will successfully cope with the problem).

Behavior (defensive): in order to raise self-esteem - to criticize others. Outwardly, there are no signs of anxiety, but this form is not stable, with the significance of the stimulus, it can turn into open anxiety, unregulated. It is possible that in the past such children have had cases of unregulated anxiety, which they have learned to cope with by suppressing this condition. In order not to repeat such an experience, they learned to avoid situations (including difficult learning tasks).

Help: in working with such students, it is necessary to pay attention to the development of the ability to analyze their experiences and find their causes (introspection). By breaking down into simple tasks, achieve more complex ones and pay attention to it so that there is no avoidance.

During the year, a psychologist will conduct an additional examination of the causes of high anxiety, a forecast of learning difficulties in secondary school (individual characteristics of intellectual abilities and personal characteristics of students).

The word "disturbing" has been noted in dictionaries since 1771. There are many versions explaining the origin of this term. The author of one of them believes that the word "alarm" means a three-time repeated signal of danger from the enemy.

In the psychological dictionary, the following definition of anxiety is given: it is "an individual psychological feature consisting in an increased tendency to experience anxiety in a variety of life situations, including those that do not predispose to this."

Anxiety must be distinguished from anxiety. If anxiety is episodic manifestations of anxiety, agitation of a child, then anxiety is a stable condition.

For example, it happens that a child is worried before speaking at a holiday or answering at the blackboard. But this anxiety is not always manifested, sometimes in the same situations he remains calm. These are manifestations of anxiety. If the state of anxiety is repeated often and in a variety of situations (when answering at the blackboard, communicating with unfamiliar adults, etc.), then we should talk about anxiety.

Anxiety is not associated with any particular situation and is almost always manifested. This state accompanies a person in any kind of activity. When a person is afraid of something specific, we are talking about the manifestation of fear. For example, fear of the dark, fear of heights, fear of enclosed space.

K. Izard explains the difference between the terms "fear" and "anxiety" in this way: anxiety is a combination of some emotions, and fear is only one of them.

Fear can develop in a person at any age: in children from one to three years of age, night fears are not uncommon; in the 2nd year of life, according to A. I. Zakharov, the fear of unexpected sounds, fear of loneliness, fear of pain (and associated fear of healthcare workers). At 3-5 years old, children are characterized by fears of loneliness, darkness and confined spaces. At the age of 5-7, fear of death becomes the leading one. From 7 to 11 years old, children are most afraid of "not being the one about whom they speak well, who is respected, appreciated and understood" (A.I. Zakharov).

Every child has certain fears. However, if there are a lot of them, then we can talk about manifestations of anxiety in the character of the child.

To date, a definite point of view on the causes of anxiety has not yet been developed. But most scientists believe that in preschool and primary school age, one of the main reasons lies in the violation of parent-child relationships.

1. Conflicting demands made by parents, or parents and the school (kindergarten). For example, parents do not let their child go to school because they feel unwell, and the teacher puts a “deuce” in a journal and scolds him for skipping a lesson in the presence of other children.

2. Inadequate requirements (most often overestimated). For example, parents repeatedly repeat to the child that he must certainly be an excellent student, they cannot and do not want to come to terms with the fact that their son or daughter gets not only "five" at school and is not the best student in the class.

3. Negative demands that humiliate the child, put him in a dependent position. For example, a caregiver or teacher says to a child: "If you tell me who behaved badly in my absence, I will not tell my mother that you got into a fight."

Experts believe that in preschool and primary school age boys are more anxious, and after 12 years - girls. At the same time, girls are more worried about relationships with other people, and boys are more worried about violence and punishment. Having committed some "unseemly" act, the girls worry that their mother or teacher will think badly of them, and their girlfriends will refuse to play with them. In the same situation, boys are more likely to be afraid that they will be punished by adults or beaten.
peers.

As the authors of the book note, 6 weeks after the start of the school year, schoolchildren usually have an increased level of anxiety, and they need 7-10 days of rest.
The anxiety of a child largely depends on the level of anxiety of the adults around him. High anxiety of the teacher or parent is transmitted to the child. In families with friendly relations, children are less anxious than in families where conflicts often arise.

An interesting fact is that after the divorce of the parents, when, it would seem, the scandals in the family ended, the level of anxiety of the child does not decrease, but, as a rule, increases sharply.

Psychologist E. Yu. Brel also revealed the following pattern: children's anxiety increases if parents are not satisfied with their work, living conditions, and financial situation. Perhaps that is why the number of anxious children is steadily increasing in our time.

There is an opinion that learning anxiety begins to form already in preschool age. This can be facilitated by both the teacher's work style and excessive demands on the child, constant comparisons with other children. In some families, during the entire year preceding school entry, in the presence of the child, there are talks about choosing a "worthy" school, a "promising" teacher. The concerns of parents are passed on to children.

In addition, parents hire numerous teachers for the child, spend hours doing tasks with him. The child’s body, which is not yet strong and not yet ready for such intensive training, sometimes cannot stand it, the baby begins to get sick, the desire to learn disappears, and anxiety about the upcoming training increases rapidly.
Anxiety can be associated with neurosis or other mental disorders. In these cases, the help of medical specialists is needed.

Portrait of an anxious child.

A child is included in a kindergarten group (or class). He peers intently at everything that is around, timidly, almost silently greets and awkwardly sits on the edge of the nearest chair. He seems to be expecting some kind of trouble.

This is an anxious child. There are many such children in kindergarten and at school, and working with them is not easier, but even more difficult, than with other categories of "problem" children, because both hyperactive and aggressive children are always in sight, as if in the palm of their hand, and anxious ones try to keep your problems to yourself.

They are distinguished by excessive anxiety, and sometimes they are afraid not of the event itself, but of its foreboding. Often they expect the worst. Children feel helpless, afraid to play new games, start new activities. They have high demands on themselves, they are very self-critical. Their level of self-esteem is low, such children really think that they are worse than others in everything, that they are the most ugly, stupid, clumsy. They seek encouragement, adult approval in all matters.

Anxious children are also characterized by somatic problems: abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, cramps in the throat, shortness of breath, etc. During the manifestation of anxiety, they often feel dry mouth, lump in the throat, weakness in the legs, palpitations.

How to identify an anxious child.

An experienced educator or teacher, of course, in the very first days of meeting children will understand which of them has increased anxiety. However, before drawing final conclusions, it is necessary to observe the child who causes concern on different days of the week, during training and free activities (at recess, on the street), in communication with other children.

To understand the child, to find out what he is afraid of, you can ask parents, educators (or subject teachers) to fill out a questionnaire form. The answers of adults will clarify the situation, help to trace the family history. And observation of the behavior of the child will confirm or refute your assumption.

P. Baker and M. Alvord advise to take a closer look at whether the following signs are characteristic of the child's behavior.

Criteria for determining anxiety in a child.

1. Constant anxiety.
2. Difficulty, sometimes inability to concentrate on anything.
3. Muscle tension (for example, in the face, neck).
4. Irritability.
5. Sleep disorders.

It can be assumed that the child is anxious if at least one of the criteria listed above is constantly manifested in his behavior.

In order to identify an anxious child, the following questionnaire is also used (G. P. Lavrentyeva, T. M. Titarenko).

Signs of anxiety:

Anxious child
1. Cannot work for a long time without getting tired.
2. It is difficult for him to focus on something.
3. Any task causes unnecessary anxiety.
4. During the performance of tasks, he is very tense, constrained.
5. Feels embarrassed more often than others.
6. Often talks about tense situations.
7. As a rule, blushes in unfamiliar surroundings.
8. Complains that he has terrible dreams.
9. His hands are usually cold and wet.
10. He often has an upset stool.
11. Sweats profusely when excited.
12. Does not have a good appetite.
13. Sleeps restlessly, falls asleep with difficulty.
14. Shy, many things cause him fear.
15. Usually restless, easily upset.
16. Often cannot hold back tears.
17. Poorly tolerates waiting.
18. Does not like to take on a new business.
19. Not confident in himself, in his abilities.
20. Afraid to face difficulties.

Add up the number of "pluses" to get a total anxiety score.

High anxiety - 15-20 points.
Medium - 7-14 points.
Low - 1-6 points.

In kindergarten, children often experience fear of separation from their parents. It must be remembered that at the age of two or three years, the presence of this trait is acceptable and understandable. But if a child in the preparatory group constantly cries when parting, does not take his eyes off the window, waiting every second for the appearance of his parents, special attention should be paid to this. The presence of fear of separation can be determined by the following criteria (P. Baker, M. Alvord).

Separation anxiety criteria:

1. Recurrent excessive frustration, sadness at parting.
2. Constant excessive worry about the loss, that the adult may feel bad.
3. Constant excessive anxiety that some event will lead him to separation from his family.
4. Permanent refusal to go to kindergarten.
5. Constant fear of being alone.
6. Constant fear of falling asleep alone.
7. Constant nightmares in which the child is separated from someone.
8. Constant complaints of indisposition: headache, pain in the abdomen, etc. (Children suffering from the fear of parting can actually get sick if they think a lot about what worries them.)

If at least three traits appeared in the behavior of the child within four weeks, then it can be assumed that the child really has this type of fear.

How to help an anxious child.

Working with an anxious child is fraught with certain difficulties and, as a rule, takes quite a long time.

1. Increasing self-esteem.
2. Teaching a child the ability to manage himself in specific, most exciting situations.
3. Relieve muscle tension.

Let's take a closer look at each of these areas.

Increasing self-esteem.

Of course, it is impossible to increase a child's self-esteem in a short time. It is necessary to carry out purposeful work on a daily basis. Address the child by name, praise him even for minor successes, celebrate them in the presence of other children. However, your praise must be sincere, because children are sensitive to falsehood. Moreover, the child must know why he was praised. In any situation, you can find a reason to praise the child.

It is desirable that anxious children more often participate in such games in the circle as "Compliments", "I give you ...", which will help them learn a lot of pleasant things about themselves from others, look at themselves "through the eyes of other children." And so that others know about the achievements of each student or pupil, in a kindergarten group or in a classroom, you can arrange a stand "Star of the Week", where once a week all the information will be devoted to the success of a particular child.

Each child, thus, will get the opportunity to be the center of attention of others. The number of headings for the stand, their content and location are discussed jointly by adults and children (Fig. 1).

You can mark the child's achievements in daily information for parents (for example, on the "We Today" stand): "Today, January 21, 1999, Seryozha spent 20 minutes experimenting with water and snow." Such a message will give an extra opportunity for parents to show their interest. It will be easier for the child to answer specific questions, and not to restore in memory everything that happened in the group during the day.

In the locker room, on the locker of each child, you can fix the "Flower-seven-flower" (or "Flower of achievements"), cut out of colored cardboard. In the center of the flower is a photograph of a child. And on the petals corresponding to the days of the week - information about the results of the child, which he is proud of (Fig. 2).

In the younger groups, educators enter information into the petals, and in the preparatory group, children can be entrusted with filling in seven-color flowers. This will serve as a stimulus for learning to write.

In addition, this form of work contributes to the establishment of contacts between children, since those who still cannot read or write often turn to their comrades for help. Parents, coming to the kindergarten in the evening, are in a hurry to find out what their child has achieved during the day, what are his successes.

Positive information is very important for both adults and children to establish mutual understanding between them. And it is necessary for parents of children of any age.

Example.

Mitina's mother, like all parents of children in the nursery group, every day with pleasure got acquainted with the records of educators about what she did, how she ate, what her two-year-old son played. During the illness of the teacher, information about the pastime of children in the group became inaccessible to parents. After 10 days, the worried mother came to the methodologist and asked them not to stop such useful work for them. Mom explained that since she is only 21 years old and has very little experience with children, caregivers' notes help her understand her child and learn how and what to do with him.

Thus, the use of a visual form of work (designing stands, information "Flowers-Semitsvetiki", etc.) helps to solve several pedagogical tasks at once, one of which is to increase the level of self-esteem of children, especially those who have high anxiety.

Teaching children to manage their own behavior.

As a rule, anxious children do not openly report their problems, and sometimes even hide them. Therefore, if a child declares to adults that he is not afraid of anything, this does not mean that his words are true. Most likely, this is a manifestation of anxiety, in which the child cannot or does not want to admit.

In this case, it is desirable to involve the child in a joint discussion of the problem. In kindergarten, you can talk with children, sitting in a circle, about their feelings and experiences in situations that concern them. And at school, using examples of literary works, you can show children that a brave person is not one who is not afraid of anything (there are no such people in the world), but one who knows how to overcome his fear.

It is advisable that each child say aloud what he is afraid of. You can invite children to draw their fears, and then in a circle, showing the drawing, talk about it. Such conversations will help anxious children realize that many of their peers have problems similar to those that were characteristic, as they thought, only for them.

Of course, all adults know that children should not be compared with each other. However, when it comes to anxious children, this technique is categorically unacceptable. In addition, it is desirable to avoid competitions and activities that force comparison of the achievements of some children with the achievements of others. Sometimes even such a simple event as a sports relay can become a traumatic factor.

It is better to compare the child's achievements with his own results, shown, for example, a week ago. Even if the child did not cope with the task at all, in no case should you tell your parents: “Your daughter completed the application worst of all” or “Your son finished the drawing last.”

2. Be consistent in your actions, do not forbid the child for no reason what you allowed before.

3. Consider the possibilities of children, do not demand from them what they cannot fulfill. If a child is struggling with any subject, it is better to once again help him and provide support, and when even the slightest success is achieved, do not forget to praise him.

4. Trust the child, be honest with him and accept him for who he is.

5. If for some objective reasons it is difficult for a child to study, choose a circle for him to his liking so that classes in it bring him joy and he does not feel disadvantaged.

If parents are not satisfied with the behavior and success of their child, this is not a reason to deny him love and support. Let him live in an atmosphere of warmth and trust, and then all his many talents will manifest.

How to play with anxious children.

At the initial stages of working with an anxious child, the following rules should be followed:

1. Inclusion of the child in any new game should take place in stages. Let him first get acquainted with the rules of the game, see how other children play it, and only then, when he wants to, become a participant in it.

2. It is necessary to avoid competitive moments and games that take into account the speed of the task, for example, such as "Who is faster?".

3. If you are introducing a new game, then in order for an anxious child not to feel the danger of meeting something unknown, it is better to play it on material that is already familiar to him (pictures, cards). You can use part of the instructions or rules from the game that the child has already played repeatedly.

If the child is highly anxious, then it is better to start working with him with relaxation and breathing exercises, for example: "Balloon", "Ship and Wind", "Pipe", "Rod", "Screw", "Waterfall", etc.

A little later, when the children begin to get used to it, you can add the following to these exercises: "Gift under the Christmas tree", "Fight", "Icicle", "Humpty Dumpty", "Dancing hands".

An anxious child can be included in collective games if he feels comfortable enough, and communication with other children does not cause him any particular difficulties. At this stage of the work, the games Dragon, Blind Dance, Pump and Ball, Headball, Caterpillar, Paper Balls will be useful.

Games "Hares and Elephants", "Magic Chair", etc., which help to increase self-esteem, can be carried out at any stage of work. The effect of these games will be only if they are held repeatedly and regularly (each time you can add an element of novelty).

When working with anxious children, it should be remembered that the state of anxiety, as a rule, is accompanied by a strong clamping of various muscle groups. Therefore, relaxation and breathing exercises for this category of children are simply necessary. Instructor in therapeutic gymnastics L. V. Ageeva made a selection of such exercises for preschoolers. We have modified them a little, introduced game moments without changing the content.

Outdoor games.

Relaxation and breathing exercises.

Purpose: to relax the muscles of the lower face and hands.

"You had a fight with a friend. A fight is about to begin. Take a deep breath, tightly squeeze your jaws. Fix your fingers in your fists, press your fingers into your palms until it hurts. Hold your breath for a few seconds. Think: maybe you shouldn't fight? Exhale and relax. Hooray! The trouble is over!"
This exercise is useful not only with anxious, but also with aggressive children.

"Balloon"

Purpose: relieve stress, calm children.

All players stand or sit in a circle. The host gives instructions: “Imagine that now we will inflate balloons. Inhale the air, bring an imaginary balloon to your lips and, puffing out your cheeks, slowly inflate it through parted lips. Watch with your eyes as your balloon grows larger and more, as they increase, the patterns on it grow. Imagine? I also imagined your huge balloons. Blow carefully so that the balloon does not burst. Now show them to each other. "

"Ship and Wind"

Goal: set the group to work, especially if the children are tired.

“Imagine that our sailboat is sailing through the waves, but suddenly it stopped. Let’s help it and invite the wind to help. pushes the boat on. Let's try again. I want to hear how the wind blows!"
The exercise can be repeated 3 times.

"Gift under the tree"

Purpose: relaxation of facial muscles, especially around the eyes.

“Imagine that the New Year holiday is coming soon. You have been dreaming about a wonderful gift for a whole year. Here you go to the tree, close your eyes tightly and take a deep breath. Hold your breath. What lies under the tree? Now exhale and open your eyes. Oh, miracle! The long-awaited toy is in front of you! Are you happy? Smile."
After completing the exercise, you can discuss (if the children want) who dreams of what.

"pipe"

Purpose: relaxation of the muscles of the face, especially around the lips.

"Let's play the pipe. Take a deep breath, bring the pipe to your lips. Start exhaling slowly, and as you exhale try to stretch your lips into a tube. Then start over. Play! What a wonderful orchestra!"

All of these exercises can be done in class, sitting or standing at their desks.