The most toxic emotion is fear. Article 7 Emotions

Fear is a strong negative emotion that arises as a result of an imagined or real danger and poses a threat to the life of the individual. In psychology, fear is understood as the internal state of a person, which is caused by a perceived or real disaster.

Psychologists attribute fear to emotional processes. K. Izard defined this state as a basic emotion that is innate and has genetic and physiological components. Fear mobilizes the individual's body to avoid behavior. A person’s negative emotion signals a state of danger, which directly depends on numerous external and internal, acquired or congenital reasons.

Psychology of fear

Two neural pathways are responsible for the development of this feeling, which must function simultaneously. The first is responsible for basic emotions, reacts quickly and is accompanied by a significant number of errors. The second one reacts much slower, but more accurately. The first way helps us quickly respond to signs of danger, but often works as a false alarm. The second way makes it possible to more thoroughly assess the situation and therefore respond more accurately to the danger.

In the case of a feeling of fear in a person who is initiated by the first path, the functioning of the second path occurs, which evaluates some signs of danger as unreal. When a phobia occurs, the second pathway begins to function inadequately, which provokes the development of a feeling of fear of stimuli that are dangerous.

Causes of fear

IN Everyday life, and also when emergency situations man faces strong emotion- fear. A negative emotion in a person represents a long-term or short-term emotional process that develops due to an imaginary or real danger. This condition is often noted unpleasant sensations, at the same time being a signal for protection, since the main goal facing a person is to save his life.

But it should be borne in mind that the response to fear is the unconscious or thoughtless actions of a person, which are caused by panic attacks with the manifestation of severe anxiety. Depending on the situations, the course of the emotion of fear in all people varies significantly in strength, as well as in its influence on behavior. Finding out the reason in a timely manner will significantly speed up getting rid of negative emotions.

The causes of fear can be both hidden and obvious. Often a person does not remember the obvious reasons. Hidden fears are understood as fears that come from childhood, for example, increased parental care, temptations, consequences psychological trauma; fears caused by a moral conflict or unresolved problem.

There are cognitively constructed reasons: feelings of rejection, loneliness, threats to self-esteem, depression, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of imminent failure.

Consequences of negative emotions in a person: strong nervous tension, emotional states of uncertainty, search for protection, prompting the individual to escape, save. There are basic functions of people’s fear, as well as accompanying emotional states: protective, signaling, adaptive, search.

Fear can manifest itself in the form of a depressed or excited emotional state. Panic fear (horror) is often marked by a depressed state. Synonyms for the term “fear” or similar terms are the terms “anxiety”, “panic”, “fright”, “phobia”.

If a person has a short-term and at the same time strong fear caused by a sudden stimulus, then it will be classified as fear, and a long-term and not clearly expressed one will be classified as anxiety.

Conditions such as phobias can lead to frequent and strong experiences of negative emotions by an individual. By phobia we mean irrational, obsessive fear, associated with a certain situation or subject, when a person cannot cope with it on his own.

Signs of fear

Some features of the expression of negative emotions are manifested in physiological changes: increased sweating, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, dilated and constricted pupils, urinary incontinence, shifty eyes. These signs appear when there is a threat to life or in front of a characteristic biological fear.

Signs of fear are forced silence, passivity, refusal to act, avoidance of communication, insecure behavior, the occurrence of a speech defect (stuttering) and bad habits(looking around, stooping, biting nails, fiddling with objects in hands); the individual strives for solitude and isolation, which contributes to the development of depression, melancholy, and in some cases provokes. People who experience fears complain of obsession, which ultimately prevents them from living a full life. Obsession with fear interferes with initiative and forces inaction. Deceptive visions and mirages accompany a person; he is afraid, tries to hide or run away.

Sensations that arise during a strong negative emotion: the ground disappears from under your feet, adequacy and control over the situation are lost, internal numbness and numbness (stupor) occurs. A person becomes fussy and hyperactive, he always needs to run somewhere, because it is unbearable to be alone with the object or problem of fear. A person is squeezed and dependent, stuffed with insecurity complexes. Depending on type nervous system the individual defends himself and goes on the offensive, showing aggression. In essence, this acts as a disguise for experiences, addictions and anxieties.

Fears manifest themselves in different ways, but have common features: restlessness, anxiety, nightmares, irritability, suspicion, suspiciousness, passivity, tearfulness.

Types of fears

Yu.V. Shcherbatykh singled out the following classification fears The professor divided all fears into three groups: social, biological, existential.

He included in the biological group those that are directly related to a threat to human life, the social group is responsible for fears and fears in social status, the scientist associated the existential group of fears with the essence of man, which is observed in all people.

All social fears are caused by situations that can undermine social status and lower self-esteem. These include fear public speaking, responsibility, social contacts.

Existential fears are associated with the intellect of the individual and are caused (by reflection on issues that affect the problems of life, as well as death and human existence itself). For example, this is fear of time, death, as well as the meaninglessness of human existence, etc.

Following this principle: fear of fire will be classified as a biological category, stage fright as a social category, and fear of death as an existential category.

In addition, there are also intermediate forms of fear that stand on the border between two groups. These include fear of disease. On the one hand, the disease brings suffering, pain, damage ( biological factor), and on the other social factor(separation from society and the team, exclusion from usual activities, decreased income, poverty, dismissal from work). Therefore, this state is referred to as the border between biological and social group, fear when swimming in a pond on the border of the biological and existential, fear of losing loved ones on the border of the biological and existential groups. It should be noted that in every phobia all three components are noted, but one is dominant.

It is common for an individual, and this is normal, to be afraid of dangerous animals, certain situations, as well as natural phenomena. People's fears about this are reflexive or genetic in nature. In the first case, the danger is based on negative experience, in the second it is recorded at the genetic level. Both cases control reason and logic. Presumably, these reactions have lost their useful meaning and therefore greatly interfere with a person’s ability to live fully and happily. For example, it makes sense to be careful around snakes, but it is foolish to be afraid of small spiders; One can be justifiably afraid of lightning, but not thunder, which is incapable of causing harm. With such phobias and inconveniences, people should rebuild their reflexes.

People's fears that arise in situations that are dangerous to health and life have a protective function and are therefore useful. And people’s fear of medical procedures can harm their health, since they will prevent timely diagnosis of the disease and initiation of treatment.

People's fears are varied, as are their areas of activity. A phobia is based on the instinct of self-preservation and acts as a defensive reaction in the face of danger. Fear can manifest itself in various forms. If a negative emotion is not clearly expressed, then it is experienced as a fuzzy, vague feeling - anxiety. Stronger fear is noted in negative feelings: horror, panic.

State of fear

Negative emotion is a normal individual response to the vicissitudes of life. In an implicit, expressed form, this state acts as an adaptive reaction. For example, an applicant cannot successfully pass an exam without experiencing excitement and any anxiety. But in extreme terms, the state of fear deprives the individual of the ability to fight, giving a feeling of horror and panic. Excessive excitement and anxiety do not allow the applicant to concentrate during the exam, he may lose his voice. Researchers often note a state of anxiety and fear in patients during an extreme situation.

They help relieve the state of fear a short time sedatives and benzodiazepines. Negative emotion includes a state of irritability, horror, absorption in certain thoughts, and is also marked by changes in physiological parameters: the appearance of shortness of breath, increased sweating, insomnia, chills. These manifestations intensify over time and thereby complicate the patient’s normal life. Often this condition becomes chronic and manifests itself in the absence of a specific external reason.

Feeling of fear

The emotion of fear would be more accurate, but there is no clear boundary between these two concepts. Often, when there is a short-term effect, they talk about emotion, and when there is a long-term effect, they mean a feeling of fear. This is where the two concepts differ. And in colloquial speech Fear is considered to be both a feeling and an emotion. Fear manifests itself in different ways in people: for some it constrains and limits, while for others, on the contrary, it intensifies activity.

The feeling of fear is individual and reflects all genetic characteristics, as well as the characteristics of upbringing and culture, temperament, accentuation, and neuroticism of each individual person.

There are both external and internal manifestations fear. External refers to how an individual looks, while internal refers to physiological processes occurring in the body. Because of all these processes, fear is classified as a negative emotion, which negatively affects the entire body, increasing the pulse and heartbeat, accordingly increasing blood pressure, and sometimes vice versa, increasing sweating, changing the composition of the blood (releasing the hormone adrenaline).

The essence of fear is that an individual, being afraid, tries to avoid situations that provoke negative emotions. Strong fear, being a toxic emotion, provokes the development of various diseases.

Fears are observed in all individuals. Neurotic fear is observed in every third inhabitant of the Earth, but if it reaches strength, it turns into horror and this takes the individual out of control of consciousness, and as a result there is numbness, panic, defensiveness, and flight. Therefore, the emotion of fear is justified and serves for the survival of the individual, however, it can also take pathological forms that will require the intervention of doctors. Each fear performs a specific function and arises for a reason.

Fear of heights protects you from falling from a mountain or balcony; fear of getting burned makes you not go close to the fire, and, therefore, protects you from injury. Fear of public speaking forces you to prepare more carefully for speeches and take rhetoric courses, which should help in career growth. It is natural that an individual tries to overcome personal fears. If the source of danger is uncertain or unconscious, then the state that arises is called anxiety.

Panic fear

This condition never arises without reason. For its development, a number of factors and conditions are necessary: ​​anxiety, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, hypochondria,.

A depressed person’s psyche quickly reacts to any stimuli and therefore restless thoughts can undermine a person’s capacity. Anxiety and accompanying conditions gradually turn into neurosis, and neuroses, in turn, provoke the emergence of panic fear.

This condition cannot be predicted, since it can occur at any time: at work, on the street, in transport, in a store. A panic state is the body’s defensive reaction to a perceived or imaginary threat. Panic causeless fear is characterized by the following symptoms: suffocation, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, trembling, stupor, chaos of thoughts. Some cases are marked by chills or vomiting. Such conditions last from an hour to two for one or two times a week. The stronger the mental disorder, the longer and more frequent it is.

Often this condition can occur against the background of overwork and exhaustion of the body in emotionally unstable people. In most cases, women fall into this category as they are emotional, vulnerable, and react sharply to stress. However, men also experience panic for no reason, but try not to admit it to others.

Panic fear does not disappear on its own, and panic attacks will haunt patients. Treatment is carried out strictly under the supervision of psychiatrists, and relieving symptoms with alcohol only aggravates the situation, and panic will appear not only after stress, but also when nothing threatens.

Fear of pain

Since it is common for a person to periodically be afraid of something, this is a normal reaction of our body, which reflects the fulfillment protective functions. Frequent experiences of this kind include fear of pain. Having previously experienced pain, the individual at an emotional level tries to avoid a repetition of this sensation and fear acts as a protective mechanism that prevents dangerous situations.

Fear of pain is not only useful, but also harmful. A person, not understanding how to get rid of this condition, long time tries not to visit the dentist or avoids an important operation, as well as an examination method. In this case, fear has a destructive function and must be fought against. Confusion about how to effectively get rid of the fear of pain only aggravates the situation and pushes towards the formation of a panic reaction.

Modern medicine now has different ways pain relief, therefore the fear of pain is predominantly only psychological in nature. This negative emotion is rarely formed from previously experienced experiences. Most likely, a person’s fear of pain from injuries, burns, or frostbite is strong, and this is a protective function.

Treatment of fears

Before starting therapy, it is necessary to diagnose within the framework of what mental disorder fears appear. Phobias occur with, hypochondria, depression, in the structure neurotic disorders, panic attacks, panic disorders.

The feeling of fear occupies a significant place in clinical picture somatic diseases(hypertension, bronchial asthma and others). Fear can also be a normal reaction of an individual to the situation in which he finds himself. That's why correct diagnosis is responsible for treatment tactics. The development of the disease, from the point of view of pathogenesis, should be treated in the totality of symptoms, and not in its individual manifestations.

Fear of pain can be effectively treated with psychotherapeutic methods and is eliminated with therapy that is individual in nature. Many people who do not have special knowledge on getting rid of the fear of pain mistakenly think that this is an inevitable feeling and therefore live with it for many years. In addition to psychotherapeutic methods of treating this phobia, homeopathic treatment is used.

People's fears are very difficult to correct. IN modern society It is not customary to discuss your fears. People publicly discuss illnesses and attitudes towards work, but as soon as you start talking about fears, a vacuum immediately appears. People are ashamed of their phobias. This attitude towards fears has been instilled since childhood.

Correction of fears: take a sheet of white paper and write down all your fears. In the center of the sheet, place the most significant phobia that interferes with your life. And be sure to understand the reasons for this condition.

How to get rid of fear

Every person is able to learn to overcome his fears, otherwise it will be difficult for him to achieve his goals, fulfill his dreams, achieve success and be realized in all directions of life. There are various techniques for getting rid of phobias. It is important to develop the habit of actively acting and not paying attention to the fears that arise along the way. In this case, a negative emotion is a simple reaction that arises in response to any efforts to create something new.

Fear can arise from trying to do something against your beliefs. Understand that each person develops a personal worldview over a certain period of time, and when trying to change it, it is necessary to overcome fear.

Fear can be strong or weak, depending on the power of persuasion. A person is not born successful. We are often not raised to be successful people. It is very important to act despite personal fear. Tell yourself: “Yes, I’m scared, but I will do it.” While you hesitate, your phobia grows, exulting, turning into powerful weapon against you. The longer you hesitate, the more you grow it in your mind. But as soon as you begin to act, the fear will immediately disappear. It turns out that fear is an illusion that does not exist.

The cure for fear is to accept your phobia and, resigned, step towards it. You shouldn't fight it. Admit to yourself: “Yes, I’m scared.” There is nothing wrong with this, you have the right to be afraid. The moment you acknowledge it, it rejoices, and then it weakens. And you start taking action.

How to get rid of fear? Assess the worst-case scenario for the expected development of events using logic. When fear appears, think about the worst-case scenario if suddenly, no matter what, you decide to act. Even the worst case scenario is not as scary as the unknown.

What causes fear? Fear's most powerful weapon is the unknown. It seems terrible, cumbersome and impossible to overcome. If your assessment is really real and the terrible condition does not go away, then it is worth thinking about whether in this case the phobia acts as a natural defensive reaction. Maybe you really need to give up further action because your negative emotion is keeping you out of trouble. If the fear is not justified and the worst case scenario is not that bad, then go ahead and act. Remember that fear lives where there is doubt, uncertainty and indecision.

The cure for fear is to remove doubts and there will be no room left for fear. This state has such power because it causes negative images in the consciousness of what we do not need and the person feels discomfort. When a person decides to do something, doubts evaporate instantly, since the decision has been made and there is no turning back.

What causes fear? As soon as fear arises in a person, a scenario of failures and failures begins to scroll through the mind. These thoughts negatively affect emotions, and they control life. The lack of positive emotions greatly influences the emergence of indecisiveness in actions, and time of inaction ingrains the individual’s own insignificance. A lot depends on determination: whether you get rid of fear or not.

Fear keeps the human mind's attention on the negative development of an event, and the decision concentrates on a positive outcome. When making any decision, we focus on how wonderful it will be when we overcome fear and ultimately get a good result. This allows you to have a positive attitude, and the main thing is to fill your mind with pleasant scenarios, where there will be no room for doubts and fears. However, remember that if at least one negative thought associated with a negative emotion arises in your head, then multiple similar thoughts will immediately arise.

How to get rid of fear? Despite the fear, act. You know what you are afraid of, and this is a big plus. Analyze your fear and answer the questions: “What exactly am I afraid of?”, “Is this really worth being afraid of?”, “Why am I afraid?”, “Does my fear have a basis?”, “What is more important for me: making an effort?” over yourself or never achieve what you want?” Ask yourself questions more often. Analyze your phobias, since analysis occurs at a logical level, and fears are emotions that are stronger than logic and therefore always win. Having analyzed and realized, a person independently comes to the conclusion that fear makes absolutely no sense. It only worsens life, making it anxious, nervous and dissatisfied with its results. Are you still afraid?

How to get rid of fear? You can fight fear with feelings (emotions). To do this, sitting comfortably in a chair, scroll through scenarios in your head of what you are afraid of and how you do what you are afraid of. The mind is unable to distinguish imaginary events from real ones. After overcoming the imaginary fear in your head, it will be much easier for you to cope with the given task in reality, since at the subconscious level the model of events has already been strengthened.

The self-hypnosis method, namely visualization of success, will be effective and powerful in the fight against fears. After ten minutes of visualization, you feel better and it is easier to overcome fear. Remember that you are not alone in your phobias. All people are afraid of something. This is fine. Your task is to learn to act in the presence of fear, and not pay attention to it, being distracted by other thoughts. When fighting fear, a person becomes weaker energetically, since the negative emotion sucks out all the energy. A person destroys fear when he completely ignores it and is distracted by other events.

How to get rid of fear? Train and develop courage. If you are afraid of rejection, there is no point in fighting it by trying to minimize the number of rejections. People who are unable to cope with fear reduce such situations to nothing and, in general, do practically nothing, which makes them unhappy in life.

Imagine that training courage is akin to pumping up muscles in the gym. First, we train with a light weight that can be lifted, and then we gradually switch to a heavier weight and try to lift it. A similar situation exists with fears. Initially, we train with minor fear, and then switch to stronger fear. For example, the fear of public speaking in front of a large audience is eliminated by training in front of a small number of people, gradually increasing the audience several times.

How to overcome fear?

Practice normal communication: in line, on the street, in transport. Use neutral themes for this. The point is to first overcome small fears, and then move on to more significant ones. Practice constantly.

How to overcome fear using other methods? Boost your self-esteem. There is a certain pattern: the better your opinion of yourself, the fewer phobias you have. Personal self-esteem protects against fears and its objectivity does not matter at all. Therefore, people with high self-esteem are able to do more than people with objective self-esteem. Being in love, people overcome very strong fear in the name of their desires. Any positive emotion helps in overcoming fears, and all negative ones only hinder.

How to overcome fear?

There is a wonderful statement that the brave is not the one who is not afraid, but the one who acts despite his feelings. Take steps step by step, taking minimal steps. If you are afraid of heights, gradually increase the height.

Don't give too much importance to some aspects of your life. The lighter and more insignificant the attitude towards life's moments, the less anxiety. Give preference to spontaneity in business, since careful preparation and scrolling through your head provokes the development of excitement and anxiety. Of course, you need to plan things, but you shouldn’t get hung up on it. If you decide to act, then act, and do not pay attention to the trembling of the mind.

How to overcome fear? Understanding your specific situation can help with this. A person is afraid when he does not understand what exactly he needs and what he personally wants. The more we are afraid, the more clumsily we act. In this case, spontaneity will help, and do not be afraid of refusals, negative results. In any case, you did it, showed courage and this is your small achievement. Be friendly, a good mood helps in the fight against fears.

Self-knowledge helps in overcoming fears. It happens that a person does not know his own capabilities and is not confident in his abilities, due to the lack of support from others. When harshly criticized, many people's confidence drops sharply. This happens because a person does not know himself and receives information about himself from other people. It is important to know that understanding other people is a subjective concept. Many people often cannot understand themselves, let alone give others a real assessment.

Knowing yourself means accepting yourself as you are and being yourself. It is human nature to act without fear, when one is not ashamed to be oneself. By acting decisively, you express yourself. Overcoming your fears means learning, developing, becoming wiser, stronger.

We have much more animal essence than we imagine.

In our every movement, every action there is an animal -

- whether we want it or not.

For everything we do is done through reflexes.

We even think with reflexes.

Because a thought - in the brain - is a series of electrical impulses.

And this is a reflex mechanism.

Therefore, in order to understand yourself,

you must first know the animal that sits within you .

- What is fear?

- What is horror?

— H what is it - anger, joy, euphoria?

- All these are manifestations of the animal essence in man. For they are generated by the reflex activity of our body: emotion and there are manifestations of only and only reflex activity. And in essence, they reflect the degree of satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) of reflexes.

Everything is very simple and logical.

Everything - absolutely everything - that we do, every act of our life, is carried out through reflexes. This was perfectly proven by the “father” of higher physiology nervous activity- I.P. Pavlov - back at the beginning of the last century. There is no other mechanism for interaction between our body and the surrounding reality.

- If the reflex is not satisfied (the execution of the reflex did not lead to the elimination of the cause of the reflex), then the person experiences negative emotions: frustration, anger, fear, grief, etc.

- If the execution of the reflex is completed successfully, then the person experiences positive emotions: satisfaction, joy, euphoria...

The article is written in a language understandable to those who have little knowledge of the physiology of higher nervous activity in humans. Pundits can familiarize themselves in more detail with scientific justification some provisions of the author in the book “Physiological Foundations of Psychology”.

Let's imagine a hypothetical situation:

A certain person needs to get from point A to point B. The path between points A and B passes along a mountain path. Travel time is 2 hours. Our traveler is young, strong, healthy. He has walked this path many times; he knows all its features perfectly. So he sees no danger in this journey. Except for one fact: in 3 hours an avalanche should come down from the top of the mountain and cover the path. But our traveler knows that he will cover the entire path in two hours - as has always been the case, and he sets off.

Antagonism.

There is a threat to life here, in the form of an avalanche, which will kill a person if it covers him on the trail. He has a chance of dying, but these chances are slim. This threat is easily overcome: the traveler only needs to follow the path before it is covered by an avalanche. Since our traveler always made this journey in 2 hours, he will avoid this danger without much difficulty.

The presence of a constant, albeit weak, but still threat to life will cause the formation of a persistent focus of excitation in the brain. This source of excitement will not disappear until the person’s senses report: “That’s it, the dangerous area has been passed, the threat to life has been eliminated.” Here there is a state of dissatisfaction with the reflex arc: while the senses continuously report the existence of a threat to life, and the execution of reflexes (in this case, movement reflexes) has not eliminated this threat.

This threat to life, where the chances of dying are very slim, qualifies as easily overcome danger uh, how mild degree dissatisfaction of the reflex arc.

Since the danger is illusory and distant, the signal irradiated by the center of displeasure ( nerve center in the brain that radiates excitation processes ), will be a weak signal. Its action reduces the excitability thresholds of reflex arcs, motor reflexes and nerve centers of the sensory organs. Since the signal is weak, the decrease in the excitability threshold will be insignificant. This state, on the scale of emotions, is characterized as ANTAGONISM.

An easily overcome danger always means the presence in the central nervous system of ready-made reflex arcs that will eliminate this danger. The signal excites, first of all, these arcs. The reflex is executed, and to the centers of displeasure and pleasure ( nerve center in the brain that radiates inhibition processes ) feedback signals are received about the execution of these reflex arcs. Since the execution of these reflexes (enough high speed walking, allowing you to pass the dangerous area in time) leads to a slow, but still, elimination of the danger, then the excitation does not spread further through the central nervous system, remaining within the listed reflex arcs.

Our traveler will be in a state of antagonism; this easily overcome danger will slightly disturb him, but no more. The traveler will move with a firm step, confidently, and at a rapid pace along the path. He will try not to think about the danger, but his thoughts will constantly return to it. All his actions will be concentrated and purposeful to fulfill the goal: to have time to walk along the path before it is covered by an avalanche.

Anger.

Now let's imagine that our traveler suddenly has a problem: he stumbled and twisted his leg. It hurts to step on his foot, the speed of his progress has dropped sharply. The threat of death has increased, but the situation is far from hopeless: this man, even with a sore leg, will have time to walk along the trail before the avalanche occurs.

The chances of dying in an avalanche have increased, but still, they are less than the chances of surviving. But to survive, he will now have to put in a lot more effort and endure pain. The situation, therefore, from an easily overcome danger, turned into insurmountable danger .

Our traveler's state on the tone scale is now defined as ANGER. Indeed, this person will become very angry: at the stone on which he tripped, at the leg that is now causing so much trouble, at the path that stretches endlessly, at the relatives because of whom he set off on the journey, at himself, that he dared to go on this journey, in the sun that is so hot, in the presence of a bird that sings carefree, in the face of an avalanche - damn it! In general, he will be terribly angry at everything in the world.

What happens in the central nervous system of a person who finds himself in such a situation?

In the central nervous system of our traveler, as we know, there already exists a persistent focus of weak excitation, aimed at eliminating the threat to life. Due to the easy surmountability of the danger, this focus of excitation was limited: excitation covered the motor nerve centers skeletal muscles and nerve centers of the sense organs. The reflexes of the instinct of self-preservation were fulfilled, the person confidently overcame the existing threat to his life.

But then the central nervous system receives information informing about a new obstacle that has arisen, sharply increasing the threat to life. This information is about a twisted leg. Information about weak dissatisfaction of the reflex arcs of the instinct of self-preservation, arriving at the center of displeasure, is replaced by information about the increased degree of dissatisfaction of the instinct: the sore leg has sharply slowed down the speed of movement, which significantly increases the chances of dying in an avalanche.

This information leads to an increase in the excitatory signal emanating from the center of displeasure. Which leads to a further decrease in the excitability thresholds of the reflex arcs of the motor centers and the nerve centers of the sensory organs. The strength of excitement is growing. Now many impulses in reflex arcs, previously of subthreshold strength, automatically acquire the threshold strength for these reflex arcs. Result: these reflexes begin to work, which leads to a sharp increase in motor activity. This should increase the speed of movement and, accordingly, increase the chances of rescue. A decrease in the thresholds of excitability of the sense organs leads to the effect of irradiation of excitation through the central nervous system: now all signals coming from the outside have become stronger for the sense organs, and this means the excitation of many reflex arcs for which these incoming signals were previously of subthreshold strength.

The irradiation of excitation to the central nervous system is not a chaotic and disorderly process. First of all, reflex arcs associated with the reflexes of the self-preservation instinct are excited, helping to eliminate the threat to life. This helps to significantly enhance the execution of reflexes. Despite the serious injury, our traveler, although slower, will also move forward confidently, moving away from danger, patiently enduring the pain.

However, such irradiation also has a “side” effect: the instinct of self-preservation, in addition to the motor reflexes involved in the case under consideration, includes a large number of other reflexes associated with the reflexes of the self-preservation instinct. As a result of strong irradiation of excitation, all these reflexes will be excited to one degree or another. As a result, we get that in addition to strengthening the main reflexes that eliminate danger, a whole “bouquet” of other reflexes of the self-preservation instinct is triggered, or is ready to trigger. A person, in addition to actions to fulfill his main goal will sometimes perform unnecessary, superfluous actions in a given situation, scatter his attention on secondary facts. All this happens when a person is in a tone of anger.

Fear

1. Body thinking is reflexive thinking. This is the thinking of the somatic mind, which, as we understand, is capable of thinking only by reflexes. Emotions, like reflexes, are a product of the multimillion-year evolution of life on Earth. From this it is clear that the thinking of the body - reflexive thinking - always corresponds 100% to the person’s state on the scale of emotions.
2. Thinking of the spirit, soul - conceptual thinking. On the contrary, the thinking of the spirit is completely independent of the thinking of the body. A person usually feels the thinking of the spirit as intuition, the subconscious. The independence of conceptual thinking from reflexive thinking also means its independence from emotional tone. No matter how euphoric, or vice versa - apathy - a person is, this will in no way affect his conceptual thinking.
3. Mind thinking is abstract thinking. It is formed by the joint activity of the somatic mind (brain) and the human soul, is carried out in the mind and represents the process of a person’s conscious operation of “pictures” - those sensations that the senses give us. “Conscious” operating is when the human soul controls the processes of reflexive thinking (or: conceptual thinking controls the processes of reflexive thinking)
4. The thinking of the mind is verbal thinking. It is also a product of the joint activity of a person’s soul and his somatic mind and represents a process of a person’s conscious operation with iconic symbols of phenomena - words.

If reflexive thinking and emotional tones perfectly correspond to each other, and conceptual thinking absolutely “doesn’t care” what emotional tone a person is in, then abstract and verbal thinking are caught between a “hammer and a hard place” - between the thinking of the body and the thinking of the spirit.

The reason, as always, is to blame for this - as the area of ​​joint activity of two most perfect phenomena - the human soul and his somatic mind. Alas, their perfection does not give rise to the same perfection in their joint activities. Each of them exists according to its own laws, different from the laws of existence of the partner. This, first of all, concerns the goals of their existence and activities - they are too different from each other.

The purpose of the somatic mind: to ensure the survival of the biological organism in conditions environment. That is: to ensure his safety and protect him from all kinds of troubles.

Purpose of the soul: collecting information. At the same time, both information that is survival for a person and non-survival is equally important to her. Moreover, at certain stages of a person’s life, his soul deliberately “substitutes” his body, placing it in clearly unsurvival conditions.

This difference in goals gives rise to human imperfection and distortions in the activity of his mind. And this is especially clearly manifested in the impact of a person’s emotional tone on his abstract and verbal thinking. You can even derive the law of emotional adequacy.

Law of Emotional Adequacy

LAW OF EMOTIONAL ADEQUACY: the degree of adequacy of a person’s verbal and abstract thinking with the information he operates on depends on his state on the scale of emotions in this moment time: the more his state deviates, on the scale of emotions, from the tones of boredom, satisfaction and confidence, the more inadequate his verbal and abstract thinking is.

The mechanism here is simple. The state of human boredom corresponds to the optimal background balance of the processes of inhibition and excitation in the human central nervous system. At this moment, a person adequately evaluates all incoming information. There is no threat to survival, all nerve impulses follow well-trodden paths: along nerve pathways corresponding reflex arcs are not distorted or deviated. All incoming information completely satisfies the somatic mind.

But everything changes with a change in emotions (emotional tone). A change in emotional tone means a corresponding disturbance in the background balance of inhibition and excitation. There is a decrease or increase in the excitability thresholds of reflex arcs, inhibition or excitation of additional reflexes. The corresponding nerve centers of information are excited or inhibited. All this happens through neurohumoral regulation nervous processes. Reflexive thinking here fully corresponds to the emotional tone.

But the soul “doesn’t care” about emotions. It physically cannot strengthen some concepts or inhibit others. She “doesn’t give a damn” how much adrenaline was released into the blood from the information received by the central nervous system. In response to incoming information, the human soul continues to give adequate answers. In the central nervous system, sensory nerve centers corresponding to response concepts are excited.

But here the somatic mind comes into its own. Which, in turn, “doesn’t give a damn” about the interests of “outsiders”: who and what nerve centers are trying to excite in his domain. It extinguishes or enhances the excitation of these NCs only depending on which reflex arcs and which reflexes they enter. At the same time, completely ignoring the conceptual thought that they carry. The somatic mind distorts this conceptual thought.

Result: a person becomes incapable of adequate abstract and verbal thinking when emotions deviate from the tones of mild antagonism, boredom, satisfaction - a normal degree of confidence.

For example, a person in a state of horror is asked to perform mathematical calculations of average difficulty. In a state of horror, as we discussed above, excitation in the central nervous system reaches its highest value: it becomes excited maximum amount reflex arcs. At the same time, many arcs contradict each other, there is complete chaos and severe enterbulation in the central nervous system. Under such conditions, even a mathematical genius will not be able to perform such calculations.

A striking example of the manifestation of the law of emotional adequacy is “Stockholm Syndrome (see the article “Stockholm Syndrome”)

Why is it precisely in the tones of mild antagonism, boredom, satisfaction and a normal degree of confidence, and not just in the tone of boredom - the ideal background balance of the processes of inhibition and excitation - that a person retains the ability for adequate abstract and verbal thinking. The answer is extremely simple: natural selection.

The tone of boredom is the zero point at which a person is able to adequately assess the situation. But he lacks incentives to take further actions. And this in no way corresponds to the purpose of collecting information. Therefore, a person, as a binary being, simply benefits from a slight degree of unsurvivability (sometimes even an insurmountable danger) - as an incentive to take action to master the surrounding reality. Accordingly: the response in response to overcoming an easily overcome and intractable danger is also survival: a tone of satisfaction and confidence.

By and large, everything depends on the human soul: on its goals at a given stage of development. There are also extreme manifestations when the soul is much closer (depending on the required degree of non-survival of information) tones of anger, fear... Accordingly, here we see an adventurer, a person who hates boredom, adores danger, loves adrenaline in the blood, without hesitation rushing into various risky undertakings .

We recognize binary human essence: a person is a combination of two principles: soul and body - spiritual essence and biological basis. Against this background, a person’s emotionality is an important indicator of the balance of these two principles. If a person is easily influenced by emotions, that is: if his behavior strongly depends on the degree of satisfaction - dissatisfaction of his reflex arcs, then this means the predominance of a biological basis in him. The spiritual component in him is still quite weak.

Vice versa. If a person is little influenced by emotions, then this means that he is less dependent on the degree of satisfaction of his reflex arcs and the greater role of spirituality in himself.

The emotion of fear is a real part of our lives. People remember this emotion reluctantly and relive their memories again and again with hostility and horror.

A person can experience fear in a variety of situations, but all these situations have one thing in common. They are felt and perceived as situations in which peace and security are threatened. This creates a feeling of insecurity and a feeling of loss of control over your life. A feeling of uncertainty about the future is one example of the emergence of fear - fear of the future, as it is experienced by a person as a threat to personal well-being.

Fear consists of certain and quite specific physiological changes, expressive behavior and specific experiences based on the expectation of threat or danger. In young children, as well as in animals, the feeling of threat or danger is associated with physical discomfort, with troubles in the physical “I”. The fear with which they react to a threat is initially a fear of physical harm.

The intense experience of fear is remembered for a long time. Fear can cause a person to freeze in place, thereby rendering him helpless, or, conversely, can cause him to rush away from danger. It is usually not difficult to name cases even from early childhood when you were very frightened by something. Such incidents are remembered for a long time and are remembered as if it happened yesterday. The place, environment and objects associated with the experience of fear remain significant for a person for many years.

People suffering phobias, know better than anyone how strong fear certain objects, events or situations can cause in a person and how difficult it is to get rid of this fear, even if it is completely unfounded. The problem of controlling the emotion of fear, especially in the case of phobias, still remains unresolved in the science of human behavior. Getting rid of a phobia is often impossible without help. qualified specialist psychologist or psychiatrist.

As a person grows up, the nature of objects changes, fearful. Potential for physical harm for most people in mature age no longer poses a threat, if only due to its rarity. Much more often, things that can hurt pride and lower self-esteem begin to frighten. A person develops a fear of failures and psychological losses, which can produce a real revolution in the soul of each of us.

Some scientists consider the development of the emotion of fear in early childhood as a lack of emotional attachment between mother and child. Other scientists tend to view the emergence of fear as a result of exposure to specific events and situations.

Classic causes of the emotion of fear the following can be considered:

· Homeostatic processes.

The absence at a certain moment of processes that ensure the vital activity of the body (homeostasis) causes severe panic. Such processes include breathing, nutrition, etc. The need for oxygen is one of the vital needs of a living organism, and the powerful affect that accompanies the feeling of suffocation guarantees immediate concentration on satisfying the need, and therefore is one of the most important factors security.

· Pain and anticipation of pain (anticipation).

Fear caused by pain very quickly leads to learning to avoid any object, event or situation associated with it. In the future, the expectation of pain causes fear only when a person is not confident that he will be able to avoid danger.

· Sudden changes in the situation.

Sudden changes in the situation, to which a person is not able to quickly adapt, can serve as a danger signal for him and cause an emotion of fear. Such situations include:

Sudden loss supports, for example, the absence of a river bottom in the place where it was expected to be found, so-called holes or pools, etc.;

The sudden approach of an object can cause fear, anger, crying, the desire to run away, etc., which indicates the discomfort of this situation and serves as a manifestation of a defensive reaction;

The unusualness of the appearing object, and the fear caused in this case, is considered as a warning signal about a possible danger; any unfamiliar stimulus characterized by a high degree of inconsistency with past experience will activate fear in direct proportion to the improbability of the object itself (for example, fear in stories about real or imaginary encounters with aliens is often called panic).

· Height.

Height activates the emotion of fear and serves as a natural danger signal.

· Other emotions.

Any emotion can activate fear according to the principle of emotional contagion, but most of all this applies to the emotions of interest, surprise and fear. The appearance of fear in this case is due to the similarity of the neurophysiological mechanisms of their occurrence. Studies have been conducted in which subjects were hypnotically instilled with fear. In this case, the subjects not only experienced fear, but also simultaneously sought to study the object of fear and avoid it. When experiencing fear, excitement or surprise, a person receives his own emotional experience ( feedback) and this can enhance the experience itself, i.e. the experience of fear at the sight of something too unusual in itself frightens a person.

· Memories of a specific object.

Fear can be caused mentally, through the memory of a certain situation or the people (objects) involved in it. The memory of experienced fear or the expectation of fear itself can be an activator of fear, which often reflects not a real threat, but a fictitious one. As a result of such ideas, a person begins to fear people or situations that do not represent him at the moment. real threat(see phobias). The process of formation of phobic fears goes through the following stages:

Formation of hypotheses (imaginary sources of harm);

Expectation of harm;

Anticipation of a direct confrontation with an imaginary object of fear.

In fact, many people with phobias often cannot name a single instance in which the object of their fear caused them pain or harm. For example, some people are afraid of snakes, although they have not only never been bitten by a snake, but have never encountered one in reality. Others are afraid of flying on airplanes, although they have never been in a plane crash, etc.

Thus, fears and phobias appear not only in connection with real memories from past experiences, but can also be a figment of fantasy.

· Loneliness.

When left alone, a person often experiences this state as a loss of security and a threat to life. And to get rid of this type of fear, it is enough for a person to be among people. Fear of loneliness is an ancient, evolutionarily significant fear. Young children have little chance of survival if left without an adult for long periods of time. Subconsciously, the fear of loneliness is associated with the fear of disruption of homeostatic processes (see above), which directly poses a threat to a person’s life at any age.

To determine the level subjective feeling In order to measure your loneliness, you can use the Loneliness Scale questionnaire proposed by D. Russell, L. Peploe and M. Fergusson.

Questionnaire “Loneliness Scale”

Instructions: “You are offered a number of statements (see Table 5). Consider each one sequentially and evaluate in terms of the frequency of their occurrence in relation to your life using four answer options: “often,” “sometimes,” “rarely,” “never.” Mark the selected answer with a “+” sign.

Table 5. Text of the questionnaire.

Emotions and feelings receive a lot of attention in psychology, one of them is fear. Fear may have an instinctive basis, but it can stem from a collision with something scary (conditional). The body remembers the reaction to fear, and then, when the opportunity arises, reproduces it. Information about experienced emotions is stored in i.e. the body learns to react this way. And what more people chews on disturbing thoughts, the more they become entrenched in neural pathways accompanying emotions and how to respond to them.

Often, an attempt to reframe unpleasant thoughts and memories even worse perpetuates the reaction. Neurons store information about previous states and are connected to other nerve cells in the form of long-lasting connections (archive memory). The fear reaction begins with the appearance of an external irritant-stimulus. It is quite complex, but nevertheless, all roads of fear lead to the hypothalamus, and the tonsils play the most important role in its formation ( amygdala), which is located near the temporal part.

The emotion of fear or the feeling of fear?

Feelings of fear appear

What does the feeling of fear depend on?

Upbringing

The manifestation of fear depends on the family situation and upbringing. Often, many parents, without realizing it themselves, instill fears in their children. By intimidating him with Babai, gray wolf, Baba Yaga, or other characters. The fact is that if you constantly scare a child, he will be afraid as an adult. , often affect the entire subsequent life of a person. After all, the reaction to fear is remembered by the body and stored in the connections of neurotransmitters. And when necessary, I remember. that is, the body learns to remember the reaction to danger. Naturally, children raised in dysfunctional families and in families with one parent have more fears. In addition, it has been noticed that children with limited communication have more fears.

Peculiarities of upbringing and social environment also influence the feeling of fear. Particularly bad influence on the younger generation: intimidation, criticism, especially without reason, disapproval and punishment. On television they even conducted an experiment on the reaction of constant approval and constant punishment. The experience was as follows. 2 is enough large groups volunteers, all members of which were approximately the same in age and strength, and every day they were loaded with the same command physical activity. On one day, running several tens of kilometers, on another, carrying stones, on the third, even more. Moreover, these 2 groups lived in separate tents and this lasted about a month. One group of volunteers was constantly scolded, even if they won team competitions, faults were found in their activities, and they were punished every day.

The other team was constantly praised, encouraged and approved, also regardless of the results. As a result of the experiment, it turned out that at first, the group that was scolded won the competition a couple of times in a row, then by about the middle of the experiment their score was equal, and by the end it turned out that the group, which was praised and encouraged, won by a landslide. What am I getting at? Encouragement and approval produces more meaningful results in the long run. Even if your child drew on the wallpaper, you need to try to pull yourself together and say that he drew it beautifully, but if he drew it on paper, the drawing would be preserved, and you and he could show everyone and brag, and the wallpaper will soon will be torn off and new ones will be glued on.

Features of culture

The development of a sense of fear also depends on the characteristics of culture. The place and role of fears in the life of any person are directly related to his worldview system, attitudes, picture of the world, “grid of existence”, within which corresponding views on the phenomenon of “fear” appear. The picture of the world organizes, with varying degrees of correctness and truth, surrounding a person reality and the position of individual elements in it determines its place in this reality, its abilities, capabilities, as well as the rules of appropriate behavior.

In addition, religion also greatly influences the appearance of fear. In the Abrahamic religions (Muslim, Christianity, Judaism), fear is almost the main regulator of relationships and social life. That fear is the basis of virtue is noted in both the Quran and the Bible. There are no appeals to fear in religions that are close to philosophy: Judaism, Buddhism. There, on the contrary, fear is a feeling that needs to be gotten rid of. are quite closely related.

Age

Each age has its own characteristics; the feeling of fear depends on age. At each age, certain types of fears predominate. In childhood, biological fears predominate: fears of heights, darkness, bright light, sharp sounds; and in adulthood, social fears, and fear of responsibility, fear of rejection by society, fear of failure; in old age . In addition, there is a tendency that as one grows and ages, fears decrease, i.e. a person gains experience, knowledge and can cope with his fears.

Genetic background

There are a lot of types of fear, some scientists number about two hundred of them, people have a genetic predisposition to certain types of fear, and how it will be expressed, and whether it will be expressed at all, depends on actualization, temperament, culture, and characteristics of upbringing. Psychological characteristics of personality: neuroticism, accentuation, temperament depend on genes. That is, fears for the most part have biological nature, but they also have a social imprint

Fear can be described in different terms depending on its severity. Anxiety, fear, horror, persecution mania. Anxiety is usually not called fear, but anticipation, a premonition of fear, but on its basis it arises. Anxiety is fear that is not conscious, or without a clear reason. The tendency to anxiety is also genetically transmitted. Fright is a sudden, strong fear that begins to threaten sharply and quickly. Terror is an intense fear that causes overwhelming and painful sensations, generated by something terrible and shocking. Persecution mania is a complex behavior in which the sufferer mistakenly fears that he is being persecuted or is afraid of becoming a victim of persecution.

Psyche

In addition to the feeling of fear, it depends on the mental components of the individual. Usually fears are transmitted genetically or appear with experience, and you cannot get rid of them, only slightly correct them. A person's tendency to depression is also genetically transmitted. panic attacks, suicide, etc. Most often, the tendency to certain types of fear is inherited (and then, on top of this, external factors). This is explained by the fact that parents and adults often have similar psychological characteristics. In particular, such a characteristic is temperament. The speed and stability of mental processes and their depth depend on the characteristics of temperament. This is why people with a strong temperament feel emotions more strongly. In addition to this, another genetic and psychological feature is accentuation. Accentuation, extremely pronounced character traits that are on the verge of the norm. Interaction with society, people and the tendency to appear certain types fear.

Fear is a basic emotion

All people are afraid of something. The world of living nature is wisely arranged, and it is no coincidence that the feeling of fear is inherent in everyone. It can be compared to a talisman. Why does he protect? In order for life to continue with minimal losses.

So what are people afraid of? Literally everything - illness, war, frost, heat, hunger, water, fire, darkness, mice, icicles overhead... Adults' fears are still "adult", but children's fears are more and more "childish", causing a smile in former children, since they, too, once “went through this.”

The emotion of fear is the most recognizable by children, as is the emotion of joy. And, like the emotion of joy, it is contagious. However, you want to retain the positive effect of joy in the child, but fear must be handled very carefully to avoid its negative effect. And this is how I do it.

In development classes emotional sphere For older preschoolers, I consider the emotion of fear after becoming familiar with the emotions of joy, surprise, and timidity. And that's why. This emotion is twofold.

On the one hand, it is inherent in all living things, on the other, if it is hypertrophied, then it itself becomes dangerous for a person, especially a small one. Therefore, when I talk about her, I make sure to introduce her to her facial features using the “fear” pictogram (eyes wide open, mouth slightly open, as if screaming) and pantomime in photos and drawings of children susceptible to fear: the child is screaming, looking scared, or cowering in fear , head pulled into shoulders (Fig. 1, 2, 3).

The story about the girl Galya

I'll tell you a story about a girl Galya. Listen to her carefully, and then we’ll try to act out the scene. (The goal is to teach children to express their emotional state through movements, to give them experience of experiencing a negative situation.)

Galya came to her grandmother in the village. One day she walked near the river where geese were swimmingTami and the goose families were basking on the shore, vomiting flowers, sang songs and heard what was behind her someone hisses: “Sh-sh-sh...” Galya turned around and I saw a big goose. She got scared and ran la home. She ran to her grandmother and said: “I was scared of the goose! He hissed loudly and wanted me pinch".

The grandmother hugged her granddaughter and reassured her, saying that, apparently she came close to the goose family, and the goose protected the goose and the goslings. Don't disturb them it is necessary, and the goose will not offend.

This story is sure to be played out by the kids, they get the experience of living safely in this game form, also gain experience in responding to fear. You can be scared, but there is someone who will help you cope with your fear, for example, your grandmother, who will calm you down and explain the reason for your fear, and then the fear will come to an end.

And then comes the most important part of the lesson, in my opinion. I take an album, pencils and tell the children that people, even adults like me, are afraid of something, and now I will draw what I am afraid of. I draw a blue cloud and raindrops with a colored pencil. The children comment with disappointment: “He’s afraid of the rain.” And then, when I finish drawing the lightning, I say: “Yes, children, even though I am an adult, I am still afraid of a thunderstorm with fiery lightning and powerful peals of thunder.” And I continue that there is something that helps me cope with my fear. This is home. And I quickly finish drawing the house. “When I come home in a thunderstorm, that’s it, my fear disappears!” And I invite the children to think about what they are afraid of, draw their fear and be sure to draw something that helps them cope with it. Children are always thoughtful. But then, after a little thought, they begin to draw with concentration.

I would like to add one important, in my opinion, nuance. I arrange the children in a circle - so that they sit with their backs to the center and at the same time at a distance from each other. I do this on purpose so that the children have minimal contact with each other when they draw. This will help them focus on their own experiences and display it in a drawing. While the children are drawing their fears, I try not to approach them or interfere with the progress of their work. And at this time I continue to draw and add darkness and a lantern with bright light (Fig. 4).

When the drawings are completed, all children turn to face the center of the circle and put their creations on display. I call it “Our Opening Day”. We take turns telling who is afraid of what and what helps to cope with it. I start the story again. I tell you that I also feel uncomfortable in the dark, but when the light comes on, my soul immediately becomes calmer.

It happens that a child draws his fear, but the second part - overcoming it - is missing. Then we all come up with a “salvation” together, and the child completes the missing part of the picture, choosing the option that suits him.

This art therapeutic technique is very appropriate, because by depicting a child’s specific fear, we look for and find a counterbalance to it. The fear displayed on paper is spoken out among peers (with the help of a teacher). At the opening day, I try to ask the children about every detail in the drawing, because often it is difficult for a child to depict, for example, a ghost, and the children draw a closet, and then say that it is in the closet.

An atmosphere of attention and trust helps children talk about their fears, thereby reducing the level of fear and its pressure on the child, and sometimes the child gets rid of fear altogether. Sometimes children's drawings and stories serve as a reason to meet and consult with their parents. I recommend reviewing the repertoire of films that their child watches, getting rid of aggressive toys and games, and not discussing topics of cruelty and violence in the presence of children; in a word, avoiding everything that can infect children with fears.

Conventionally, children's fears, judging by the drawings and stories, can be divided into:

• darkness, when the tent and the light in it help out (Fig. 5);
• monsters, ghosts, when the bright sun comes to the rescue, a house in which there is light, or parents who are nearby (Fig. 6);
• robbers, when home is like salvation from them (Fig. 7);
• fire, but a bucket of water may help (Fig. 8);
• animals, but the cage can reliably protect (rice. 9);
• get lost, but mom is very close (rice. 10) .

Rice. 5	Rice. 6

Rice. 7	Rice. 8

Rice. 9	Rice. 10

Children's drawings often depict parents as an escape from fear.

When introducing children to this difficult emotion, I always remember the responsibility for the psychological safety of the children at this meeting. And I demonstrate that fear is not something that should be ridiculed and teased as a coward, but something that sometimes happens to everyone, even adults, for example, people like me. And I say that there is something that will definitely help you cope with it. Always!

LITERATURE

Kryukova S.V., Slobodyanik N.P.“I’m surprised, angry, afraid, boastful and happy.” Program for the emotional development of older preschoolers. - M., 2000.

Working with the emotion of fear in older preschoolers.

Lyubov LOBANOVA
educational psychologist, MDOU No. 11 and No. 130,
Nizhneudinsk, Irkutsk region