Self-regulation in psychology: ways, methods and techniques

Self-regulation is the body’s ability to maintain a balance of psycho-emotional state. Each of us has problems and difficulties that lead to depression and apathy and cause a storm of negative emotions. It happens that we worry about something, worry, worsening our mood even more. And at some point you give up, and the desire to act completely disappears. How can self-regulation help in such cases? How can you use it to restore inner harmony and calm down?

What is self-regulation

Mental self-regulation in psychology is the ability of an individual to analyze, evaluate, and then adjust both his own activity and its results. Essentially, this word means to put things in order. In this context, we can say that self-regulation of a person is a person’s conscious and organized influence on his own psyche, the main purpose of which is to change its properties and characteristics in the right direction.

Self-regulation of the body is based on patterns and their consequences, called psychological effects:

• motivating factors that encourage a person to act actively, while directing his efforts to change personal characteristics;
• the result of controlling voluntary or involuntary images arising in the subconscious;
• integrity and unity of cognitive processes that ensure the individual’s ability to influence his own psyche;
• the integrity of parts of consciousness and areas of the unconscious, with the help of which a person carries out self-regulation;
• functional connection between the emotional-volitional part of the personality and bodily experience, thinking.

Psychological self-regulation begins when an individual has a contradiction related to motivation. It can be safely called a driving force that encourages you to reconsider your inner world and some character traits.

Features of RPS methods

Mental self-regulation is ways to manage your own physical, mental and emotional state by performing light exercises, thinking skills or deep visualization. After mastering the technique, you can improve your psycho-emotional state, learn to manage behavior, improve productivity and understand how to make decisions correctly.

Self-regulation in psychology is a diverse phenomenon, the most common approaches to its development are:

• neuromuscular relaxation;
• autogenic and ideomotor training;
• sensory reproduction of images.

The objectives of these methods are:

• reduction of stress or emotional tension;
• reducing the possibility of undesirable consequences;
• mobilization of resources to achieve the plan.

Neuromuscular relaxation

Neuromuscular relaxation is a set of gentle physical exercises designed to reduce nervous tension and relax the muscles of the body.

The main idea of ​​this approach is to calm the psyche through active muscle relaxation. With proper execution and alternation of the necessary exercises, you can achieve maximum relaxation of the body and reduce the manifestation of neurotic conditions and get rid of insomnia.

Autogenic training

Autogenic training (autotraining) is one of the most universal methods of relaxation that you can master on your own. It is a set of mental exercises to relax the body and mind. The essence of the approach is to relieve tension through absolute relaxation, reduce stress and the feeling of fatigue.

Autotraining is in many ways similar to self-hypnosis, since it uses the same techniques to immerse oneself in a deep, calm state, reminiscent of the borderline state between sleep and wakefulness. The classic method of auto-training consists of 2 steps: physical relaxation using mental scanning of the whole body, and deep visualization of relaxation.

Ideomotor training

Ideomotor training is an effective way to improve your own cognitive or professional skills. The essence of the approach is to mentally experience the situation, reproducing the sensations associated with future activity (the sensations of performing, playing sports or playing the piano).

In order for ideomotor training to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to imagine the maximum number of details and your own feelings, to see yourself as an actor.

This training promotes self-programming, increases confidence in one's own competence and gives a sense of control over the situation.

It is necessary to train at 2 levels:

• external (active visualization of the situation);
• internal (imagine visual, auditory and tactile sensations from one’s own experiences at one or another moment of visualization).

Sensory reproduction of images

Sensory imagery is a relaxation method with active visualization of a positive situation that reflects the achievement of the desired (for example, imagining a walk in the forest or a successful public speech).

For this method to bear fruit, you must use deep visualization:

• draw a detailed image of an imaginary situation;
• breathe deeply and slowly;
• try to evoke positive emotions and pleasant sensations from the mental image.

This relaxation technique aims to calm the nervous system and regulate blood pressure.

Self-regulation functions

The main task of self-regulation is to change mental activity so that a person can achieve internal harmony and balance. What does this give?

1. The ability to restrain yourself from “exploding” in a conflict situation. A quarrel can be prevented before it even begins.
2. In times of crisis or severe stress, a person can think adequately and make the right decisions.
3. The individual can regain emotional strength.

And finally, the last function is confrontation with problems. Self-regulation allows you to achieve harmony with yourself and in relationships with others, which significantly improves your quality of life and helps you cope with any difficulties.

History of the discovery of the ability

The first scientist who made a great contribution to the discovery and further development of this skill was I.P. Pavlov. He learned to artificially influence the blood pressure of animals and change it using several methods:

• small cuts;
• introduction of various substances into the blood;
• nerve irritation.

He proved that after a change in blood pressure, it is enough to wait a little for it to recover. Thanks to this, the principle of self-regulation was developed. With the help of further research, the scientist found that this principle applies to all functions of the body.

When is self-regulation needed?

A person experiences the need for self-regulation of mental states in several cases:

• with frequent irritability;
• with imbalance;
• if there is a feeling of emotional overstrain, bad mood;
• with depression, apathy, lack of joy and satisfaction from life;
• with decreased performance and endurance.

There are other factors whose presence prompts you to think about self-regulation. We are talking about a lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem, the inability or even inability to influence what is happening around, a lack of willpower and courage. Here you can add dissatisfaction from interaction with others, for example, failures in your personal life.

It is worth noting the fact that stressful situations are characterized by disturbances not only in the mental state, but also in physical health. Thus, a person’s general health deteriorates, causeless pain and sleep problems appear (most often insomnia). This also includes problems with excess weight. Remember how often in stressful situations we “eat up” negative emotions with something tasty, for example, another piece of cake or candy.

Test of your self-regulation abilities

Give yourself a plus next to each applicable statement. The more of them, the better you can control yourself.

• You adhere to your own values ​​and do not give in to provocations;
• You can bring yourself back to your senses when you are upset or depressed;
• You don’t get lost in difficult situations and are used to relying on yourself;
• You know how to adapt to circumstances;
• When things don’t go according to plan, don’t give up and keep moving towards your goal;
• You see the good in others, don't judge by first impressions;
• Do you prefer open communication, without pitfalls;
• Attentive and patient with the interlocutor;
• You can easily control outbursts of anger and irritation;
• You think of problems as opportunities;
• You strive to finish what you started;
• Don't avoid responsibility;
• If necessary, I am ready to take the situation under my personal control.

Kinds

There are the following types of human self-regulation:

• arbitrary;
• involuntary.

In the first case, a person clearly sees the goal and consciously controls his behavior to achieve it. This is how he develops individuality. In the second, the task of self-regulation is to survive and maintain health. It turns out that subconscious protection is triggered here.

In adulthood and old age, self-regulation is designed to maintain the connection between mind and emotions. But as the body ages, the balance shifts towards the latter.

An individual’s self-regulation is influenced by the conditions of the environment in which he lives, the characteristics of his inner “I” and communication with others, as well as the purpose of his actions.

From all of the above, we can conclude that self-regulation is methods and techniques for controlling feelings and emotions, as well as correct reactions to the norms of behavior and interaction with other people established in society.

Concept

Psychological self-regulation is an objective assessment of the situation, directed activity that allows you to control your own activity and correct the results of your actions.

There are two types of psychological self-defense:

1. Involuntary - natural defense mechanisms that come from the subconscious. Focused on survival.
2. Voluntary - conscious control of actions to achieve a set goal.

Self-regulation itself is formed throughout life, but self-awareness stops developing when a person stops learning responsibility and abandons self-development. Because of this, self-regulation suffers.

In adulthood, control over emotions is exercised by the intellect and is at its highest point. As we age, this balance shifts toward emotions. Because of this, psychologists compare old people with children.

Self-regulation depends on several factors:

• set goals;
• personality traits;
• environmental conditions;
• relationships between the subject and the surrounding world.

It is impossible to establish productive activities without a set goal; for this you need to additionally learn to control emotions.

Theories of self-regulation

In psychology, two theories of self-regulation are known.

System-activity

The author of this theory is L. G. Dikaya. According to her, self-regulation is an activity aimed at adaptation in a professional environment. It is also considered as a system for a person’s transition from unconscious forms of activity to conscious, almost automatic ones.

L. G. Dikaya conventionally identified several levels of mental self-regulation:

1. Involuntary. It is based on excitation and inhibition, as well as activity uncharacteristic of the psyche. Such reactions fade away quickly and cannot be controlled.
2. Arbitrary. Self-regulation is activated in critical situations. Here the intellect is united with emotions. All this manifests itself in increased motor activity, holding your breath, and a feeling of tension in the muscles.
3. Conscious. A person not only realizes the presence of discomfort, but is also able to assess the severity of the condition. As a result, he decides to radically change the situation, using self-control, willpower, psychophysical exercises and auto-training.

The last and most interesting level is purposeful awareness. The individual understands that he can no longer tolerate what is happening in his life. Trying to get rid of unbearable discomfort, he reconsiders his values ​​and priorities, and also analyzes his motives, desires and needs. There are two options for the development of events. In the first case, a person refuses activities that bring inconvenience and takes on his condition. In the second, the individual continues his activity, but at the same time includes self-regulation. Techniques such as self-hypnosis, introspection, and self-persuasion are used here.

In both cases, changes affect both behavior and the personality itself.

System-functional

The author of this theory of self-regulation is A. O. Prokhorov. In his opinion, self-regulation is nothing more than a change from one mental state to another. Moreover, the latter is connected with a person’s idea of ​​the mood that he should have.

In order to obtain the desired reaction to conflict situations, an individual goes through several intermediate states. As a result, the reaction becomes conscious.

Prokhorov believed that the success of self-regulation directly depends on the level of awareness. It is also influenced by the accuracy of the presented image, the realism of feelings and emotions. The correctness of the achieved state is assessed based on bodily sensations, breathing, time, etc.

Components and levels of self-regulation

Self-regulation of emotional states is based on two mechanisms:

1. Self-control. It first appears at about two years of age. It involves giving up something pleasant in order to achieve your goals.
2. Agreement. Every person agrees that there is right and wrong behavior. At the age of 7, children can agree and refuse consciously.

A person who wants to master conscious self-regulation needs qualities such as: responsibility, flexibility, independence, perseverance, etc. You will also need will, the ability to find new motives and incentives to action. Based on this, the following levels of self-regulation can be distinguished:

1. Operational and technical. This is a conscious activity that uses available means and resources.
2. Motivational. This is a conscious direction of activity in the right direction by managing emotions and needs.

Self-regulation is not an automatic psychological defense mechanism. This is a conscious life choice. It is activated in situations where there is a need to change oneself, and not circumstances.

Approaches in psychology

In domestic psychology, the definition of emotional regulation is found in the following contexts:

• self-regulation of personality;
• regulation of behavior;
• mental self-regulation;
• self-regulation of states.

The mechanism of self-regulation and regulation of emotional states was considered by F.B. Berezin. In his works, the regulation of the body is associated with mental adaptation. Berezin argues that psychological defenses counter anxiety and stress. The research conducted led Berezin to the conclusion that there are individual personality characteristics that help to successfully adapt to stress. This is the level of neuropsychic stability, self-esteem, emotional response in conflicts and others.

The well-known approach of R.M. Granovskaya. She divides all methods of emotional regulation into three groups:

1. Eliminating the problem.
2. Reduce the intensity of a problem by changing your perspective.
3. Relieve the impact of a negative situation using a number of methods.

Regulate the condition of R.M. Granovskaya suggests using weakening motivation. For example, you can reduce emotional tension when achieving a goal by concentrating not on the final result, but on tactics.

Features of self-regulation by gender

The emotional state of women is more fragile than that of men. Therefore, they see and perceive most situations differently. Self-regulation in their case does not have the same direction. If for men it is internal, then for the fair sex it is external.

The remaining differences are summarized in the table:

Differences in male and female self-regulation are due to several factors:

• gender stereotypes;
• differences in the upbringing of boys and girls;
• type of professional activity;
• social roles.

You can also add to the list the level of personality development of a particular person, mental state, and age characteristics.

The formation of self-regulation

As mentioned above, a person learns the basics of self-regulation in childhood. The process of its formation looks like this:

1. From 3 to 4 years. In most cases, changes in the functional state occur involuntarily. Involuntary speech and motor methods of self-regulation alternate with voluntary or conscious ones in a ratio of 7-8 to 1.
2. From 4 to 5 years. Children learn to manage their emotions through play. At this age the ratio looks like 4 to 1.
3. From 5 to 6 years. The ratio of involuntary and voluntary self-regulation returns to normal (1 to 1). At this level, children have access to imagination, memory, thinking, and speech.
4. 6-7 years. At this age, the child has access to such methods of self-regulation as self-control and self-correction. The ratio changes in the opposite direction. For every 1 involuntary method of psychological self-regulation there are 3-4 voluntary, conscious ones.
5. The interval is 8-20 years. During this period, the teenager, and then the young man, improves the methods of self-regulation he uses, and also adopts something from those around him.
6. Age from 20 to 40 years. The methods of changing the emotional state directly depend on what activity the individual is engaged in. Most often we are talking about the use of conscious methods.
7. 40-60 years old. Attention manipulations are still effective. However, more and more often people are replacing them with something passive, for example, a quiet rest, a walk in nature or a trip to the library.

After 60 years, self-regulation is carried out only by passive methods. In most cases, this is communication, thinking alone, etc.

Self-regulation techniques

First of all, it is worth saying that there are natural ways of self-regulation. These include:

• listening to classical music;
• walks in the fresh air, for example, in a nearby park;
• adequate rest and sleep;
• smiles, humor;
• reading your favorite books;
• drawing, embroidery;
• thinking about something good;
• singing, dancing;
• observing the beautiful landscape;
• pleasant memories, viewing photographs;
• sunbathing;
• communication with people who evoke exclusively positive emotions.

There are other methods and techniques of self-regulation:

1. Relaxation. Everyone chooses their own way of relaxation. The main thing is that he achieves his goal: to achieve inner harmony, relieve muscle tension, regain control over feelings and emotions.
2. Meditation. Helps you learn to concentrate, relax, relieve psycho-emotional stress and distract yourself from bad thoughts. Breathing techniques are most often used during meditation. The easiest option is to think about anything, just not about what annoys you.
3. Desensitization. Involves conscious passivity, a clear idea of ​​what successful behavior or activity looks like, and neutrality in relation to stimuli. All this is achieved through self-hypnosis.
4. Autogenic training. Based on relaxation methods. They are exercises for relaxing muscles, developing the ability to accurately monitor the state of the body, and increasing volitional attitudes. The main task of this method of self-regulation is to relieve any tension and achieve absolute relaxation of the mind and body.

Don’t forget about visualization - creating a mental image of what you want, your goal. You need to imagine the end result and how you will go towards it.

Stress Management Techniques

In fact, managed stress is a reality. Stress can be managed, regardless of what caused it. The first techniques of mental self-regulation originated many thousands of years ago, long before not only the coronavirus, but even the advent of industry, the banking system and megacities with their crazy pace of life and endless traffic jams.

Interestingly, methods of dealing with stress have changed little over the past thousands of years. We are still recommended yoga, breathing practices, being in the fresh air, meditation and relaxation. What has been added, perhaps, is advice to be more often distracted from the computer and the Internet, which simply did not exist several thousand years ago. One way or another, we will have to change our daily behavior and behavior in stressful situations in order to cope with short-term stress and avoid falling into long-term depression.

To begin with, we will give several express self-regulation techniques recommended by official medicine, which will allow you to take control of your behavior and your body [GBUZ JSC "Center for Medical Prevention", 2018].

Express methods for self-regulation of behavior and psychological state:

• Under acute stress, important decisions should not be made, except in the event of a natural disaster or other life-saving situations.
• In a stressful situation, try to concentrate and mentally count from 1 to 10.
• If possible, leave the room in which you were stressed, preferably outside. There you should look around, slowly moving your gaze from one object to another and mentally describing their appearance.
• Drink water, focusing on the sensations that occur as the water passes through your throat and enters the body.
• Wet your forehead, temples, and arteries in your hands with cold or cool water.
• Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. As you exhale, bend over and relax your neck and shoulders. Let your head and arms hang freely in the air.
• Take several deep breaths in and out for one to two minutes. Stop deep breathing if you feel dizzy.

In addition to the usual deep inhalations and exhalations, it will be useful to master the Samavritti breathing technique, popular in yoga, which allows you to harmonize your mental and physical state. You can learn more about it from the book “Therapeutic Breathing. Practical experience" [G. Malakhov, 2002]. And we will present the most general breathing pattern according to samavritti:

• While sitting or standing, distribute your weight evenly on both sides of your body.
• Relax your arms, shoulders and neck.
• Mentally “feel” the spine in the direction from the lumbosacral to the cervical region.
• Inhale through your nose and hold your breath for the number of seconds the inhalation lasts.
• Exhale as long as you inhale, and hold your breath for the same number of seconds.

Those who want to master more complex elements can watch a special video:

By the way, the techniques presented there can be used in everyday life to avoid chronic stress. And we will tell you about several more effective ways to prevent chronic stress, recommended by doctors [GBUZ JSC Center for Medical Prevention, 2018].

Recommendations for dealing with stress:

• Communicate more often with strong people and optimists, focused on positivity and solving problems as they arise.
• Find opportunities to connect with like-minded people and everyone who has common interests with you.
• Enlist the moral support of people close to you.
• Look at life realistically, set yourself moderately ambitious, but not too abstract goals.
• Go in for sports and fitness, provide yourself with physical activity that is feasible for your age and health.
• Try to establish a proper diet and create a healthy diet.
• Follow a daily routine, balance work and rest.
• Read books, be in nature, listen to music.
• Enjoy life.

The last recommendation made it onto this list for a reason. Psychologists have found that pleasant memories reduce the negative impact of a stressful situation by as much as 85%. One way to maintain positive emotions is to remember past positive events. Thus, autobiographical memories can evoke the emotions that you received when this event occurred [M. Speer, M. Delgado, 2017].

In particular, generating positive memories may be inherently valuable because it re-invokes pleasant feelings and engages neural circuitries involved in reward processing. In particular, in the presence of positive memories, the so-called striatum begins to work, which is localized in the front part of the brain and is involved in providing many functions of the body. And when the striatum is damaged, muscle hypertonicity and disruption of complex motor reactions develop.

In addition, a group of neurons in the striatum is involved in regulating reward and reward functions in the brain. These functions directly correlate with self-esteem and improved mood. Thus, there is scientific evidence for how positive memories help cope with stress, potentially promoting better decision-making and well-being in different areas of our lives [M. Speer, M. Delgado, 2017].

Many business people may find all this advice too general or abstract. On the one hand, all this is very good and correct. On the other hand, there are very specific and not always adequate customers, not very punctual suppliers, not very decent partners, and visits from inspection authorities.

And added to the stress factors are criticism on social networks if a brand is trying to get in direct contact with potential customers, failed advertising campaigns if you don’t yet fully understand your target audience, and many other objective problems that exist in business and require solutions.

Yes, even if you are an ordinary office employee who has never been involved in an independent business, you have a boss, a plan for the month and quarter, deadlines and reports, and all the same not always adequate clients, customers, colleagues, partners, not entirely clearly defined tasks and very vague performance criteria.

Simply giving up on all this, immersing yourself in pleasant memories and self-regulation practices, will not work, because this is your job, for which you receive a salary, and the loss of which threatens financial and other problems. This means new stresses that will replace stresses due to unscrupulous suppliers and unclear what customers want.

What to do with all this and how to cope with all this so as not to live in a state of permanent stress? We offer you a selection of advice from employment specialists who understand better than others that an upset psyche is a direct path to unemployment and that resistance to stress is often a more important factor for successful work than knowledge of absolutely all the details and nuances of professional activity [Novokuznetsk Employment Center, 2014 ].

How to manage stress at work:

• Everything that is needed at work should be prepared the night before: put business papers and documents in a briefcase, charge phones and tablets, clean your business suit and match it with a tie and shirt.
• In the morning, you should have a reserve of time regarding how much time you need to wash your face, get ready, have breakfast and get to work. To do this, it is enough to get up in the morning 10 minutes earlier than “back to back”.
• It's always worth having a plan of action for your workday. This way you will avoid the turmoil and the nervousness that inevitably comes with it. Set your priorities, plan your unimportant tasks, and think about what to do with the remaining time before the end of the working day if you complete all the tasks quickly.
• It is best to plan around 60-70% of your working time and reserve the rest for unforeseen circumstances. This way you will avoid nervousness if something unexpected happens or an urgent task appears. Researchers have calculated that a middle manager usually has 14 to 25 new tasks per day [A. Neumann, 2020].
• You should unload your memory so as not to clutter it with trifles. It is better to record all matters, even the smallest ones, on paper than to keep them in your “head” and be nervous about the fact that you might forget something.
• If possible, it is better to delegate those tasks that cause you stress or spoil your mood.
• You should learn to say “no” to tasks that are not within your area of ​​expertise and to all cases where they are trying to take advantage of you.
• It is necessary to provide short breaks during work, at least in order to stand up and stretch. It’s better to find an opportunity to walk and do a couple of exercises away from the eyes of your colleagues.
• If stress has become your constant companion, you may want to relax your standards and realize that ideal perfection is not always achievable. At a minimum, try to become more flexible and put forward more adequate demands on yourself and others.
• You should not constantly grumble and show dissatisfaction, even if there is an objective reason for this. Remember that the world is imperfect!
• A more productive strategy would be to focus and emphasize successes rather than failures. For every momentary failure, there may be a dozen times when you were lucky.
• You need to bring order or take control of the chaos at work and at home. It is worth organizing your living space so that nothing in it strains or stresses you.
• It will be useful to learn useful self-regulation techniques using breathing practices and releasing muscle tension. This has a calming effect on the psyche.
• You need to regularly pay attention to your appearance. A new hairstyle or outfit is often a better mood booster than even the most sophisticated self-regulation practice.
• It’s worth thinking about how to diversify your everyday life. If this is not possible on weekdays, at least make the weekends more varied.
• You should find time to repair or replace what is not working well. Often the unobvious cause of stress is some small thing, like a car door lock that sticks or a table lamp switch that only works the third time it is pressed.
• You need to learn to “reduce the degree” of an event and its significance. Often the cause of stress is not so much the events themselves as our attitude towards them.
• You need to learn to think positively and think more often about the good than the bad. To do this, you can make a list of what makes you happy and think more often about what brings you joy and happiness.
• Even with a busy schedule, it's worth finding time to get enough sleep, exercise, and cook nutritious, healthy meals. This investment will return a hundredfold for your health and psyche.

In principle, many tips on how to manage stress at work overlap with the previously given universal recommendations for all occasions. This is quite logical. We have already said that stress can be managed regardless of the reasons for its occurrence, and methods of stress management have remained largely unchanged for thousands of years.

Therefore, it is quite possible that many tips for businessmen and entrepreneurs from the Russian information portal RusBase will also overlap with advice on managing stress at work [A. Samoydyuk, 2018].

How to overcome stress for entrepreneurs:

• Take a break and return to the task with a “fresh” head - this helps when the right thoughts don’t come to mind and you start to get nervous because nothing is working out.
• Follow the plan and do not immediately rush to solve all the problems that arise if they can wait.
• Be guided by logic, not emotions, and when emotions get out of control, pause and ask yourself the question, “Will I later regret something I did in a fit of anger or under the influence of stress?”
• React calmly to the machinations of competitors and do not waste time on revenge - usually revenge does not bring any dividends and does not help business develop.
• Do not exaggerate minor troubles - most of the problems that arise are completely solvable and are not as terrible as they seem at first glance.
• Use stressful situations to understand where your weaknesses are and how you can strengthen your business.
• “Turn off the noise” and stop responding to destructive criticism. And constructive criticism should not be a reason for stress, but a guide for improving business.
• Play sports.

The theme of sport runs through all the recommendations for combating stress, because movement and physical activity contribute to the release of joy hormones in the body and thus neutralize the influence of factors that make you nervous.

However, there is another way to overcome stress - music. This method has traditionally received less attention than various breathing and meditation practices, although classical music has long been known to help calm people down, and music therapy can help manage stress. Therefore, we will talk about some research in this area and their results.

Thus, neuroscientist Daisy Fancourt found out the influence of music and the context of its perception on emotions and biomarkers of stress [D. Fancourt, 2019]. He suggests dividing up the short-term effects of music on emotions, the medium-term effects on mood, and the long-term effects on mental health. In the short term, there are several basic strategies for music influence:

• Gives positive emotions.
• Suppresses or discharges negative emotions.
• Distracts from stress.
• Increases self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Creates a feeling of control over the situation when problems cease to seem significant and stressful.

The last couple of points are not so much independent strategies as derivatives of the first three, but for the sake of completeness we focus on them. In addition, in this article we have repeatedly touched upon such aspects of stress as self-esteem, the adequacy of demands on oneself and one’s own attitude towards various events, so it will be useful to know that music helps to regulate these aspects as well.

Regarding the technical side of the issue, it should be noted that slow harmonious music that does not contain the sounds of percussion instruments is most conducive to relaxation. This melody increases the activity of the parasympathetic system, promotes muscle relaxation, lowering systolic blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate [Technogym, 2019].

Music from 60 to 80 beats per minute with additional musical themes performed by various string instruments: harp, cello and others is especially relaxing. This partly explains the stress-busting advice to spend more time in nature. The sounds of nature - the sound of water, the singing of birds, the rustling of leaves - are very close to the above characteristics.

By the way, music therapy can help manage stress, even if it has already reached the point of depression. Studies show that music therapy has significant short-term benefits for people with depression, and when combined with traditional treatment, it is much more effective in reducing symptoms of depression than traditional treatment alone [S. Aalbers et al., 2017].

In particular, those suffering from depression noticeably reduce their levels of anxiety and worry, and they themselves can cope with their daily work responsibilities more effectively. Let us add that this study involved more than 400 people from pensioners to teenagers, and a positive effect was observed both by simply listening to music and by an active form of music therapy, when the subjects were asked to sing something or play a musical instrument [S. Aalbers et al., 2017].

Let's now briefly summarize how to overcome stress and how self-regulation of behavior and mood will help. For convenience, we will group methods that are similar in their mechanism of influence on the psyche and body into separate groups.

Top 7 best ways to beat stress:

• Meditative and other related practices - yoga, relaxation, self-hypnosis, self-control of thought processes.
• Physical activity - sports, fitness, walks in the fresh air, various exercises.
• Positive emotions – communication with positive people and like-minded people, pleasant memories, enjoyable activities.
• Control over your life and circumstances - having an action plan, understanding your own priorities, adequate expectations from yourself and others, time management and life management.
• A healthy lifestyle - adequate sleep, healthy food, balance between work and rest, control of physical and mental health.
• Music therapy – listening to music, singing and playing musical instruments.
• Medicinal herbs and herbal teas - in particular, chamomile, lemon balm, valerian, lavender.

We did not dwell in detail on the last point because doctors and specialized experts did this for us long ago. Those interested can get more information from the review “Which herbs will help fight stress?” [N. Tyshkevich, 2019]. For fans of tea drinking, we can recommend the article “What tea calms the nervous system?” [M. Elagina, E. Vorobyova, 2019]. Let's just say that the substances contained in medicinal herbs make it easier to control your own behavior and mood under stress.

We wish you peace and prosperity!

We also ask you to take part in the survey:

We also recommend reading:

• Storytelling
• How to cope with stress
• Coping strategies as a way to deal with stress
• Uncontrolled aggression, self-isolation and inaction: the influence of the body's physiological response on human behavior
• Habits that kill stress
• Stress Diary
• Surprising facts about stress
• Impact of stress on quality of life
• Stress. What is it and how to remove it
• Ways to relieve stress
• Stress: is there any benefit from it and how to get it?

Key words:1Psychoregulation

Self-regulation techniques and exercises

Psychologists have developed a lot of ways to relax and calm down, and normalize your psycho-emotional state. Everyone can choose the option for developing self-regulation that suits them.

Rocking

Take the most comfortable position for you, sitting or standing. Relax, tilt your head back. Close your eyes and gently swing to the sides, in a circle, or back and forth. Choose the pace and rhythm that is most comfortable for you.

Disclosure

Stand up straight, wave your arms several times in different directions, in front of you or in a circle. Now they need to be pulled straight out. Slowly spread your arms to the sides. If you have relaxed them well, the movement will happen as if by itself.

Do the exercise until you feel light. As you repeat it, imagine that by opening your hands, you are letting something good and positive into your life.

Five

No more than 30 seconds are allotted for the exercise. It can be done in whole or in part, as you wish.

So, stop, take a break from what you're doing. Look around and answer 3 questions:

1. What objects of different colors did you see around you?
2. What five sounds do you hear?
3. What five tactile sensations are you feeling right now?

If you get distracted, return to the exercise again. If any extraneous thoughts appear, say that you heard them and start answering questions.

Thoughts on paper

This exercise will help you cope with feelings in those moments when it seems that your head is about to explode from tension. It is quite effective before bedtime.

On a blank sheet of paper or in an electronic document, write down absolutely every thought that comes to your mind. Write whatever you want, even if your head is chaos. Don't stop until there are no more thoughts left.

Useful Imagination

A very interesting exercise for self-regulation. How does it work? Stop for a second and imagine that you are biting a slice of lemon. Did you feel a sour taste in your mouth? In addition, you began to salivate. You didn’t eat lemon, but your body reacted in this way to the image you created in your imagination.

So, if you need to cheer up, imagine that you are already a cheerful and active person. Complete the image with pictures, for example, of the sun, which sends you its rays, thereby filling you with vital energy. You can relax in the same way. Imagine that you have just left the bathhouse and are drinking aromatic herbal tea.

With the help of imagination you can cope with negative emotions. For example, if you feel angry and angry, imagine breaking dishes. Perhaps the effect will not be the same as if you did it in reality, but the main thing is that it will be.

Correct breathing

It is a well-known fact that the psycho-emotional state is closely related to physical health, in particular, breathing and muscle tone. Therefore, by performing breathing exercises, you can calm down, relax, and put your mind in order.

Breathe on a count, focusing on the movement of the second hand. Inhale through your nose for 4 counts, freeze for 2 seconds, exhale through your mouth for a count of 6 or 8. The ideal option is to exhale 2 times longer than the inhalation. Do 10-20 reps.

Attention! If you need not to relax, but to cheer up, do the opposite: inhale slowly and exhale quickly, sharply.

Muscle relaxation

Take a lying or reclining position. Focus your attention on any muscles in your lower body. Tighten them as hard as you can. Stay in this position for 5 seconds. Do this while inhaling. As you exhale, relax completely.

Repeat the exercise for each muscle group, moving upward.

Attention! Experts recommend not straining your eye muscles if you have any vision problems.

Exercises based on breathing concentration

(Before the exercises: imagine an inflatable balloon or ball, remember how a thin stream of air comes out of it if you untie the balloon or open the ball. Try to mentally see this stream of air. We will imagine each of your exhalations as the same stream of air coming out of the points which we will open).

1. Focus on your breathing. Breathe as usual; Notice your inhalation and exhalation. You can say with your inner voice: “Inhale,” “Exhale.” (30 sec).
2. Feel your knees. Inhale. Exhale again through the points that you mentally “open” on your knees. (In fact, we exhale through our nose, but we imagine that we exhale through our knees). Inhale and exhale through the points on your knees. (30 sec).
3. Feel your spine. Mentally “walk” along it from top to bottom. Find a random point at the very bottom of the spine. Inhale through your nose, and exhale mentally through the point that you yourself identified on the spine at the very bottom. Imagine a thin stream of air emerging from this point when exhaling (30 sec).
4. “Climb” up the spine. Find a point in the middle of your spine. Inhale. Exhale through a point in the middle of the spine. (30 sec). We mentally try to “draw” our exhalation.
5. Raise your mind to the cervical spine. Inhale. Exhale through a point on the cervical spine. Breathe like this. (30 sec)
6. Feel your arms and hands. Inhale and exhale again through the points on the hands (30 sec).
7. Mentally rise to your elbows. Inhale and exhale through the points on the elbows. Breathe like this, mentally imagining the air coming out (30 sec).
8. Raise your mind to your shoulders. Find the points through which we will “exhale” on both the right shoulder and the left. Inhale and exhale through the points on the shoulders. Streams of air go up. We breathe, imagining these streams (30 sec).
9. Find the point between the eyebrows. Inhale and exhale through the point between the eyebrows. (30 sec).
10. Exhale through the point at the top of the head. (30 sec).
11. Exhale the next time through all the points we mentioned. Breathe like this. Feel how the air passes through all the pores, through the entire skin (30 sec). Breathe calmly. Stay in this state for as long as you need. Come back refreshed.

(These exercises are useful for relaxation after strenuous work.)