How people behave in emergency situations. This information will not let you die in an extreme situation! Signs of an emergency

concept extreme situation and general signs of an emergency

Extreme situation- this is a situation that goes beyond the "usual" situation, requiring an increased concentration of physical and (or) emotional efforts from a person, with possible negative consequences for a person's life, in other words, this is a situation in which a person is uncomfortable (an unusual situation for him).

Signs of an emergency

1. The presence of insurmountable difficulties, the awareness of a threat or an insurmountable obstacle to the realization of any specific goals.

2. The state of mental tension and various reactions of a person to the extreme nature of the environment, overcoming which is of great importance for him.

3. A significant change in the usual (habitual, sometimes even tense or difficult) situation, parameters of activity or behavior, i.e. going beyond the "usual".

Thus, one of the main signs of an extreme situation are insurmountable obstacles to implementation, which can be seen as a direct threat to the implementation of the goal or intended action.

In an emergency man is opposed environment, and therefore it should be considered in accordance with the situation, which is characterized by a mismatch between the requirements of the activity and professional opportunities person.

Extreme situations are associated with markedly and dramatically changing conditions in which activities take place. There is a danger of failure to complete the task or a threat to the safety of equipment, equipment, human life.

Extreme situations are an extreme manifestation of difficult situations, require maximum stress of mental and physical strength person to get out.

Human behavior in extreme situations

Human life is a series of all kinds of situations, many of which, due to their repetition and similarity, become familiar. Human behavior is brought to automatism, so the consumption of psychophysical and physical forces in such situations is minimized. Another thing is extreme situations. They require a person to mobilize mental and physical resources. A person in an extreme situation receives information about its various elements:

O external conditions;

About their internal states;

about the results of their own actions.

The processing of this information is carried out through cognitive and emotional processes. The results of this processing affect the behavior of the individual in an extreme situation. Threat signals lead to an increase in human activity. And if this activity does not bring the expected improvement in the situation, a person is overwhelmed by negative emotions of various strengths. The role of emotions in an extreme situation is different. Emotions can also act as an indicator extremeness both as an assessment of the situation and as a factor leading to a change in behavior in the situation. At the same time, it must be remembered that emotional experiences are one of the important factors of human behavior in an extreme situation.

As a rule, an extreme situation is generated by objective reasons, but its extremeness is largely determined by subjective components. So:

There may not be an objective threat, but a person or a group of people mistakenly perceive the current situation as extreme. Most often this happens due to unpreparedness or a distorted perception of the surrounding reality; however, there may be real objective threat factors, but the person does not know about their existence and is not aware of the emergency situation that has arisen;
- a person can realize the extremeness of the situation, but evaluate it as insignificant, which in itself is already a tragic mistake that can lead to unpredictable consequences;

Finding himself in an extreme situation and not finding a way out of the created situation, having lost faith in the possibility of its resolution, he escapes reality by activating the mechanisms psychological protection;

The situation can be objectively extreme, but the availability of knowledge and experience makes it possible to overcome it without significant mobilization of one's resources.

Thus, a person reacts to an extreme situation depending on how he perceives it and evaluates its significance. There is another specific human reaction to an extreme situation - mental tension. This is the mental state of a person in an extreme situation, with the help of which a person, as it were, prepares for the transition from one psychophysical state to another, adequate to the current situation.
Forms of tension.

Perceptual (occurring with difficulties in perception);

Intellectual (when a person finds it difficult to solve a problem that has arisen);

Emotional (when emotions arise that disorganize behavior and activity);

Volitional (when a person cannot control himself);

Motivational (associated with the struggle of motives, different points of view).

Mental tension is characterized by an increased level of activity and significant expenditure of neuropsychic energy. Levels of mental tension in various people may be different, which is primarily related to the mental stability of a person.

Mental states of people in extreme situations are diverse. At the initial moment, the reaction of people is predominantly of a vital orientation, due to the instinct of self-preservation. The level of expediency of such reactions is different in different individuals - from panic and senseless to consciously purposeful.

Sometimes people experience a state of psychogenic anesthesia (no feeling of pain) in the first five to ten minutes after injuries, burns, while maintaining a clear consciousness and the ability to rational activity, which allows some of the victims to escape. In individuals with an increased sense of responsibility, the duration of psychogenic anesthesia in some cases reaches 15 minutes, even with burn lesions up to 40% of the body surface. At the same time, hypermobilization of psychophysiological reserves and physical forces can be noted. Some victims, as evidenced by disaster medicine, are able to get out of an overturned car with a jammed compartment entrance, literally tearing apart the roof partitions with their bare hands.

Hypermobilization in the initial period is inherent in almost all people, but if it is combined with a state of panic, it may not lead to the salvation of people.

Extreme situations are characterized by a number of significant psychogenic8 features that have a destructive, devastating effect on the human somatics and psyche. These include the following psychogenic8 factors:

Panic is one of the mental states inherent in extreme situations. It is characterized by defects in thinking, the loss of conscious control and understanding of ongoing events, the transition to instinctive defensive movements, actions that may partially or completely not correspond to the situation. A person rushes about, not realizing what he is doing, or becomes numb, numb, there is a loss of orientation, a violation of the relationship between the main and secondary actions, the collapse of the structure of actions and operations, an exacerbation of the defensive reaction, refusal to act, etc. This causes and exacerbates the severity of the consequences of the situation .

Altered afferentation is a specific response of the body in dramatically changed, unusual conditions of existence. It is clearly manifested when exposed to weightlessness, high or low temperatures, high or low pressure. It can be accompanied (except for vegetative reactions) by severe disorders of self-awareness, orientation in space.

Affectation is a strong and relatively short-term neuropsychic excitation. It is characterized by an altered emotional state associated with a change in important life circumstances for the subject. Outwardly, it manifests itself in pronounced movements, violent emotions, accompanied by changes in the functions of internal organs, loss of volitional control. Occurs in response to an event that has already occurred and is shifted to its end. At the heart of affectation lies the experienced state of internal conflict, generated by contradictions between the requirements made to a person and the possibilities to fulfill them.

Agiotation is an affective reaction that occurs in response to a threat to life, an emergency, and other psychogenic factors. It manifests itself in the form of severe anxiety, anxiety, loss of focus on actions. A person fusses and is able to perform only simple automated actions. There is a feeling of emptiness and lack of thoughts, the ability to reason, to establish complex connections between phenomena is disturbed. This is accompanied by vegetative disturbances: pallor, rapid breathing, palpitations, hand trembling, etc. Agiotation is regarded as a pre-pathological condition within the boundaries of the psychological norm. In emergency situations among rescuers, firefighters, and representatives of other professions associated with risk, it is often perceived as confusion.

Monotony is a functional state that occurs during prolonged monotonous work. Characterized by a decrease general level activity, loss of conscious control over the performance of actions, deterioration of attention and short term memory, decreased sensitivity to external stimuli, the predominance of stereotypical movements and actions, a feeling of boredom, drowsiness, lethargy, apathy, loss of interest in the environment.

Desynchronosis is a mismatch between the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, which leads to asthenia of the nervous system and the development of neuroses.

A change in the perception of the spatial structure is a state that occurs in situations where there are no objects at all in a person's field of vision.

Restriction of information, especially personally significant, is a condition that contributes to the development of emotional instability.

Solitary social isolation (for a long time) is a manifestation of loneliness, one of the forms of which is the “creation of an interlocutor”: a person “communicates” with photographs of loved ones, with inanimate objects. Allocation of a "partner" for communication in conditions of loneliness - defensive reaction within the framework of the psychological norm, however, this phenomenon is a kind of model of a split personality in the conditions of the duration of an extreme situation.

Group social isolation (for a long time) is a state of high emotional tension, the cause of which may also be the fact that people are forced to constantly be in front of each other. Women are especially sensitive to this factor. Under normal conditions, a person is used to hiding from other people his thoughts and feelings that overwhelm him at one time or another. In conditions of group isolation, this is either difficult or impossible. The lack of the opportunity to be alone with oneself requires a person to have increased composure and control over his actions, and when such control weakens, many people can experience a kind of complex of physical and mental openness, nakedness, which causes emotional tension. Another specific psychogenic factor that operates under conditions of group isolation is the information exhaustion of communication partners. To avoid conflicts, people limit communication with each other and go into their inner world.

Sensory isolation - the absence of human exposure to visual, sound, tactile, taste and other signals. Under normal conditions, a person extremely rarely encounters such a phenomenon and therefore does not realize the significance of the effects of stimuli on receptors, does not realize how important its workload is for the normal functioning of the brain. If the brain is not loaded enough, then the so-called sensory hunger, sensory deprivation,10 occurs, when a person experiences an acute need for a variety of perceptions of the world around him. In conditions of sensory insufficiency, the imagination begins to work hard, extracting bright, colorful images from the arsenals of memory. These vivid representations to some extent compensate for the sensory sensations characteristic of ordinary conditions and allow a person to maintain mental balance for a long time. With an increase in the duration of sensory hunger, the influence of intellectual processes also weakens. Extreme situations are characterized by unstable activity of people, which affects their mental status. There are, in particular, a decrease in mood (lethargy, apathy, lethargy), sometimes replaced by euphoria, irritability, sleep disturbance, inability to concentrate, i.e. weakening of attention, deterioration of memory and mental performance in general. All this leads to the exhaustion of the nervous system.

Sensory hyperactivation is the impact on a person of visual, sound, tactile, olfactory, gustatory and other signals, in their strength or intensity significantly exceeding the sensitivity thresholds for this person.

A threat to human health and life itself through deprivation of food, water, sleep, infliction of grievous bodily harm, etc. Great importance has a study of the mental state of people who have a life-threatening factor. It can cause various mental reactions - from acute anxiety to neurosis and psychosis. One of the conditions for a person's adaptation to a situation associated with a threat to life is readiness for instant action, which helps to avoid accidents and disasters. The state of mental instability under these conditions arises as a result of asthenization2 of the nervous system by various shocks. This condition is often manifested in people whose previous activities did not differ in mental tension. Under life-threatening conditions, two forms of reaction are clearly distinguished: a state of agitation and a short-term stupor (a short-term stupor is characterized by a sudden stupor, freezing in place, while maintaining intellectual activity). In some cases, these factors act in combination, which greatly enhances their destructive impact. Usually, extreme situations are characterized by mass manifestations of psycho-emotional stress.

Introduction

The history of studying the psychological, medical-psychological and psychosocial consequences of the impact on a person of various emergency circumstances has more than one decade. Well-known psychologists and psychiatrists W. James, P. Janet, Z. Freud, W. Frankl dealt with this topic one way or another. Psychoemotional states that develop in a person who has been in an extreme situation are also studied in domestic science within the framework of extreme psychology and the branch of psychiatry dealing with the problems of psychogeny8. However, most of the publications on this issue are thematically scattered.

An emergency situation is a situation in a certain territory that has developed as a result of an accident, a natural hazard, a catastrophe, a natural or other disaster that may or have caused human casualties, damage to human health or the environment, significant material losses and violation of people's living conditions. .

An extreme situation can be understood as changed, unusual and unusual conditions of a person's existence, for which his psychophysiological organization is not ready. AT social science there is still no single theory that would describe the features of mental activity and human behavior in unusual conditions of existence.

The emergency situation is:

functioning condition: external determination;

property, the state of the social systems themselves: internal determination.

To understand the mechanism of action of extreme situations, it is important to have a clear idea of their types and varieties. There are several approaches to identifying types of emergencies:

by the scale of the scope: local, municipal, intermunicipal, regional, interregional and federal;

according to the dynamics of development and the time of elimination of consequences: strategic, leading quickly to catastrophic consequences, slowly developing, operational with a local nature of consequences;

by types of damage: with human casualties, with material damage;

according to the source of occurrence: natural, man-made, biological-social and military.

space and aviation flights;

deep sea diving;

stay in hard-to-reach areas of the globe;

stay deep underground (in mines);

natural disasters: floods, fires, hurricanes, snow drifts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, rock falls, mountain snow avalanches, landslides and mudflows;

testing of new highly sophisticated equipment;

transport, industrial, ecological disasters;

war activities;

epidemics;

domestic disasters such as fires;

criminal situations: committing terrorist acts, taking hostages;

reactionary political upheavals;

riots, etc.

The criteria for classifying emergencies by scale are: the number of the affected population, the amount of material damage, as well as the boundaries of the zones of distribution of damaging factors. However, social resonance very often depends not on the number of victims, but on the conditions under which the disaster occurred. An example is the nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in August 2000 in an accident that killed 118 people. As a result of numerous terrorist attacks committed on the territory of our country, man-made accidents and natural disasters, more people die, but these events do not receive such wide coverage in the media.

With the development of civilization, with the use of more and more new technologies, the progress of scientific research, the threat man-made disasters. In the world there are a large number of warehouses with stocks of combustible, explosive, highly toxic and radioactive substances. In addition, there is a huge amount of chemical and bacteriological weapons. All these stocks are stored for a long time, often without proper revision and disposal, the storage facilities are often in disrepair. Wear and tear of equipment often exceeds acceptable standards: for example, 40% of pipelines for pumping gas and oil have served their time. The zone of increased danger is transport communications, electric power facilities. It is believed that 30% of the population lives in dangerous areas, and 10% in extremely dangerous areas. In conditions of low technological discipline, chronic lack of financial and material resources to maintain fixed assets in working order, the likelihood of mass accidents, man-made disasters and other emergencies increases.

Questions of human psychology in emergency situations should be considered in order to prepare the population, rescuers, leaders for action in extreme situations.

When considering the issues of human behavior in emergency situations, much attention is paid to the psychology of fear. In everyday life, in extreme conditions, a person constantly has to overcome dangers that threaten his existence, which causes (generates) fear, i.e. short-term or long-term emotional process generated by real or imaginary danger. Fear is an alarm signal, but not just an alarm, but a signal that causes a person's likely protective actions.

Fear causes unpleasant sensations in a person - this is a negative effect of fear, but fear is also a signal, a command for individual or collective protection, since the main goal facing a person is to stay alive, to prolong his existence.

It should be borne in mind that the most frequent, significant and dynamic are the rash, unconscious actions of a person as a result of his reaction to danger.

The greatest danger to a person is represented by factors that can cause his death as a result of various aggressive influences - these are various physical, chemical, biological factors, high and low temperatures, ionizing (radioactive) radiation. All these factors require different ways of protecting a person and a group of people, i.e. individual and collective methods of protection, which include: the desire of a person to move beyond the limits of the damaging factors (to run away from danger, protect himself with a screen, etc.); an energetic attack by a person of a source of possible damaging factors to weaken their action or destroy the source of possible damaging factors.

The special conditions in which a person may find himself, as a rule, cause him psychological and emotional tension. As a result, for some this is accompanied by the mobilization of internal vital resources; in others - a decrease or even a breakdown in working capacity, deterioration in health, physiological and psychological stressful11 phenomena. It depends on the individual characteristics of the organism, working conditions and upbringing, awareness of ongoing events and understanding of the degree of danger.

In all difficult situations, moral hardening and the mental state of a person play a decisive role. They determine readiness for conscious, confident and prudent actions at any critical moments.

1. The essence and content of the psychology of behavior in emergency situations

The psychology of states combines the vast experience of world psychological science in the field of the study of mental states. The psychology of states also includes the consideration of certain types of states, including those arising in emergency situations. Tension states (stress states) were studied by T.A. Nemchin, L.P. Grimak V.I. Lebedev. Emotional states arising in emergency situations were studied by A.O. Prokhorov, A Kempinski and others.

Among mental phenomena, one of the main places belongs to mental states. At the same time, despite the intensive study of the problem of mental states, a lot of it remains unclear. According to T.A. Nemchin, "successful development of this problem is necessary because mental states significantly determine the nature of human activity."

I.P. Pavlov believed that psychology is the science of our states, and that thanks to it one can imagine the whole complexity of the subjective.

Against the backdrop of controversy and a wide variety of opinions about the definition, composition, structures, functions, mechanisms, classifications and other problems associated with the mental state, many authors remain unanimous about the great, if not decisive, significance of research on this mental phenomenon for psychology. So, N.D. Levitov, who first put the concept of "mental state" in the status of a psychological category, believed that the solution of this problem fills the existing gap in psychology - the gap between the doctrine of mental processes and mental properties ah personality. On this occasion, Yu.E. Sosnovikova writes: "It is impossible to understand the psyche as a whole without examining its specific integral manifestations in the form of mental states."

So, let's scroll through the works of different authors. There is a term "tense situations" - M.I. Dyachenko, L.A. Kandybovich, V.A. Ponomarenko, "extreme conditions" - L.G. Wild, "difficult situations" - A.V. Libin, “stress11 situations” - G. Selye, Kitaev-Smyk, “emergency situations - V.V. Avdeev, "emergency situations" - A.F. Maidykov, "abnormal conditions" - V.D. Tumanov, "special conditions" - S.A. Shapkin, L.G. Wild. The term "extreme situations" is used by the following authors: T.A. Nemchin, V.G. Androsyuk, V.I. Lebedev, G.V. Suvorov, M.P. Mingalieva, T.S. Nazarova, V.S. Shapovalenko and others.

Ukrainian scientists M.I. Dyachenko, L.A. Kandybovich, V.A. Ponomarenko also point out the importance of the subjective perception of an emergency (in their interpretation of a difficult) situation: “A tense situation is such a complication of the conditions of activity that has acquired special significance for the individual. In other words, complex objective conditions of activity become a tense situation when they are perceived, understood, evaluated by people as difficult, dangerous, etc. Any situation presupposes the involvement of the subject in it. This applies all the more to a tense situation that combines a certain content of objective activity with the needs, motives, goals, and relationships of a person. Consequently, a tense situation, like any situation, embodies the unity of the objective and the subjective. Objective - these are complicated conditions and the process of activity; subjective - state, attitudes, methods of action in dramatically changed circumstances. The common thing that characterizes tense situations is the emergence of a task that is quite difficult for the subject, a “difficult” mental state.

V.G. Androsyuk in his book "Pedagogy and Psychology" comes to the following conclusion: "an emergency is a state of the life system that is dangerous for life and health, unfavorable for the functioning of the human psyche and can cause tension."

Based on the foregoing, we list the main characteristics of an emergency:

This is an extreme situation, with a very strong impact that goes beyond the range of human capabilities.

These are complicated conditions of activity that are subjectively perceived, understood and evaluated by a person as difficult, dangerous, etc.

The situation causes the emergence of a rather difficult task for the subject, a “difficult” mental state.

An emergency situation leads to the emergence of a state of dynamic mismatch and requires maximum mobilization of the body's resources.

This situation causes negative functional states, violations of the psychological regulation of activity, and thereby reduces the efficiency and reliability of activity.

A person is faced with the impossibility of realizing his motives, aspirations, values, interests.

An emergency situation is dangerous to life and health, unfavorable for the functioning of the human psyche. Factors that generate mental tension can in some cases have a positive mobilizing effect on a person, and in others - a negative, disorganizing effect. Let us consider the positive, mobilizing changes in the emotional, cognitive and behavioral spheres of a person caused by the impact of such situations.

According to V.G. Androsyuk, such changes include:

-decrease in thresholds of sensations, acceleration of sensitive and motor reactions. A person shows the ability to more accurately assess stimuli, quickly responds to all changes in environmental conditions;

-reduced fatigue, -disappearance or dulling of the feeling of fatigue. A person increases endurance and performance, manifests unpretentiousness in uncomfortable situational conditions;

-increased readiness for decisive and bold action. Volitional qualities are manifested, the decision-making stage is reduced, forecasting the development of the situation is optimally combined with sound risk;

-activation of business motives, sense of duty. A person has a business excitement, the final and intermediate goals of activity are defined clearly and unambiguously;

-activation cognitive activity. A person shows sharpness of perception, actively turns on the reserves of operational and long-term memory. Updated Creative skills, thinking is characterized by dynamism, flexibility, active and successful search for non-standard solutions. Intuition is widely used.

-showing interest and enthusiasm. In solving problems, a person mobilizes his psychological capabilities and special abilities.

The ability to withstand an emergency has three components:

Physiological stability due to the state of the physical and physiological qualities of the body (constitutional features, type of nervous system, autonomic plasticity);

Mental stability due to training and the general level of personality traits (special skills of action in an extreme situation, the presence of positive motivation, etc.);

Psychological readiness (active state, mobilization of all forces and capabilities for the upcoming actions).

Different authors give different definitions of the concept of "mental state". Some of them, for example, James, identify the concepts of "state" and "process", others reduce the concept of "mental state" to the concept of "state of consciousness", others, one way or another, connect the mental state with the characteristics of the emotional sphere.

It seems that the most complete definition of the mental state of D.N. Levitova: "this is an integral characteristic of mental activity for a certain period of time, showing the originality of the course of mental processes depending on the reflected objects and phenomena of reality, previous states and mental properties of the individual." An analysis of the behavior and state of a person in an extreme situation shows that the most powerful stimulus leading to erroneous actions is the incompleteness of information.

P.V. Simonov developed the information theory of emotions, according to which, with a shortage of available information, a negative emotion appears, reaching a maximum in the case of a complete absence of information. Positive emotion occurs when the available information exceeds the information needed to satisfy a given need. Thus, in a number of cases, the knowledge and awareness of the individual remove emotions, change the emotional mood and mental state of the individual, open access to the internal resources of a person.

"Will is a person's conscious regulation of his behavior and activities, associated with overcoming internal and external obstacles." Overcoming obstacles by a person requires volitional effort - a special state of neuropsychic tension that mobilizes his physical, intellectual and moral forces. Will manifests itself as a person's confidence in his abilities, as the determination to perform the act that he considers appropriate and necessary in a particular situation.

Since the state is a multidimensional phenomenon, any state can be described by a wide range of parameters. One or the other parameter can be the leading one. What state parameters come to the fore in an emergency? First of all, tension.

Tension in the Dictionary of Psychology by J. Drever is defined as “a feeling of tension, tension, general feeling imbalance and readiness to change behavior when faced with some threatening situational factor. Such factors can be increased workload, lack of time, lack of information, etc. According to L.V. Kulikov, it is these factors that are the real cause of tension, and not the experiences caused by them, which are a natural reaction to the situation. Therefore, with the interpretation of emotions as a cause of tension, according to L.V. Kulikov, it is difficult to fully agree. The role of emotion is quite accurately defined by A.V. Zaporozhets, who wrote that emotion is not the process of activation itself, but a special form of reflection of reality, through which the mental control of activation is carried out, or, it would be more correct to say, the mental regulation of the general direction and dynamics of behavior is carried out.

2. Mental states of people in extreme situations

Hypermobilization in the initial period is inherent in almost all people, but if it is combined with a state of panic, it may not lead to the salvation of people.

Monotony is a functional state that occurs during prolonged monotonous work. It is characterized by a decrease in the general level of activity, a loss of conscious control over the performance of actions, a deterioration in attention and short-term memory, a decrease in sensitivity to external stimuli, a predominance of stereotypical movements and actions, a feeling of boredom, drowsiness, lethargy, apathy, loss of interest in the environment.

Desynchronosis is a mismatch between the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, which leads to asthenia of the nervous system and the development of neuroses.

A change in the perception of the spatial structure is a state that occurs in situations where there are no objects at all in a person's field of vision.

Restriction of information, especially personally significant, is a condition that contributes to the development of emotional instability.

Solitary social isolation (for a long time) is a manifestation of loneliness, one of the forms of which is the “creation of an interlocutor”: a person “communicates” with photographs of loved ones, with inanimate objects. The allocation of a "partner" for communication in conditions of loneliness is a defensive reaction within the framework of a psychological norm, but this phenomenon is a kind of model of a split personality in the conditions of a prolonged extreme situation.

A threat to human health and life itself through deprivation of food, water, sleep, infliction of grievous bodily harm, etc. The study of the mental state of people who have a life-threatening factor is of great importance. It can cause various mental reactions - from acute anxiety to neurosis and psychosis. One of the conditions for a person's adaptation to a situation associated with a threat to life is readiness for instant action, which helps to avoid accidents and disasters. The state of mental instability under these conditions arises as a result of asthenization2 of the nervous system by various shocks. This condition is often manifested in people whose previous activities did not differ in mental tension. In life-threatening conditions, two forms of reaction are clearly distinguished: a state of agitation and a short-term stupor (a short-term stupor is characterized by a sudden stupor, freezing in place, while intellectual activity is preserved). In some cases, these factors act in combination, which greatly enhances their destructive impact. Usually, extreme situations are characterized by mass manifestations of psycho-emotional stress.

3. External manifestations, characteristics and classification of psycho-emotional states

If we consider psycho-emotional states from a physiological point of view, it should be noted that they have a reflex nature. Although the vast majority of their conditioned reflex origin. For example, an operational officer on duty who is accustomed to working in a certain mode, before taking over the shift, has a state of optimal readiness for activity, he enters the rhythm of work from the very first minute.

The basis of mental and psycho-emotional states is a certain ratio nervous processes(from episodic to persistent, typical for a given person) in the cerebral cortex. Under the influence of a combination of external and internal stimuli, a certain general tone of the cortex, its functional level, arises. The physiological states of the cortex are called phase states. After the cessation of the actions of the stimuli that caused this or that state, it persists for some time or affects the formation of new or the actualization of old conditioned reflex connections in the cortex. hemispheres brain. These states of the cortex, in turn, can be conditioned stimuli, signaling any changes that are important for the adaptation of the organism to the environment and subsequently, in similar situations, accelerate the adaptation of the psyche to non-ordinary conditions.

Mental states are outwardly manifested in changes in breathing and blood circulation, in facial expressions, pantomime, movements, gestures, intonation features of speech, etc. So in a state of pleasure there is an increase in the frequency and amplitude of breathing, dissatisfaction causes a decrease in both; breathing in an excited state becomes frequent and deep; in tense - slow and weak; anxious - accelerated and weak; in a state of fear - sharply slowed down, and with unexpected surprise, breathing instantly becomes frequent, but retains normal amplitude.

In an excited state or a state of intense expectation (often caused by situations of an extreme nature), the frequency and strength of the pulse can increase, the value of blood pressure in a very wide range (depending on the strength of the impact of the situation that has arisen). The change in blood circulation is usually accompanied by blanching or reddening of the human body.

An indicator of a person's emotional state is often his movements and actions (we judge fatigue by uncertain or sluggish movements, and cheerfulness by sharp and energetic ones). Facial expressions are also capable of expressing very subtle shades of feelings. The speaker's voice can also provide significant data on his psycho-emotional state.

Psycho-emotional states are complex, integral, dynamic formations that largely determine the originality of all mental activity (the course of processes, the manifestation of properties) of a person in a given period of time. Psycho-emotional states have the following features:

Integrity. Although the states relate mainly to a certain area of the psyche (cognitive, emotional, volitional), they characterize mental activity in general for a certain period of time.

Mobility and relative stability. Psycho-emotional states are changeable: they have a beginning, an end, dynamics. They are, of course, less constant than personality traits, but more stable and measured in larger units of time than mental processes.

Direct and immediate relationship with mental processes and personality traits. In the structure of the psyche, psycho-emotional states are located between the processes and properties of the personality. They arise as a result of the reflective activity of the brain. But once having arisen, psycho-emotional states, on the one hand, affect mental processes (determine the tone and pace of reflective activity, the selectivity of sensations, perceptions, the productivity of a person’s thinking, etc.), on the other hand, they are “building material” for the formation of properties personality. Psycho-emotional states serve as a background that contributes to the manifestation of personality traits or their disguise. For example, the state of anticipation of a battle, experienced in pre-combat conditions, is characterized in the field of sensations and perceptions, memory and thinking, by disordered volitional activity, which is not characteristic of them under normal conditions. At the same time, mental states are influenced by previous states and personality traits.

Individual originality and typicality. The psycho-emotional states of each person are unique, since they are inextricably linked with individual features personality, its moral and other features. Thus it is common for a man of a sanguine temperament to exaggerate successes and to interpret everything in a bright light, because an elevated state is typical of him. Personality traits and experienced psycho-emotional states do not always, but often correspond to each other. What is sometimes taken as a personality trait turns out to be atypical for a given person, a temporary state. For example, depression can be not only a stable personality trait of a melancholic temperament, but also manifest itself as a condition caused in a person by troubles at work or in the family.

Variety of psycho-emotional states. There is an incredible variety of personality states of a psycho-emotional nature. Not even a complete list of them allows us to judge this: surprise and bewilderment, confusion and concentration, hope and hopelessness, despondency and cheerfulness, enthusiasm and excitement, indecision and determination, tension and calmness, etc.

Polarity. As could be understood from the description of the previous quality, each state corresponds to the opposite. Thus, activity is opposed by passivity, certainty by uncertainty, decisiveness by indecision. The polarity of psycho-emotional states, the rapid transition of a person from one state to the opposite is especially pronounced in unusual (extreme) situations.

All states of a psycho-emotional nature are grouped for various reasons. According to the main states of higher nervous activity one can distinguish between optimal, excited and depressive states. For example, a "normal alert state" with a balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition can be taken as the basis for an optimal psycho-emotional state in which a person's activity is active and most productive.

Currently, it is customary to distinguish between states:

Active and passive;

Creative and reproductive;

Partial (partial) and general condition;

Conditions caused by selective excitation and inhibition in the cortex and subcortex of the brain (activity of the subcortex and inhibition of the cortex gives rise to a hysterical state6, and, conversely, inhibition of the subcortex when the cortex is excited - asthenic3, etc.).

On a purely psychological basis, psycho-emotional states are classified into intellectual, volitional and combined.

Depending on the occupation of the individual, the states are divided into states in combat, educational, labor, sports and other types of activity.

According to the role in the structure of the personality, the states can be situational, personal and group. Situational states express the features of the situation that caused a person to react uncharacteristically for his mental activity. Personal and collective (group) are states that are typical, inherent in this particular person or team.

According to the depth of experiences, they distinguish between deep and superficial. For example, passion is a deeper state than mood.

According to the nature of the influence on the individual, the collective state is divided into positive and negative. Conditions that negatively affect a person and a team are often the cause of a psychological barrier between people. Conditions that positively affect mental activity increase the effectiveness of communication.

According to the duration of the course, the states are long-term and short-term. The homesickness of people traveling on long business trips can last up to several weeks until they get used to the new conditions.

According to the degree of awareness, states can be more or less conscious.

4. Post-traumatic stress disorder

The psychological aspects of experiencing traumatic stress11 and its consequences are studied, as a rule, in the context of general problems of human activity in extreme conditions, studies of the adaptive capabilities of a person and his stress tolerance12.

The results of such studies seem to focus the social, natural, technological, individual psychological, environmental and medical aspects of human existence in the modern world.

The history of research in this area dates back several decades, but their intensity has especially increased due to the problems of adaptation of American veterans of the Vietnam War, soldiers of the Soviet Army who participated in the hostilities in the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, military personnel of the armed forces and specialized units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, who took part in countering illegal bandit formations on the territory of the Chechen Republic.

The results of numerous studies have shown that the condition developing under the influence of psychological traumatic stress11 did not fall into any of the classifications available in clinical practice. The consequences of an injury could appear suddenly, after a long time, against the background of the general external well-being of a person, and over time, the deterioration of the condition became more and more pronounced. Many different symptoms of such a change in condition have been described, but for a long time clear criteria for its diagnosis have not been developed. Also, there was no single name for its designation.

Only by 1980 was accumulated and analyzed a sufficient amount of information obtained in the course of experimental studies. The complex of symptoms seen in those who have experienced traumatic stress11 has been termed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The criteria for diagnosing this disorder were included in the American National Diagnostic Psychiatric Standard (Diagnostical and Statistical Mannual of Mental Disorders) and are still preserved in it. Since 1994, these criteria have been included in the European diagnostic standard ICD-10.

The main symptoms of PTSD are grouped into three criteria groups:

Obsessive experiences of a traumatic event (illusions, delusions, nightmares);

The desire to avoid any events and experiences associated with traumatic events, the development of detachment, alienation from real life;

A high and increasing level of emotional arousal, manifested in a complex of hypertrophied psychophysiological reactions.

In addition, the presence of a severe traumatic event is a prerequisite for making a diagnosis. The duration of manifestation of each of the above symptoms should be at least a month from the moment of their initial appearance.

In psychology, the consequences of the impact on a person of such traumatic events as various industrial and natural disasters (fires, floods, earthquakes) are quite well studied. A wealth of material has also been accumulated on the study of victims of various forms of violence against a person. All these types of psychic trauma have a similar etiology - they are all based on the impact of the so-called "acute" stress11, which has an event-like nature; similar characteristics also have effects on the human psyche and other extreme situations (for example, military operations).

The source of psychological traumatization of the personal is various events that take place in the course of service, which can be classified as critical. The definition of a critical incident, accepted by many authors, is given by the American researcher J. Mitchell (1991). "A critical incident is any situation encountered in practice that causes unusually strong emotional reactions that may adversely affect the performance of duties either immediately on the spot or later."

Critical incidents include such and only such events that expose a person to physical (and, or psychological) danger and are capable of causing negative psychological consequences requiring the adoption of special measures to assist their participants or eyewitnesses.

Often this concept is identified with the concept of "psychological trauma", which has a somewhat broader content. But nevertheless, speaking of the experienced critical incident, they mean the fact that the person has undergone psychic traumatization.

Psychological trauma is usually understood as a relatively short-term powerful stress11 impact of an external force on an individual, or his prolonged stay in extreme conditions. It is distinguished by the following characteristics:

the cause is always outside the individual, in external circumstances;

the impact is accompanied by an experience of intense fear, even horror;

circumstances violate the usual life stereotype, contain a real threat to life itself or health;

the individual may feel his own helplessness in the face of external circumstances.

The psychological reaction to trauma includes three relatively independent phases, which allows us to characterize it as a process deployed in time. The phase - the phase of psychological shock contains two main components:

Inhibition of activity, disorientation in the environment, disorganization of activity;

Denial of what happened (a kind of protective reaction of the psyche). Normally, this phase is rather short-term. The phase - the impact phase is characterized by pronounced emotional reactions to the event and its consequences. It can be strong fear, horror, anxiety, anger, crying, accusation - emotions that are characterized by immediacy of manifestation and extreme intensity. Gradually, these emotions are replaced by a reaction of criticism or self-doubt. It proceeds according to the type: "what would happen if ..." and is accompanied by a painful state of the inevitability of what happened, the recognition of one's own powerlessness and self-flagellation. Typical example- this is a feeling of "guilt for survival" widely described in the literature, often reaching the level of deep depression. A similar reaction was observed by members of the emergency psychiatric care team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs among the police officers in the cities of Spitak and Leninakan during the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake in Armenia. It is quite typical in combat situations or during special operations in cases where subunits have suffered heavy losses.

The phase under consideration is critical in the sense that after it either the process of rehabilitation begins (reaction, acceptance of reality, adaptation to newly arisen circumstances), i.e. Phase III - the phase of normal response, or there is a fixation on the injury and subsequent chronification of the post-stress state. The dynamics of the psychological state of the affected person is determined both by the totality of his individual psychological characteristics, and by the influence of microsocial, socio-psychological factors, and specific life circumstances.

According to the observations of experts, in the event of a particular crisis situation, among those affected by it and who have not undergone special training, reactions such as apathy, lethargy, poor understanding of what is happening and the speech addressed to them, helplessness, panic behavior, little predictable behavior, flight from danger, loss of orientation in the environment. After the events in about 80% of cases, people are able to independently cope with the post-stress state, overcome it, while the rest need special psychological or psychiatric assistance.

The severity of psychological trauma and post-traumatic state is determined by a number of factors, primarily by the very scale and severity of the events experienced, the number of victims, the presence of dead friends or relatives, and the amount of material damage. In addition, it depends on:

Features of a personal warehouse - resistance to stress;

Previous experience of experiencing crisis situations, preparedness for their occurrence;

The presence of social support (from family, friends, colleagues, management, social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, etc.)

Foreign authors usually distinguish between two types of conditions that arise as a result of the activities of rescuers with a high probability of causing psychological stress, other forms of psycho-emotional maladjustment: situations of professional stress and the "burnout phenomenon".

It was noted among employees who have been in extreme situations, who participated in the liquidation of catastrophic events, that as a result of this emotionally intense and sometimes physically difficult activity, they often develop a special psychological state, in special literature described as "burnout phenomenon". It manifests itself in the form of a kind of emotional exhaustion, a temporary loss by a person of a sense of his integrity and value, a decrease in the level of emotional and physical activity. The reason for the occurrence of such a state is the impact of a number of situational, personal and professional stresses11 inherent in activities in emergency conditions. At the same time, many of them subsequently noted increased motivation for this kind of activity, including within the framework of their professions and services, that is, some people who experienced a state of stress11 in an extreme situation expressed their readiness to subsequently take part in risk-related actions again. and high psycho-emotional stress.

5. Psychosomatic manifestations of the impact of an extreme situation

.1 Influence of emotions on physiological processes

The term "psychosomatics" was first proposed by the German physician Johann Heinroth in 1818. He used this term to refer to the relationship between the physical ailments of patients and their mental suffering.

Heinroth's followers believed that all bodily diseases have psychological causes. Psychosomatics was originally presented precisely as "psychosomatic medicine".

The history of psychosomatics, as a branch of science, begins with the psychoanalytic concept of Z. Freud. The study of psychosomatic phenomena was carried out by such scientists as F. Alexander, A. Lowen, W. Reich, M. Feldenkrais, G. Selye, M.E. Sandomiersky, S.A. Kulakov, psychotherapist N. Pezeshkian and others.

Psychosomatics (from the Greek Psyche - soul + soma - body) is a bodily manifestation of emotions (the imbalance of which results in psychosomatic illnesses), as well as a reflection of other subconscious processes, a bodily channel of conscious-subconscious communication. In this context, the body is presented as a kind of screen onto which the symbolic messages of the subconscious are projected. The relationship of the body ("soma") and the psyche is always two-way. Healing from bodily ailments can be achieved by working through the psychological causes that gave rise to them, in equally the opposite is also true.

Psychosomatics, as a branch of science, explores the influence of emotions on physiological processes and behavioral responses associated with diseases, psychological mechanisms that affect physiological functions.

Psychosomatic manifestation is an approach that takes into account the diversity of the causes that led to the disease. Hence the variety of methods and techniques that allow you to work with a person holistically. The psychosomatic9 approach begins when the patient ceases to be only a carrier of a diseased organ and is considered holistically.

Psychosomatic disorder - means a somatic disease that is caused by psychological factors or whose manifestations have become aggravated as a result of their influence.

The founder of the method of positive psychotherapy, Doctor of Medical Sciences N. Pezeshkian, believes that somatic diseases are based on psychological problems. In his book Psychosomatics and Positive Psychotherapy, he describes 40 diseases that are directly related to psychological causes.

Bronchial asthma;

Skin diseases and allergies;

Hypertension and hypotension;

Headache and migraine;

Schizophrenia and depression;

Sleep disturbance;

Swallowing disorders and coughing, etc.

A number of people experience fear for their state of health (hypochondria), fear of cancer (carcinophobia), etc.

With depressive disorders, patients often complain of heart and headaches, pain in the shoulder girdle and back, digestive problems, sleep disturbance and appetite. As well as complaints about disorders in the sexual sphere.

Stress is one type of emotional state.

As Perova E.I. writes, initially the concept of stress arose in physiology to denote non-specific reactions of the body (“general adaptation syndrome”) in response to any adverse effect.

Stress reactivity includes an increase in the level of cholesterol in the blood serum, an increase in respiratory and cardiac rhythms, an increase in muscle tension, blood pressure, etc.

Zolotova T.N. believes that on physiological level The following symptoms of stress are typical:

increased blood pressure;

pain in the region of the heart;

pain in the abdomen;

heartbeat;

back pain;

pain in the neck and head;

spasms in the throat, swallowing disorder;

numbness and tingling in the arms and legs;

the occurrence of cramps of the calf muscles;

short-term visual impairment, etc.

R. Naydiffer describes the reaction of people with a high degree of anxiety at the physiological level. In some, the muscles of the neck and shoulders reflexively tighten, in others, the muscles of the back or legs. Very often observed with a high degree of anxiety, discomfort in the stomach. Some people feel an increase in heart rate, while others, on the contrary, slow it down. In some cases, drowsiness appears.

Franz Alexander, author of "Psychosomatic Medicine", described seven psychosomatic diseases, explaining their occurrence by hereditary predisposition, lack of emotional warmth in the family and strong emotional experiences of adulthood.

In his opinion, the sympathetic reactions of the nervous system lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease and headaches. The parasympathetic response leads to ulcers, diarrhea, inflammation of the colon, and constipation. He drew attention to the fact that diseases of the heart arteries most often occur in doctors, lawyers and employees of executive bodies.

Currently, a number of psychosomatic disorders that are of psychogenic8 origin have been identified: obesity, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, hypertension, cardiac neurosis, gastroenteritis, etc.

Age-related psychosomatic manifestations and children's response to various inadequate relationships with their mother are also highlighted. These can be stomach cramps, eating disorders, sudden strong crying that occurs in the presence of a person who may show pity for the child and react to the child's behavior.

The causes of painful symptoms in middle-aged people are very closely intertwined with conflict situations that people had for a long period of life before the onset of the disease. These can be both macrotraumas and microtraumas, which can be at the level of everyday problems, such as the accuracy or punctuality of a partner, a trip in crowded transport, financial difficulties, etc.

5.2 Classification of psychosomatic consequences of exposure to extreme situations

It is of interest to classify the psychosomatic consequences of the impact of extreme situations on a person in terms of the main dynamic stages. These steps are the following.

Non-pathological psychophysiological reaction.

Usually lasts for several days. At the psychological level, it is characterized by emotional stress, decompensation (sharpening) of personal accentuations, sleep disturbance. At the social level, it is characterized by a critical assessment of what is happening, purposeful activity. The reaction is transient.

Psychogenic8 adaptive response. Lasts up to six months. At the psychological level, it is characterized by a neurotic level of disorders, asthenic, depressive and hysterical syndromes. At the social level, it is characterized by a decrease in the critical assessment of what is happening and the possibilities of purposeful activity, the emergence of interpersonal conflicts.

neurotic state. Lasts three to five years. At the psychological level, it is characterized by neuroses, exhaustion, obsessive-compulsive states, hysteria6. At the social level, he is characterized by the loss of critical understanding and the possibility of purposeful activity, high degree inconsistency and mismatch of values of the personality structure, interpersonal conflicts. The neurotic state is transformed into the neurotic development of the personality.

Pathological development of personality. Manifested through three to five stable neurotic disorders. At the psychological level, it is characterized by acute affective-shock reactions, a twilight state of consciousness, motor excitation or, conversely, lethargy, and mental disorders. At the social level, this leads to a general disintegration of the personality structure, to a personal catastrophe.

6. Consequences of extreme situations for victims

.1 Forms of behavior of victims of an extreme situation

behavior extreme situation affectation

Behavioral strategies are revealed in various forms adaptation, which is closely related to the problem of health-disease. This continuum is integral to the individual's life path. The multifunctionality and multidirectionality of the life path determine the interconnection and interdependence of the processes of somatic, personal and social functioning. Thus, the adaptation process includes various levels of human activity. The variety of events in the modern world contributes to the complexity of the behavior of the individual in them and increases the likelihood of their pathogenic impact.

Personally oriented forms of behavior of victims in extreme situations include the following:

Suicide is a conscious act of elimination from life under the influence of acute psychotraumatic situations, when one's own life as the highest value loses its meaning for a person. The meaning of life - as a basic motivational tendency is aimed at understanding the essence of one's own personality and its place in life, its life purpose. The meaning of life is the most important engine of personality development; on its basis, the personality chooses and forms its own life path, plans, goals, aspirations in accordance with certain principles. Suicide is an act of suicide committed by a person in a state of severe mental disorder or under the influence of mental illness. The causes of suicides are varied and rooted both in the personality deformations of the subject and the psycho-traumatic environment surrounding him, and in the socio-economic and moral organization of society.

Apathy is a state characterized by emotional passivity, indifference, simplification of feelings, indifference to oneself and loved ones, to the events of the surrounding reality and the weakening of motives and interests, a sharp weakening of attention. Apathy occurs against the background of reduced physical and psychological activity and can be short-term or long-term. Formed mainly as a result of fatigue, exhaustion, or a long-term mental disorder, this condition sometimes occurs with certain organic brain lesions, with dementia, and also as a result of a prolonged somatic illness. Outwardly similar state of depression in neuroses differs from apathy. At present, the problem of social apathy arising as a result of a personal crisis in an era of social crisis and covering the widest strata of the population is relevant.

Autism is an extreme form of psychological alienation. It is expressed in the removal, "withdrawal", "escape" of the individual from contacts with reality and immersion in the closed world of his own experiences. In a state of autism in an individual:

the ability to arbitrarily control one's thinking, to disconnect from painful thoughts is reduced;

there are attempts to avoid any contact;

the need for joint activities disappears;

the ability to intuitively understand others, to play the roles of others is lost;

there is an inadequate emotional response to the behavior of others.

Other forms of behavior of victims in extreme situations are as follows:

Unmotivated vigilance. The victim is closely watching everything that happens around him, as if he is constantly in danger.

Explosive reaction. At the slightest surprise, the victim makes rapid movements: throws himself to the ground at the sound of a low-flying aircraft or helicopter, turns around sharply and assumes a protective pose if someone approaches him from behind, etc.

Dullness of emotional manifestations. Completely or partially the victim loses the ability to emotional manifestations. He has difficulty establishing close or friendly ties with others. Joy, love, creativity, spontaneity, fun and games are not available to him.

General anxiety. The victim has constant anxiety and preoccupation, paranoid phenomena, for example, fear of persecution. In emotional experiences - a constant feeling of fear, self-doubt.

Outbursts of rage. It is attacks, even outbursts of rage, that occur in the victim, and not bursts of moderate anger.

6.2 Periods in the dynamics of the development of post-traumatic mental disorders

The first period is acute. It lasts from the beginning of the impact of the situation to the organization of rescue operations. The main traumatic factors:

a sudden threat to one's own life;

physical injury to the victim;

physical injury or death of close relatives;

severe damage or loss of property and other material values.

non-pathological neurotic; it is based on fear, mental tension, anxiety;

appropriate behavior is maintained;

acute reactive psychoses in the form of affective-shock states with motor excitation or lethargy;

loss of control over their actions among victims;

a change in the state of "petrification", inactivity with aimless movements, flight, screams, a state of panic.

The second period is the organization of rescue operations, the establishment of a relatively normal life in extreme conditions from the beginning to the end of rescue operations.

The main traumatic factor is the expectation of repeated physical and mental impacts due to the loss of relatives and friends, family separation, loss of property, the need to identify dead relatives, and the discrepancy between what was expected and the results of rescue operations.

The main mental reactions of the participants:

preservation adequate self-esteem and ability to purposeful activity;

gradual weakening of affective-shock states and a decrease in the depth of their manifestations;

inadequate behavior of the victims;

inappropriate motor actions;

a state of numbness;

manifestation of phobic neuroses13, for example, fear of enclosed spaces (the victims refuse to enter the car, the tent).

The third period is the evacuation of victims to safe areas. The main traumatic factors:

change in life stereotype;

fear for the state of their health and the health of loved ones;

experiencing the loss of loved ones, separation of families, material losses.

The main mental reactions of the participants:

psycho-emotional stress;

sharpening of character traits;

phobic neuroses;

neurotic personality development;

increased use of alcohol, tobacco, medicines, drugs;

activation of interpersonal contacts;

normalization emotional coloring speech, restoration of dreams;

an increase in conflict situations.

People who survived in an extreme situation experience certain pathological changes in the mental sphere (post-traumatic syndrome) for a long time. Among the psychopathological changes after trauma in people, the following are most common:

Violations of memory and concentration of perception. Victims have difficulty concentrating or remembering something.

Unwanted memories. Terrible scenes associated with a psychotraumatic situation suddenly pop up in the memory of the victim. In reality, these memories arise in cases where the environment is somewhat reminiscent of what happened "at that time", i.e. during a traumatic event. These signals can be smells, sights, sounds that seem to have come from “there”. Unwanted traumatic memories are accompanied by intense feelings of anxiety and fear.

Nightmares. Dreams of this kind are usually of two types:

some, with the accuracy of video recordings, convey the traumatic event as it was imprinted in the memory of the person who survived it;

others only vaguely resemble the traumatic event. A person awakens from such a dream completely broken, with tense muscles, in copious sweat.

hallucinatory experiences.

A special kind of unsolicited memories of traumatic events, when what happened is so vivid that the events of the current moment seem to recede to the periphery of consciousness and seem less real than memories. In this detached state, a person behaves as if he is re-experiencing a past traumatic event: he acts, thinks, feels like at the moment when he had to save his life.

Insomnia. Difficulty falling asleep and interrupted sleep. It is believed that a person himself involuntarily resists falling asleep when he is visited by hallucinations. He is afraid to fall asleep, so as not to see a terrible dream again. Insomnia can also be caused by very high levels of anxiety, a person's inability to relax, or a persistent feeling of physical or mental pain.

Survivor's Guilt. The feeling of guilt arises from the fact that the victim survived in an extreme situation that cost the lives of others, especially relatives or close relatives, friends that were extremely important to him.

It is believed that this condition is typical for those who suffer more from "emotional deafness", i.e. inability to experience joy, love, compassion after a traumatic event.

A strong sense of guilt provokes bouts of auto-aggressive behavior.

In extreme situations, different social groups- in fact, the victims of situations and their rescuers, each of these groups has something similar, and in some ways different personality-oriented forms of behavior.

7. Forms of behavior of rescuers in extreme situations

The psyche of rescuers is also subjected to serious tests during and after rescue operations. People experience fear and horror from what they see (according to some estimates, up to 98% of participants):

nightmares, insomnia at night, daytime sleepiness, depressed mood (50%);

dizziness, fainting, headaches, nausea, vomiting (20%).

Other, specific, forms of reaction among rescuers have also been noticed:

Irritability. It occurs when one feels one's powerlessness, the inability to do something. The effectiveness of efforts (often subjectively) falls. A person begins to get angry for no reason at someone or at anything around him, swears, falls into a rage.

Failure to act correctly. Suddenly, a person finds that he cannot work normally, and he himself does not know why this is happening. He is unable to remember what his tasks are, he does not know where to start this or that business. He asks others for help and at the same time does not want to show that he is not able to do a good job.

Anxiety. The person is extremely busy and cannot stop working. He takes on everything, not understanding what is really important and what is not.

Escape. A person suddenly stops doing something for himself. He wants to run away from all the terrible disasters and misfortunes that appear before his eyes. Sometimes he still has enough strength to control himself enough to hide from his place of work unnoticed.

Despair. Suddenly, a person notices that he can no longer cope with his feelings. He doesn't understand why this is happening. He experiences a complete breakdown, the absence of any feelings, hides somewhere in a quiet place, devastated and desperate. He feels dizzy, he staggers, he wants to sit down.

Exhaustion. Suddenly one feels unable to take even one step. He wants to sit up, he tries to catch his breath. All his muscles ache, any "thinking" is too hard for him.

Typical psychovegetative reactions of rescuers in extreme situations are as follows:

Palpitation. Suddenly a person feels pain in his chest, and although he knows that everything is in order with his health, nevertheless he is really scared and worried. He thinks that he might have a heart attack, and he tries to sit somewhere in a calm place.

Nervous chill. Just as suddenly, the rescuer begins an uncontrollable nervous tremor, so strong that he cannot even light a match or pour a cup of tea. He does not know what to do.

Sudden tears, crying. For no reason, a person has
tears, although he tries to hold them back. He is ashamed of what is with him
happening. He tries to retire, pull himself together and restore disturbed mental balance.

Conclusion

The normal state is the most important part of the whole mental regulation, plays an essential role in any kind of activity and behavior. However, the theory of mental states is far from complete; many aspects of mental states have not been studied with the necessary completeness. According to the doctor of psychological sciences L.V. Kulikova, “personal potentials that allow regulating the state remain little explored”.

The analysis of the influence of emotional stress on the body is devoted to the research of authors - specialists in the field of sociology, psychology and physiology. First of all, in such situations it is necessary to take into account the possibility of normal positive adaptation to frustrations. "Frustration is an emotionally difficult experience by a person of his failure, accompanied by a feeling of hopelessness, the collapse of hopes in achieving the desired goal." A person who often has to be in emergency situations is able to develop the skills of the most adequate reactions, the most correct mobilization of his functions. Possible training different ways elimination of fear. Significant and the role of positive experience, a sense of satisfaction in connection with the task. All this leads to an increase in self-confidence, which contributes to better adaptation to extreme situations that may arise as a result of emergency situations.

In conclusion, it is also possible to draw a conclusion on how to proceed in order to avoid the depressed state of people in an emergency.

Firstly, it must be taken into account that a person who has suffered a severe mental trauma restores mental balance much faster if he is involved in some kind of physical work and not alone, but as part of a group.

Second, to weaken negative impact per person, we need constant preparation for action in emergency situations, the formation mental stability, education will. That is why the main content of psychological preparation is the development and consolidation of the necessary psychological qualities.

Thirdly, preparation for psychological stress, increased stamina, development of endurance, self-control, a steady desire to fulfill the tasks set, the development of mutual assistance and interaction are of particular importance.

It must be remembered that the level of psychological preparation of people is one of the most important factors. The slightest confusion and manifestation of fear, especially at the very beginning of an accident or catastrophe, at the time of the development of a natural disaster, can lead to serious and sometimes irreparable consequences. First of all, this applies to officials who are obliged to immediately take measures that mobilize the team, while showing personal discipline and restraint.

Glossary

Asthenization is a decrease in the functionality of the central nervous system, manifested by a deterioration in performance, mental fatigue, deterioration in attention, memory, increased reactivity with irritable weakness.

3. Asthenia (from other Greek.<#"justify">Literature

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Jobs similar to - Behavior of people in extreme situations

Reviewers:

VK. Reshetnyak - Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Director of the Scientific and Educational Medical Center under the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, M.L. Kukushkin - doctor of medical sciences, professor, head. Pain Pathophysiology Laboratory, Research Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences; V.M. Tatarnikov – Candidate of Medical Sciences, Colonel of the Medical Service, Lecturer in Disaster Medicine

Consultants:

B.N. Pavlov - Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Head. Laboratory of Hyperbaric Problems of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences; G.I. Samarin - candidate of medical sciences, head. Laboratory for the Development and Implementation of Biomedical Programs of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM

At the basis of all the catastrophes of the current civilization lies the low moral and scientific culture of a society that neglects the ancient moral codes of conscience, honor, shame and kindness.

V. Yagodinsky

Earth, as a planet in the solar system, has existed for about 5 billion years. Life, as a phenomenon, originating on Earth almost 4 billion years ago, has gone through a complex and long path of evolution. But long is in our, human understanding. On a cosmic scale, 4 billion years is a short span, a "moment", compared to eternity...

And yet this "instant" was enough to go from the first cell to the thinking matter, capable of creating a civilization.

The phenomenon of life on a cosmic scale is hardly limited to our planet, although no traces of extraterrestrial life have been found in space and on Earth to this day. Nevertheless, an analysis of the evolution of living systems on our planet shows that the forms of life manifestations in the Universe can be very diverse, unique for each particular galaxy or star-planetary system, and at the same time, in some respects, similar in such properties as the desire for organization , self-regulation, reproduction, evolution and expansion.

Moreover, the emergence and development of thinking life forms cannot be the result of a random enumeration of possible combinations of cellular structures capable of processing, accumulating and transmitting information.

It is very likely that in the Universe there exists and from time to time a certain “Program of Life” is unfolding, into which the emergence and evolution of thinking matter is built, Mind.

In any case, today there are a fairly large number of hypotheses based on data from paleontology, cosmology, astrophysics, evolutionary biology and confirming the above.

An inquisitive reader can be addressed in this matter to such outstanding researchers as V.I. Vernadsky, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, E. Schrödinger, I.S. Shklovsky, W. Friedman, R. Penrose, V.V. Nalimov, who made a significant contribution to the formation of a scientific worldview about the origin of the Universe, Life and Mind.

And although this book does not claim to be an exhaustive review of the scientific literature on the origin and evolution of life, I would like to note the following: almost all the works of the above authors note not only the uniqueness of existing life forms, but also an amazing combination of the stability of protective and adaptive mechanisms with fragility, insecurity to those factors external environment which inevitably accompany the development of a technocratically oriented civilization.

Stability, stability, on the one hand, and plasticity, the dynamics of the mechanisms that ensure the homeostasis of a living system, on the other hand, it is precisely in this unity of two seemingly opposite processes that the riddle (or clue!) of the amazing ability of living systems to evolve, diversity lies. forms and expansion.

Of course, the adaptive-protective mechanisms of complex multicellular organisms are much more diverse and "sophisticated" than those of the simplest, unicellular creatures. These mechanisms must take into account and coordinate in time and space the work of hundreds, or even billions of cells, manifesting themselves as a single whole - the body.

But at the same time, the life or death of the whole organism may depend on an adequate reaction or, on the contrary, on the failure of a single cell in the composition of this organism.

Before the appearance of man, the process of formation and development of the biosphere on our planet took place in accordance with the initially set fundamental laws and constants of the Universe. The role of random factors of cosmic or terrestrial origin, such as encounters with fireballs, comets and other large cosmic bodies, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, change radiation background etc., undoubtedly contributed to the appearance or disappearance of certain species in the world of plants and animals. But in general, and this is evidenced by paleontological data, the evolution of life on Earth “fitted” into certain time and geophysical frames.

The animal and plant world of the planet Earth for the entire time of its existence (before man!) Only adapted to changing environmental conditions.

With the advent Homo sapiens the situation began to change radically. Man, using more and more advanced tools, has become actively change the very environment of its existence.

In his irrepressible desire to master the energy, the speed of movement, to expand the sphere of comfort of being and to satisfy the ever-increasing demands for life, man has already approached the line beyond which the real danger of not only self-destruction as a species is clearly visible, but also the destruction of the very cradle of life - the planet. Earth.

The environmental situation today is such that the efforts of individual, technically the most developed and, at first glance, the most prosperous countries (in social terms) are insufficient even to stop the global destruction of the biosphere, not to mention its restoration. The human mind has penetrated the secrets of the structure of matter, deciphered the DNA code, is close to the complete decoding of the human genome, it has created a truly powerful apparatus for cognition and control of the flows of matter, energy and information - science and technology, but it turned out to be powerless in the face of ambitions and its own indefatigable human demands. And even such planetary organizations as the UN, WHO, UNESCO, GRINPIS, etc. turned out to be powerless to change anything in the inexorably impending catastrophe. It is enough to read the annual bulletins of the UN Environmental Commission to make sure that all of the above is true. At the same time, each critical thinking person understands perfectly well that the true state of affairs is much worse than it follows from official, albeit very competent sources.

And in this regard, the most alarming situation is developing in Russia, where over the past two decades much more has been destroyed than built. The same can be said about the CIS countries that were previously part of the USSR.

The excess of mortality over the birth rate, the "rejuvenation" of such serious diseases as oncological, cardiovascular diseases, diseases associated with a profound impairment of immunity, etc. - this is not a complete list of "diseases of civilization."

Stresses associated primarily with the social uncertainty of a society thrown into the "era of wild capitalism" lead to a rapid increase in diseases in the mental sphere. Drug addiction, alcoholism flourished, not to mention the frank rampant banditry, organized crime and other ulcers. transition period". And what's next?.. What awaits us tomorrow, our children and grandchildren? Country and, finally, on a global scale - all of humanity?

Can anything be opposed to the impending Apocalypse?

Serious analysis reveals that it turns out... you can still. And not only is it possible, but really necessary! But this will become possible only when not individual professionals and specialists in the field of sociology, economics, politics, ecology will have clear and honestly reasoned ideas about the causes of the developing crisis, but every person, regardless of age, social class, religion, education or the absence of such.

During the fire, saving the belongings acquired over a lifetime, a wizened, slender old woman dragged a huge chest from the second floor of the burning house. After the fire, two young guys with difficulty managed to put it back in its original place. One polar explorer, while repairing an aircraft, saw a polar bear behind him, gently pushing him with his paw, as if inviting him to turn around. In the next second, a man was standing (!) On the wing of the plane. Didn't climb on it, didn't pull up, no. Stood.

WHAT the body will not do when we are talking about life and death. Fear and self-preservation are great stimulants. They can make our spine withstand a load of 10 tons, the respiratory rate will increase 4 times, instead of 35 capillaries per centimeter in a calm state, 3 thousand will earn in an extreme one. What about our brain? It functions only at 5 - 7% of its capabilities. What do the other 95% do and in general why does a person need such a physical and mental reserve and why not use it all the time?

No, experts say, you can't. This reserve is a guarantee of our survival, the biological protection of the body, which is very carefully guarded and can be used once or twice in a lifetime in order to save us from death in an extreme situation, or may even turn out to be unclaimed. After all, extreme situations are also different. On the one hand, we all now live in an extreme situation - stress, uncertainty, nervous strain. British scientists have recently applied to the Association of Independent Science at Moscow State University. In their opinion, the experience of survival in our country is unique. A person does not constantly pull tons of cargo on himself, does not overheat at a 100-degree temperature. But no Western citizen could live long in conditions like ours without harming his health. Are we wasting our stock? Certainly. But this happens somehow imperceptibly, but if we take a situation where everything changes suddenly, unexpectedly, instantly. The threat to life is colossal, death is inevitable, and now ...

MIRACLES OF SILENTNESS

A WOMAN lifts a car with her child under it. An elderly man jumps over a two-meter fence, although he was not an athlete even in his younger years. There is a known case when in flight under the pedal in the cockpit a nail fell out of nowhere, the control jammed. Saving himself and the car, the pilot pressed the pedal so hard that he cut off the bolt. Where do forces come from? And unprecedented speed in movements? Many are capable of incredible things at such moments and manage to do such a gigantic amount of work in a few moments, which is simply unrealistic to perform or repeat under normal conditions. True, people who found themselves in such situations, when everything can be decided by a moment, testified that time, as it were, stretched out, slowed down, allowing a person to save a life. For example, in a man who worked on a drilling flock, the mitten slightly touched the drill, it began to be tightened, and with it, of course, his hand. A partner who was nearby at that moment later said that the worker tried to press the button with his shoulder to stop the machine, but missed. The drill continued to "slowly" rotate and twist his arm. Then the partner again slowly raised his hand and pressed the button. "Immediately the noise and roar of the shop broke in (and he somehow left imperceptibly) ... All this took 1 / 8-1 / 9 seconds, and subjectively lasted 25-30 seconds."

According to experts, one should not assume that people stimulated by a sense of fear showed miracles of quickness and repeatedly increased the speed of their movements. There are several versions of why this happens. For example, this: if there is a biofield around every person, then why not assume that in a moment of mortal danger, we, without realizing it, are able to use its energy reserve. What if the instantaneous release of this energy will lead to a change in the environment, space, even time, as in the case of a machine tool?

It is likely that the organism reacts to such situations with instantaneous behavior. So why can't this energy also change the environment?

THE SUBCONSCIOUSNESS WILL SAVE

IF this theory is adhered to, it is likely that, having once used up its reserve, the body needs to restore it. Even at the beginning of the century, psychiatrist G. Shumkov believed that this would take at least a day, and a meeting with danger at that time was death. Doesn't this explain why we suddenly don't want to do something or go somewhere? Maybe this is how we subconsciously try to avoid danger. There is, for example, evidence of the paradoxical behavior of the military, impeccable professionals and fearless people, who suddenly, without explanation, at some point felt a categorical impossibility to fulfill their professional duty. The regimental commander saw action many times and was considered a brave officer. Once having received an order: “Tomorrow come forward and take such and such a position,” the colonel came to the brigade infirmary and said: “I want to lie down, I can’t go to the position.” The temperature is normal internal organs without changes. Night slept well. The next day ... calmly went to the position. The question is, what was he ill with?.. And was it a manifestation of cowardice or the result of a sober subconscious assessment of his capabilities?

Ordinary people resort to their emergency reserve quite rarely. And if this person is healthy, the body will cope with unusual loads, but if some kind of pathology is dormant in you, they can provoke a disease. Any extreme exposure is stress, and stress tends to leave its mark. It is very difficult to determine exactly what the body is capable of in stressful situations with the help of experiments. Whatever burdens a person endures, it is likely that in mortal danger, new opportunities will appear in him. In addition, each person inherits from his parents certain inclinations, the range of which can be quite large and vary by 10-20 times.

Nevertheless, it is pleasant to realize that somewhere in the depths of you lurk unprecedented forces, that you have a colossal memory and unlimited possibilities that, in an incredibly difficult, tense situation of mortal danger, will save your life. But if in order to find out what the reserve of these possibilities is, one has to get into just such a situation, let it be better to be inviolable ...