Leonid Chutko: I have no strength

Leonid Chutko

Polit.ru introduces readers to the books included in the long list of candidates for the 2023 Enlightenment Prize. Twenty books were selected from more than 130 nominated by various publishers. The short list for the Enlightener Prize will be announced before the end of September.

The Portal publishing house presents Leonid Chutko’s book “No Strength. Adaptation to stress, or How to stay healthy in an unhealthy world."

Professor Leonid Sergeevich Chutko will show that stress to which one manages to adapt is constructive and leads to success. However, if the impact of stress is so strong that it depletes the body’s adaptive forces, severe consequences occur: burnout, chronic fatigue, anxiety-phobic disorders, headaches and insomnia.

Fortunately, every problem has a solution. Thanks to the book, you will regain your ability to experience positive emotions, increase your tolerance for uncertainty, learn to cope with panic attacks, migraines, insomnia and apathy, and learn what to counteract phobias, neurasthenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

We invite you to read a fragment of the book.

The anxiety of a modern person is often caused by the fact that he is afraid of becoming an outcast, of finding himself on the sidelines of life due to a deterioration in his financial situation and a decrease in social status. In this respect, we are essentially no different from our distant ancestors. From the point of view of evolutionary psychology, the survival of primitive man depended on sensitivity to the needs of the group. Those who did not possess it posed a danger to the group and therefore risked being ostracized, which practically meant certain death. Thus, evolutionary development led to the development of the ability to recognize stimuli of social evaluation, which provided a chance to maintain an acceptable level of financial status and receive social support.

Anxiety, like a fire alarm, forces us to pay attention to potentially threatening situations. According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law of Optimal Motivation1, moderate anxiety can stimulate activity, however, having reached a certain level, it begins to reduce work efficiency and reduces it the more strongly the more pronounced it is.

Adults most often do not admit that they are afraid of something, but they can say about their anxiety: “I’m a little worried...”. Anxiety is a milder form of fear, the first “wake-up call.”

Pathological anxiety

If anxiety is not caused by external factors at all, it is considered pathological. Such anxiety is inadequate to the situation and sharply reduces productivity and adaptive capabilities.

The main signs of pathological anxiety are:

1) unfounded alarm reactions and their excessiveness;

2) avoidance of situations that cause anxiety and loss of self-control;

3) unusual frequency and duration of anxiety reactions;

4) deterioration in quality of life.

External circumstances can play a provoking role, but the occurrence of pathological anxiety is largely determined by internal reasons. Pathological anxiety is much less associated with a real threat than normal, and its degree is inadequate to the significance of the situation. As a result of pathological anxiety, the formation of adaptive behavior is disrupted, and painful subjective experiences lead to a decrease in performance.

Spanish philosopher and psychologist José Antonio Marina in his book “Anatomy of Fear. A Treatise on Courage2 notes that anxiety and fear cause a triple response that manifests itself at the physiological, psychological and behavioral levels. We experience certain physiological sensations (“the heart sank with horror,” “we caught our breath”), our system of perception of reality is distorted (it seems that the world is full of dangers), our whole being is absorbed in one thing - to be on alert (to run, fight, freeze or submit) . In this case, the degree of threat depends on the subjective assessment. “The dangers of smoking have been proven, but it does not cause fear in anyone. Ghosts, the souls of the dead, ghosts objectively do not threaten anyone, but they cause horror. That is, before us are communicating vessels: one of them is individual perception, the other is reality. The stimulus may initially arise in the first or in the second, but the emotions will one way or another reach a certain level,” writes José Antonio Marina.

Freud gave the first description of anxiety neurosis. He identified three criteria to distinguish anxiety neurosis:

1) a sudden influx or “attack” of anxiety (nowadays it’s common to talk about a panic attack);

2) anticipation or anticipation of an influx of anxiety;

3) secondary phobic avoidance.

Causes of Anxiety Disorders

Of course, stress plays a very important role in anxiety. But he is not alone. The development of anxiety disorders occurs as a result of the interaction of biological and psychological factors and environmental influences.

Neuroses and psychoanalysis

The pathogenesis (mechanism of origin and development of the disease and its manifestations) of anxiety disorders is usually considered within the framework of the teachings of neuroses, and the psychoanalytic concept of neuroses, based on the theory of Sigmund Freud, is often used. According to Freud, human mental life is an expression of unconscious mental processes. Personality includes three structures, three levels: Id (It), Ego (I) and Super-Ego (Super-I).

The id is the unconscious source of psychic energy and includes basal (innate) instincts, needs and impulses. The id acts according to the principle of pleasure, that is, it strives for immediate release of tension, which is caused by primary (biological, determined by the body) impulses, without taking into account any social norms, rules, requirements, prohibitions. The ego (mind) controls instincts and functions at all three levels of consciousness, being a connecting link, a mediator between the Id and the outside world. The superego is the moral aspect of the personality, conscience and ideal “I”. The super-ego is formed in the process of education and socialization of the individual through the assimilation of social norms, values, and behavioral stereotypes. The super-ego acts according to moral and ethical principles, exercising self-control over behavior and preventing the manifestation of internal impulses that do not correspond to social norms and standards.

Anxiety, from Freud's point of view, warns the Ego of impending danger, a threat, helping the personality to react to these situations in the most adequate way. Freud identified three types of anxiety: objective or realistic (associated with threats from the external world), neurotic (associated with the influences of the Id) and moral (associated with the influences of the Superego). Objective anxiety arises in response to real dangers in the world around us. Neurotic anxiety is the fear of punishment for the uncontrolled manifestation of the needs of the id. Moral anxiety is based on concerns on the part of the superego, which prescribes behavior in accordance with social standards. Moral anxiety is a feeling of guilt or shame that arises in a person when he commits or would like to commit acts that contradict moral norms and rules (the requirements of the Super-Ego).

Anxiety activates defense mechanisms, that is, certain techniques used by the ego and aimed at reducing emotional stress and anxiety. Freud wrote that “defense mechanisms are the general name for all the special techniques used by the ego in conflicts that can lead to neurosis.”

The function of defense mechanisms is to prevent awareness of instinctual impulses and thereby protect the ego from anxiety. Defense mechanisms are unconscious and largely distort reality.

If anxiety does not decrease or decreases only for a short time (since defense mechanisms are not aimed at resolving conflicts and problems, but only at displacing them into the unconscious, that is, removing them from consciousness), then the development of a neurotic state may be a consequence of this.

According to Alfred Adler, one of Freud's students, the basis of neuroses is the conflict between the desire for power and the feeling of one's own inferiority. In this case, neurosis is not a disease, but only a certain way of compensating for feelings of inferiority. This feeling, according to Adler, is universal, it is “a stimulus for healthy, normal development,” but if it is excessive or burdensome, an inferiority complex arises, which becomes the cause of severe distress.

Beyond psychoanalysis

Modern scientific ideas about neuroses are not limited to psychoanalysis. With a humanistic approach, the main human need is considered to be the need for self-actualization - the most complete identification and development of one’s personal potential. Neurosis is considered as a result of the impossibility of self-actualization, the alienation of a person from himself and the world. According to Abraham Maslow, neurosis is based on the fact that the fundamental needs of a person are not satisfied (in his well-known pyramid of needs, the bottom, base layer consists of physiological needs: food, warmth, clothing, etc.). Viktor Frankl, a psychologist and psychiatrist who went through Nazi concentration camps, sees the basis of neuroses in existential frustration, when a person loses the meaning of life, and the desire to seek it in personal existence is blocked. These are noogenic neuroses that arise from a conflict between different values, from spiritual problems.

Above I wrote about the adaptive role of anxiety. In modern man, the fear reaction in most cases occurs in the absence of a real threat to life and health. Being called to the carpet by your boss can be very unpleasant, but it does not pose a threat to life. William James3 argued that anxiety stems from the inappropriateness of “primitive reactions” of fight or flight in modern civilization.

Research in the behavioral direction has shown that through the formation of a conditioned reflex, a stable fear reaction can be developed. One of the founders of behaviorism, American psychologist John Brodes Watson, conducted experiments (which we would now consider cruel and unethical) to instill a certain fear in a child - the fear of white rats.

The experiment (another name for the experiment is "Little Albert") consisted of a nine-month-old child, initially not afraid of a white rat, a white rabbit, or white cotton wool, wearing a Santa Claus mask, then being shown a white rat for some time and accompanied by with a loud, frightening sound. After a few days, he began to cry at the mere sight of a white rat. The initially neutral reaction gave way to a clearly negative one. He also cried when he saw other similar objects - that is, a transfer of the fear reaction occurred.

Most researchers recognize the important role of stress in the formation of anxiety disorders. Previously, stress was divided into physiological and mental, but now doctors and psychologists believe that any stress is accompanied by both physiological and mental manifestations. Recently, the attention of scientists has attracted social stress disorders, which are based on socio-economic changes.

The main causes of such stress are changes in behavioral stereotypes, social relations, cultural ideas, and social connections. Rethinking life goals, the collapse of established ideals and authorities, and the lack of hope for improving the situation give rise to anxious tension, frustration, and cause an identity crisis. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has been a major social stressor, and the resulting anxiety in society has been exacerbated by the events of 2022.

Basic anxiety and neurotic needs

Karen Horney4 believes that the essence of neurosis is the neurotic character structure, and the central links are the neurotic tendencies that form the core of this structure. Horney developed the concept of basic anxiety - the feeling of anxiety experienced by a child in early childhood, the desire for isolation in a potentially hostile world. The healthy desire for self-actualization is replaced by an all-consuming desire for security. The baby begins to experience anxiety from the very first minutes of its existence outside the mother's womb. This feeling is fixed and becomes a personality trait. Internal anxiety gives rise to the desire to get rid of it, which is the deep motivation of behavior. It is innate (basal) anxiety that makes a person strive for safety.

Neurotic (according to K. Horney) include the following needs:

1. The need for love, affection and approval, leading to the desire to constantly please others and please everyone, fear of self-affirmation and hostility.

2. The desire to find a leader who will take control of the neurotic’s life into his own hands and fulfill all his life expectations.

3. Fear of abandonment.

4. Confining life within a narrow framework, undemandingness, limiting one’s desires.

5. Lust for power: passionate thirst for domination over others, fear of uncontrollable situations.

6. The desire to exploit others, combined with the fear of being exploited oneself.

7. Passion for public recognition and low self-esteem in its absence.

8. The need for admiration from others, flattery.

9. Perfectionism (to be the best in everything: profession, love, creativity) combined with fear of failure.

10. Thirst for self-sufficiency and independence (not needing anyone, not being influenced by others), which causes a fear of intimacy and love.

11. The desire for invulnerability, combined with the fear of criticism.

If you read this list carefully, you will find that some needs conflict with others. This conflict leads to the development of neurosis.

Physiology of anxiety disorders

Since this book is not a medical textbook, we will consider the physiological processes in anxiety disorders in a simplified manner.

Anxiety manifests itself in dysfunction of two areas of the brain - the hippocampus and the amygdala (amygdala). The amygdala processes information about any threat, and the hippocampus stores information only about dangerous situations, which allows you to differentiate situations by the degree of risk. In this case, the role of the hippocampus is not only to store information, but also to involuntarily suppress emotional reactions. The formation of an emotional reaction occurs as if from the bottom up: from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The inhibitory reaction, on the contrary, is transmitted “top-down”: from the PFC and hippocampus to the amygdala.

The development of anxiety disorders is caused by hyperactivation or a decrease in the activation threshold of the amygdala, which is manifested by increased sensitivity to any negative information. Patients with anxiety disorders experience pathological overarousal in the amygdala, resulting in a deficit in emotional regulation that prevents them from getting used to “normal” fears. Already experienced and overcome fears return again and again.

Anxiety is caused by excessive activation of the amygdala, which is manifested by increased sensitivity to any negative information. This process is aggravated by disturbances in the functioning of the cortical parts, which normally should inhibit excitation processes.

According to Jeffrey Alan Gray's theory,5 the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex are integrated into functional systems: the behavioral activation system and the behavioral inhibition system. The first motivates behavior aimed at approaching an object, stimulating social interaction and positive emotions. The second is responsible for inhibition and avoidance behavior. These are antagonistic systems with the help of which situations are divided into attractive or dangerous. The predominance of the activation system directly correlates with high levels of extraversion, social interaction skills and behavior aimed at obtaining positive emotions. The main role in the development of anxiety disorders is played by its excessive activation and decreased activity of the inhibitory system. This leads to a state of constant tension and lack of motivation for social interactions.

As a result of many studies in the field of neurobiology of neuroses, the important role of neurotransmitter systems has been identified. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry signals from a neuron (nerve cell) to a target cell (another nerve cell, muscle cell, or gland). It has been established that the formation of neuroses is influenced by disturbances in the functioning of the benzodiazepine, norepinephrine, serotonin systems, as well as the GABA system (gamma-aminobutyric acid system). The balance between excitatory amines (glutamate, aspartate) and the GABA system is of greatest importance. A shift towards excitatory amines leads to an increase in the level of neuronal activity, anxiety, agitation, and insomnia. GABA, by regulating the channels of nerve cell membranes, reduces their excitability and reduces anxiety. A shift towards the GABA system leads to sedation (decreased level of consciousness, pain sensitivity, suppressed reflexes), drowsiness, decreased mental activity, and memory impairment.

Endocrine changes in severe anxiety include increased levels of adrenaline, epinephrine, cortisol, growth hormone and prolactin, as well as decreased testosterone levels in men. Experimental studies have found a connection between serotonin and anxiety. Injection of serotonin into the ventricles of the brain of rats blocked the anti-anxiety effect of benzodiazepines.

Anxiety is hereditary: hereditary burden is observed in 40–50% of children with anxiety disorders. Scientists who studied the impact of maternal anxiety on the fetal development of the child found that high levels of anxiety at 32 weeks of pregnancy double the risk of emotional disorders in the child. And even more than that. As studies by epigenetic scientists show, the effect of stress on a child begins three months before conception! This phenomenon is called perinatal imprinting. Moreover, not only maternal, but also paternal stress matters: it turns out that it is literally built into the sperm. Subsequent epigenetic changes in one of the genes lead, for example, to the fact that symptoms of post-traumatic anxiety disorder in people with a damaged gene last longer than in those whose gene is not changed.

1 The Yerkes-Dodson Law explains why the best results are achieved with moderate intensity of motivation. There is a certain limit of motivation, beyond which its further increase leads to worse results.

2 Published in Russian by Corpus publishing house in 2010.

3 American philosopher and psychologist. One of the founders and leading exponent of pragmatism and functionalism.

4 American psychoanalyst and psychologist, one of the key figures of neo-Freudianism.

5 British psychologist known for his contributions to the theory of mind.

6 You can learn many surprisingly interesting facts about epigenetics by reading the book “Is There a Health Code?” Peter Sporck is one of the world's leading popularizers of epigenetics (Portal Publishing House, 2023).

Previously, the following books, included in the long list of the Enlightenment Prize, were presented in the “Slow Reading” section:

Mikhail Velizhev. The Chaadayev case: ideology, rhetoric and state power in Nikolaev Russia. M.: New Literary Review, 2022.

Andrey Gorokhov. Visual glue . M., Ekaterinburg: Cabinet Scientist, 2023.

Alexandra Goryashko. Wild bird and cultured man. The common eider and Homo sapiens: fourteen centuries of relationship. St. Petersburg: Printing house "LD-Print", 2020.

Igor Lisov. Scouts of the Outer Planets: The Journey of the Pioneers and Voyagers from Earth to Neptune and Beyond. M.: Alpina non-fiction, 2022.

Alexander Mozhaev. Great Posad of Moscow. The true history of China Town. M.: Bombora, 2022.

Anton Nelikhov. Dinosaurs of Russia: Past, present, future. M.: Alpina non-fiction, 2022.

Natalia Osoianu. Romanian myths. From vyrkolak and pharaohs to Muma Paduriy and Dracula. M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2023.

Nadezhda Plungyan. The birth of a Soviet woman. Worker, peasant woman, pilot, “former” and others in the art of 1917–1939. M.: Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, 2022.

Sergey Samoilenko. Probabilities and troubles. Mathematics of everyday life. M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2022.

Oleg Khlevnyuk. Imposter Corporation . Shadow economy and corruption in the Stalinist USSR. M.: New Literary Review, 2023.

Elena Khokhlova. The main thing in the history of Korean art. Key works, themes, names, techniques. - M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2023.

Oleg Shumakov. Kingdom of Cambodia. The protracted journey of a zoologist. M.: Fiton XXI, 2021.

Sergey Shumsky. Raising machines: A new history of the mind. M.: Alpina non-fiction, 2021.

Tamara Eidelman. The right to live. History of the death penalty. M.: Alpina non-fiction, 2023.

New Tatyana Pigareva Spain from I to Z Sergey Sergeev Russian autocracy. Power and its limits: 1462–1917 Katerina Mikhaleva-Eger 350 years of modern fashion Leonid Chutko No strength Katya Kolpinets Formula of dreams Sergei Plokhy Forgotten bastards of the Eastern Front David Chivers, Tom Chivers Numbers lie. How to Not Let Statistics Deceive You Paul Steinhardt Impossibility of the Second Kind Stephen Hoffman Five Forces That Change Everything Walter Isaacson Cracking the Code Rustam Alexander Closed. Life of homosexuals in the USSR 3D frames for bone tissue restoration Platinum sandwich for spintronics