Age characteristics of women 30-39 years old articles. Age characteristics of the body of mature women. Natalya Romanova, Founder of Pelvic Health, which produces equipment for strengthening the pelvic muscles

Graduate work

on the topic: “Crises of adulthood 30 years, 40 years, 50 years”

Introduction

Theoretical aspects of crises of adulthood in men and women

2 Crisis of adulthood at 30 years of age in men and women

3 Features of the crisis of adulthood at 40 years old

4 Specifics of the age crisis of 50 years

Practical analysis of adulthood crises

1 Conducting an analysis of the psychological characteristics of crises of adulthood

2 Summing up the results of the analysis of crises of adulthood

Conclusion

Bibliography

Application

Introduction

Today, one of the most important tasks of psychological science is to build a model of a person’s life path. However, if a huge amount of factual material has been accumulated regarding the characteristics of a child’s personality development, there is still very little data regarding the characteristics of personality development during adulthood. There are still ongoing discussions about the basis for distinguishing periods and age boundaries of adult development.

Different authors define the boundaries of adult ages in different ways. According to S. Buhler, maturity (adulthood) is determined by age boundaries from 25-30 to 45-50 years and is associated with the achievement of specific life goals and self-realization of the individual. Morgun V.F. and Tkacheva N.Yu. divide the entire period of adulthood into 7 main stages, the first of which he calls the era of youth (17-18 years), and the last - the era of immediate maturity (40-55 years). In the periodization of the Canadian scientist D. Livenson, 7 periods of an individual’s adult life are presented, with average adulthood covering the period from 29 to 42 years, beginning and ending with transitional periods (29-32 years and 40-42 years), between which there is a stable period (33 -39 years) . Based on the analysis of various options for the periodization of adult ages, it can be assumed that the period of middle adulthood ranges from 30 to 40 years.

Many authors, considering the periodization of the life of a mature person, write about the presence of age-related crises (transitional periods) in it, and about their necessity for the continuation of the development process. During transitional crisis periods, a person performs important spiritual work and comes to understand what he needs to change in himself in order to build his future life on a real basis.

Age crises are special, relatively short periods of ontogenesis, characterized by sudden psychological changes. Unlike crises of neurotic or traumatic origin, age-related crises relate to normative processes necessary for the normal progressive course of personal development (L.S. Vygotsky, E. Erikson). This means that age-related crises naturally arise during a person’s transition from one age stage to another and are associated with systemic qualitative transformations in the sphere of his social relations, activities and consciousness. The form, duration and severity of crises can vary markedly depending on the individual typological characteristics of the child, social and microsocial conditions, characteristics of upbringing and the situation in the family, the pedagogical system of society and the type of culture as a whole.

The problem of individual crises was developed in psychiatry, social and family psychology. E. Lindeman, G. Hill, D. Kaplan and others made a great contribution to the study of individual crises.

A number of researchers involved in development and self-knowledge consider adulthood as a time of continuous change and growth. Human development during adulthood depends on resolving the problems of previous periods - gaining confidence and autonomy, initiative and hard work 30, p. 128].

The main new development of this period is the achievement of personal maturity. The content of this concept is often used in psychology, but is understood somewhat differently. In their work, the authors, characterizing a mature person, identified the following characteristics: wide boundaries of the “I”, the ability to have warm social relationships, the presence of self-acceptance, a realistic perception of experience, the ability to self-knowledge, a sense of humor, the presence of a certain philosophy of life.

B. Livehud considered three main properties of a mature person: wisdom; gentleness and condescension; self-awareness.

In view of the above, the topic of our course work was “Crises of adulthood at 30 years, 40 years, 50 years.”

The relevance of our research lies in the need to study ways to deal with crises of adulthood at 30 years old, 40 years old, 50 years old, since in modern conditions of human development and interpersonal relationships these crises are experienced quite difficult.

The object of the study is the features of human adulthood crises at the main stages of his life growth and development.

The subject of the study is the specifics of overcoming crises of adulthood.

The purpose of the study is to study the characteristics of the crises of adulthood at 30 years old, 40 years old, 50 years old and the specifics of overcoming them.

The research hypothesis is that age-related crises of 30 years, 40 years, and 50 years can pass more smoothly and unnoticed if a person is provided with timely psychological assistance and given advice on overcoming various difficulties at this age stage.

To achieve the goal of our research, we were given the following tasks:

consider adulthood as a psychological period;

explore the specifics of adulthood crises of men and women aged 30 years, 40 years, 50 years;

conduct a practical analysis of crises of adulthood;

Research structure. The work consists of an introduction, two chapters (theoretical and practical), a conclusion, a bibliography and an appendix.

1. Theoretical aspects of crises of adulthood in men and women

1 Adulthood as a psychological period

psychological adulthood maturity self-knowledge

The period of adulthood is the longest period of ontogenesis (in developed countries it accounts for three quarters of human life). There are usually three subperiods, or three stages of adulthood:

early adulthood (youth),

middle adulthood,

late adulthood (aging and old age).

The concept of adulthood and criteria for achieving adulthood. Taking into account the multidimensionality of the development process and the heterochronicity of achievements in different areas, many signs of adulthood can be identified:

a new pattern of development, now less associated with physical growth and rapid cognitive improvement;

the ability to respond to changes and successfully adapt to new conditions, positively resolve contradictions and difficulties;

overcoming addiction and the ability to take responsibility for yourself and others;

some character traits (firmness, prudence, reliability, honesty and compassion, etc.);

social and cultural reference points (roles, relationships, etc.) to determine the success and timeliness of development in adulthood.

The concepts of “adulthood” and “maturity” are not identical. Maturity is the most socially active and productive period of life; This is the period of adulthood when the tendency to achieve the highest level of intellect and personality development can be realized. The ancient Greeks called this age and state of mind “acme”, which means “peak”, the highest level, a blooming time.

In E. Erikson’s theory, maturity is the age of “committing acts,” the most complete flowering, when a person becomes identical to himself. The main lines of development of a middle-aged person are generativity, productivity, creativity (in relation to things, children and ideas) and restlessness - the desire to become the best possible parent, to achieve a high level in one’s profession, to be a caring citizen, a loyal friend, a support for loved ones.

Work and care are the virtues of mature people. If the personality turns out to be “calmed” in any respect, then stagnation and degradation begin, which manifest themselves in infantility and self-absorption - in excessive self-pity, in indulging one’s whims. Successfully resolving the conflict between restlessness and stagnation in the mindset of overcoming problems and difficulties, rather than endlessly complaining about them.

In humanistic psychology (A. Maslow, G. Allport, K. Rogers, etc.), central importance was attached to the process of self-realization, self-actualization of an adult.

According to A. Maslow, self-actualizing people are not limited to satisfying elementary (scarce) needs, but are committed to the highest, ultimate, existential values, including truth, beauty, and goodness. They strive to reach heights (or possibly a higher level) in their business. Based on an analysis of the biographies of a number of self-actualizing individuals (mature, reasonable), Maslow discovered their inherent qualities: a more effective perception of reality and a more comfortable relationship with it; acceptance of self, others and nature; spontaneity; focus on the problem; detachment (as the need for privacy and self-sufficiency); independence from culture and environment; constant freshness of assessments; social feeling; deep but selective social relationships; democratic character; moral conviction; non-hostile sense of humor; creativity. In order to improve, to move towards self-actualization, you need to remember, first of all, that this is an ongoing process that requires hard work on yourself:

it is necessary to strive to selflessly surrender to experiences, revealing one’s human essence instead of demonstrating a pose, a mask, or psychological defense;

at every moment of life, make choices leading to personal growth through overcoming fear and the desire for security;

be honest with yourself and take responsibility; not be afraid of not being liked by other people;

it is necessary to overcome illusions, identify and abandon (no matter how painful it may be) psychological defenses, understand your potential capabilities and desires.

Addressing psychology students, A. Maslow warned them about the harmfulness of the Jonah complex, which represents “fear of one’s own greatness,” “evasion from one’s destiny,” “escape from one’s talents”: “You should strive to become first-class psychologists, at the very best meaning of the word, better than you can imagine."

G. Allport believed that the maturity of an individual is determined by the degree of functional autonomy of his motivation. An adult individual is healthy and productive if he has surpassed early (childhood) forms of motivation and acts quite consciously. Allport, having analyzed the work of many psychologists, presented a description of a self-actualizing personality in the form of the following list of traits:

) interest in the outside world, a greatly expanded sense of Self;

) warmth (compassion, respect, tolerance) towards others;

) a sense of fundamental emotional security (self-acceptance, self-control);

) realistic perception of reality and activity in action;

) self-objectification (self-understanding), bringing one’s inner experience into the currently experienced situation and a sense of humor;

) “philosophy of life”, which organizes, systematizes experience and imparts meaning to individual actions.

Human development must be encouraged from childhood to the end of life.

The period of adulthood, the main stage of human life, deserves to clearly formulate its own social and psychological tasks for the development of this particular period.

We can identify some age periods during which personality changes most often occur: about 20 years, about 30 years (28 - 34), 40-45, 55 - 60 years and, finally, at a late age. The chronological dates of normative age-related crises are very approximate. The moment of occurrence, duration, and severity of crises during adulthood can vary markedly depending on personal life circumstances. The driving force of development is recognized as the internal desire for growth and self-improvement; a number of external factors acting on the “trigger” principle are also important. Among the circumstances that provoke a crisis are sudden changes in health (sudden illness, long-term and serious illness, hormonal changes), economic and political events, changes in conditions, requirements, social expectations, etc. Under the pressure of social cataclysms, a double crisis may arise (a social crisis superimposed on an age one), which aggravates its course and sets us up for a deeper understanding of all life.

Moreover, the form of the critical period may be different. Not all researchers support the idea of ​​a “crisis” of this period. The crisis model includes a deliberately negative component: weakness in confronting changed circumstances, the collapse of illusions, failures, and the painful experience of dissatisfaction. Some consider a more appropriate transition model when upcoming changes (status, etc.) are planned and the individual is able to cope with difficulties. The “second half of a person’s life” was of great interest to C. Jung. He viewed the middle of life as a critical moment when a “deep, amazing change of the soul” occurs. Forced socialization is replaced by a line of self-development. In adulthood, a person must carry out the inner work of self-knowledge, which Jung called “individuation.” At this age, a person is able to integrate both the “feminine” and the “masculine” principles into his self, unite all aspects of the personality around the self, and find harmony between himself and the world around him. In the second half of life, a person, through balancing and integrating various elements of the personality, can achieve the highest level of development of his personality, relying on symbolic and religious experience. According to Jung, very few people reach this highest level of personality development.

Personal formations do not remain unchanged throughout a person’s life, but undergo many transformations. This also applies to a person’s system of ideas about himself. The process of self-awareness itself cannot remain unchanged over time due to the fact that as a person grows up, the structures that participate in the process of reflecting oneself and the world around them change and become more complex.

F.E. Vasilyuk talks about the existence of two types of crisis situations. The first is those critical situations that can seriously complicate the implementation of a life plan, but at the same time a person can get out of such a situation while maintaining his self-identity. The second type of situation is a crisis that makes the implementation of a life plan impossible, and the result of experiencing this impossibility is a metamorphosis of the personality, the adoption of a new life plan, new values, a new life strategy, a new image of the Self.

Analyzing the problem of personality structure, A.N. Leontyev noted that several types of personal conflicts are rooted in the characteristics of the motivational sphere of the individual, leading in certain situations to a certain splitting of self-awareness, which, apparently, acts as an inevitable and necessary moment for development at some age stages. Such a structure of self-awareness turns out to be an obstacle in the individual’s fulfillment of its main function - to serve as a way (organ) for integrating the mental and social life of the individual. The discovery that past actions, as well as current intentions and plans, do not correspond to the life goal leads to their meaninglessness, especially when an entire segment, or even the entire life lived, loses its meaning, since its isolation from one’s own life goal becomes obvious . Along with the loss of the meaning of life, the meaning of “I” is also lost. One’s own qualities and traits turn out to be just as unnecessary and alienated as the deeds that were “provided for” by these traits. A phenomenon arises that could be called the phenomenon of the “lost self.” Finally, the discovery of the emptiness of one’s own life goal confronts a person with the problem of insufficient moral and value validity of one’s own existence. The phenomenon of the “unjustified self” arises. The origin of these phenomena - the splitting of self-consciousness, the loss of oneself and the experience of the unjustification of one's own “I” - is the result of adequate work of self-consciousness, and not at all of violations of its work. It can be assumed that such states of self-awareness are characteristic primarily of an individual who is at a certain critical point in his life path, experiencing turning points in development.

2 Crisis of adulthood at 30 years of age in men and women

Towards the end of the period of youth (about 30 years old), a person experiences a state of crisis, a certain turning point in development, associated with the fact that the ideas about life that developed between 20 and 30 years old do not satisfy him. Analyzing the path traveled, his achievements and failures, a person discovers that despite an already established and apparently prosperous life, his personality is imperfect, that a lot of time and effort was wasted, how little he has done compared to what he could have done, etc. Others in words, there is a reassessment of values, a critical revision of one’s self. A person discovers that he can no longer change much in his life, in himself, in his family, in his profession.

The crisis of 30 years arises due to the unrealization of life plans.

The problem of the meaning of life arises when the goal does not correspond to the motive. Agreement with the world, the ability to be oneself - this is the motive, the deprivation of which results in a loss of meaning in life.

Age crises inevitably arise on our life path. These are critical periods during which we do important spiritual work, identifying the contradictions between who we really are and who we would like to be, what we have and what we would like to have in our lives. Such a reassessment of values, a critical review of life and one’s “I” can manifest itself at different ages. But these processes occur most clearly in the period from approximately 28 to 32 years and are conventionally designated as the “thirty-year-old crisis.”

At this time, often unexpectedly for himself, a young man discovers that he can no longer change many things: his family, his profession, his usual way of life... At this time, there comes a feeling of an urgent need to do something, taking into account the real possibilities in the usual circumstances life

For young men at this time, it is typical to change jobs or change their lifestyle, but their focus on work and career does not change. The young man begins to look for an opportunity to strengthen his niche in adult life, to confirm his status as an adult: he wants to have a good job, strives for security and stability.

For young women, priorities tend to change during this age crisis. Women, who in their youth were focused on marriage and raising children, are now becoming more interested in issues of a professional career. Those who devoted their energy to work, self-education and career growth are now directing their gaze to marriage and motherhood.

Malkina-Pykh I.G. in the book "Age Crises", highlights the usual patterns of behavior of young women of this age. Conventionally, they are designated as “caring”, “either-or”, “integrators”, “unstable” and “women who never get married”.

“Caring” people, as a rule, get married early and are not going to go beyond the role of a housewife. For such women, the birth of a child gives meaning to their existence and serves as a kind of “proof” of their feminine essence. Social status is acquired by them through the achievements of their husband, which are perceived as their own. The crisis of thirty years finds such women completely unprepared and defenseless in the face of life's adversities. They find themselves deprived of independence, economically dependent, passive, deprived of education and profession. Emptiness in the sphere of achievements gives rise to dissatisfaction with life and manifests itself as irritation at the sight of more successful peers.

"Or or". Women of this type in early adulthood make a choice for themselves what to prefer - family life with love and children or education and career growth. Accordingly, such women can be divided into two groups. Some of them, having received an education, put off thoughts about a career until a later date and are closely involved in arranging a family home and having children. Others strive to achieve the status of a qualified specialist and successfully make a career, postponing marriage and motherhood to a later date.

In the first case, there is a danger that if questions about work are put on hold, there may be a loss of professional skills and, accordingly, the presence of increased competition from peers. In the second case, the danger lies in the fact that it is difficult for an independent woman who has reached a certain position to avoid loneliness and find an equal partner - men are usually afraid of such women.

“Integrators” are those women who try to combine family and motherhood with a career. These women constantly have to sacrifice either their family or their career in order to get everything done, and this in turn entails chronic fatigue, depression over problems, and guilt towards their husbands and children.

"Women who never get married." These are women who direct their strengths and abilities to those around them. Some of them become public figures, nannies-governesses or educators for orphans. The so-called “office wives” find the meaning of their lives in devoting it to famous people. That part of young women who prefer homosexual relationships to traditional ones form lesbian couples and build their lives according to their own canons.

"Unstable." The definition itself reveals the main tendency in the behavior of such women - this is inconstancy. They prefer not to be defined in any way in life: they do not have a permanent job, family, or profession. These are moths who do not think about the future and live only for today.

The crisis of the thirtieth birthday equally affects the internal state and behavior of not only women, but also men, about whom we will talk further.

The crisis of early maturity for men is 30-35 years old. At this time, a man begins to worry about his health and fear death - this fear is called thanatophobia. Attacks of thanatophobia come at meetings of alumni and old friends, when it turns out that someone is no longer alive. Many people experience difficulties in family life associated with the birth and raising of children; at this age, old marriages are often destroyed and new ones are created.

Male behavior patterns can be divided into three main groups:

Unstable. They are unwilling or unable to set firm internal guidelines at the age of twenty and continue the experiments of youth. These are people capable of only limited emotional experiences. They grab onto one thing or another, without bringing anything to the end. They do not have a clear idea of ​​what profession attracts them. They do not strive for consistency - at least not in their twenties.

For some people who follow this model of behavior, continuing the experiments of youth is positive - if it helps form the basis for further choices. In general, people who start out with unstable behavior patterns tend to feel a strong desire to establish personal goals and attachments (though not necessarily get married) in their mid-thirties. Some men by mid-life remain in a period of moratorium, still feeling for ways to identify their personality and feeling an internal vague need to determine their goals.

Closed. This is the most common category. They peacefully, without crises and introspection, outline solid guidelines at the age of twenty. People who engage in this pattern of behavior are reliable but easily overwhelmed. In their search for early stability, they often do not seriously evaluate the value system that underlies their goals.

Prodigies. They put themselves at risk and play to win, often believing that once they reach the top, their self-doubt will disappear. A child prodigy usually achieves success early. His reaction to all other ideas about adult development is noteworthy. He will only believe in them if they allow him to go upstairs. He does overcome difficult professional challenges earlier than his peers, although he does not always reach the top or remain at the top once he reaches it. He thinks only about business, and the boundary between work and personal life blurs very early on.

Content of the crisis: they are afraid to admit to themselves that they do not know everything. They are afraid to let anyone get too close to them. They are afraid to stop and spend time struggling with external difficulties that seem insurmountable to them. They are afraid that someone might laugh at them, influence them, exploit their weaknesses and limit them to the helplessness of a small child. In fact, they are afraid of their “inner guard” - the internal image of parents and other significant adults from their childhood. Every male prodigy, in his memories of his youth, finds a person who made him feel helpless and unsure of himself.

The other four behaviors are optional because they are quite rare.

Old bachelors. Since so few men over forty have never been married, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from such a small group.

Educators. They see the meaning of life in caring for the community (priests, missionary doctors), or devote themselves to caring for the family, although this is usually done by wives.

Hidden children. They avoid the process of growing up and remain attached to their mothers even as adults.

Integrators. They try to balance their ambitions with sincere commitments to the family, including sharing responsibilities in caring for children and consciously working to combine financial independence with morality and usefulness to society. Such internal struggle is natural for people in the transition to thirty years of age. It is probably impossible to achieve integration in life before the age of thirty-five. You can choose this model of behavior only if you really want it. The future integrator is often unable to cope with opposing forces. At the moment when an ordinary man begins to look for new opportunities to expand his inner world, the integrator still needs to free himself from old baggage. From early childhood he was accustomed to solving problems based on a mathematical model. He is adapted to life in an environment where facts are preferred to feelings, and competence is valued above human relationships, and adapts well to a modern post-industrial society in which one must follow the rules, obey the system and stand on one's feet, one must be indifferent and rationalistic.

3 Features of the crisis of adulthood at 40 years old

The midlife crisis, the 40th birthday crisis, has received the greatest fame and at the same time the most controversial assessments. The first signs of a crisis, discord in the inner world are a change in attitude towards what previously seemed important, significant, interesting or, on the contrary, repulsive. An identity crisis is expressed in the experience of a feeling of non-identity with oneself, of having become different.

One of the moments of the crisis is associated with the problem of diminishing physical strength and attractiveness. The discovery of diminishing vitality is a severe blow to self-esteem and self-concept.

The period from 30 to 40 years is often called the “decade of doom.” This is the age of summing up preliminary results, when dreams and ideas about the future created in youth are compared with what has actually been achieved. Such crisis contradictions are usually recognized by the person himself as a clear discrepancy, a depressing discrepancy between the real self and the ideal self, between the realm of the present and the realm of the possible, desired.

In addition, social expectations are changing. The time has come to meet the hopes of society and create some kind of socially significant product, material or spiritual, otherwise society will shift its expectations to representatives of the younger generation.

In the event of a crisis at the age of 40, a person has to once again rebuild his life plan and develop a largely new “I” concept. Serious changes in life may be associated with this crisis, including changing professions and starting a new family.

The crisis of the 40th anniversary is interpreted as a time of dangers and great opportunities. Awareness of the loss of youth, the decline of physical strength, changes in roles and expectations are accompanied by anxiety, emotional decline, and in-depth introspection. Doubts about the correctness of the life lived are considered as the central problem of this age.

The unresolved crisis experiences and the refusal to renew themselves return the crisis with renewed vigor to the age of 50. Then in the future, ignoring the changes happening to him, the person plunges into work, clinging to his administrative position, to his official position.

The midlife crisis in women also has its own characteristics. Changes in women's life goals and values ​​are most often associated with the family cycle and stages of the professional path, rather than with predictable age-related changes. Thus, a woman who puts off having a child until she is 40 years old often does this in order to succeed in her career, and on the contrary, a woman who started a family early enough and has children who have grown up, become self-determined and, perhaps, got on their feet, receives a significant amount free time to take care of yourself, your self-improvement personally and professionally.

However, age-related changes affect women more than men: women react more emotionally to physical aging - therefore maintaining external attractiveness and maintaining physical fitness is a significant need for women after 40.

Midlife crises (as, indeed, other age-related crises) are accompanied by depressive experiences. This may be a decrease in interest in all events, apathy, and lack of energy. Often there are feelings about one’s own worthlessness and helplessness. A special place is occupied by anxiety about one's own future, which is often masked by anxiety for children or even for the country as a whole. Naturally, the projection of the crisis onto one’s environment leads to attempts to change precisely the environment: work, country, family. Some women during this period fill their inner emptiness by having another child.

At a sufficiently high level of development of reflection, people try to comprehend their condition and understand that the problem is not in the environment, but in themselves.

This crisis is considered the most difficult. Associated with a reassessment of life’s ideals and regret about unrealized opportunities. At the same time, the second round of thanatophobia begins, more acute. Many during this period are prone to radical destructive actions: leaving the family, changing jobs. A frequent “symptom” of the crisis of 40-year-olds is alcoholism.

At forty, a man changes dramatically. Here, in front of you, are four behavioral models that “illustrate” the process of overcoming the age crisis:

The man is in a state of confusion. He gets the feeling that the whole world is at the stage of destruction. For what reasons? Due to the fact that he has not yet managed to implement much, and because he cannot meet the requirements that society places on him.

A man with pseudo-development. He pretends that everything is fine with him: everything that happens around him is under strict control. But what really? He feels trapped. He doesn't like the light and is tired of everything.

A man offended by fate. The one who was rejected and misunderstood by many. Therefore, he cannot cope with the crisis of forty years.

A man who managed to realize himself. He copes with the crisis successfully: practically without noticing it. Reason: almost all of his needs, goals and desires have been realized.

In order for the lives of forty-year-old men to go more or less “smoothly,” they should be a little softer with people. The fact is that men of this age tend to “harden”. This is not only about relationships with society, but also about the fact that you should open your mind wide open. After all, with its help, the most ingenious and creative ideas can be born. Why then “hide” such a treasure in yourself?

Men at this age lose a huge interest in selectivity: he gets used to being happy with what he has. Family and friends, over time, become closer and closer to him. It is a pity that such “high” importance, relative to friends and family, reaches its “peaks” only at the age of forty. Where were the men before? In the same place as now. There was just a change in priorities.

No matter how funny it may seem, men are afraid to celebrate their fortieth birthday. Although they are not distinguished, for the most part, by superstition, they associate age with the post-mortem “forty days”. At this age, they experience an “exacerbation” of sentimentality and touchiness. They begin to be skeptical about everything. They even become depressed, thinking about the fact that they have been living in the world for so many years, but have not achieved anything, achieved nothing, or accomplished anything. On this basis, many forty-year-old representatives of the stronger sex experience suicide.

The crisis of 40 years in women suggests that they are already adults and smart people. However, moments of youthful uncertainty often remain in behavior. Often we cannot figure out how important certain people and events are to us. Sometimes we tend to overestimate their importance, so we spend an incredible amount of time and effort on them. Sometimes we are unable to determine our true attitude towards them. And is it important. For emotional harmony, for mood, for understanding their role in your life.

It is important here to be able to clarify “muddy moments.” That is, one cannot leave unsaid things and “misunderstandings” in a relationship. You can clarify relationships with a simple conversation. Or if this is difficult, you can write a letter in which expressing your opinion on the problems is much easier than face to face.

Women generally tend to experience feelings of guilt in a much more pronounced form than men, for whom it is dulled. This feeling is especially aggravated in women during the crisis of 40 years.

A similar complex is formed from childhood: parents blame us for inappropriate behavior, teachers shame us for not knowing the subject, random old women shame us for not giving up our seat on the bus. Sometimes the feeling of guilt is truly objective, based on a truly important event. And sometimes it’s just a neurotic form of depression, indicating a crisis of 40 years in women. At this time, they begin to feel guilty about what is happening in the family or with their loved ones. Feelings of guilt of this kind make you a prisoner of circumstances and deprive you of self-confidence and opportunities for free action. After all, using this circumstance, your immediate environment is capable of openly manipulating you.

In general, it is easier to fight this negative feeling if you understand it and realize its causes and consequences.

1.4 Specifics of the age crisis of 50 years

The crisis at the border of late maturity and old age is dated to approximately the age of 55-65 years.

Sometimes the older age crisis is called pre-retirement, thereby highlighting such a social factor as reaching retirement age or retirement as the main determinant. Retirement radically changes a person’s way of life, including the loss of an important social role and significant place in society, the separation of a person from his reference group, a narrowing of his social circle, a deterioration in his financial situation, a change in the structure of psychological time, sometimes causing an acute state of “resignation shock.” This period proves difficult for most aging people, causing negative emotional experiences. However, the individual severity and intensity of experiencing the pension crisis vary greatly depending on the nature of the work, its value for the individual, the degree of psychological preparedness of the person, his personal characteristics and the life position that has developed in previous years.

Another point of view on the crisis of transition to old age is that it is primarily an identity crisis, an intrapersonal crisis. Its prerequisites are related to the fact that signs of aging, as a rule, are noticed earlier and more clearly by others, and not by the subject himself. The processes of physiological aging, due to their gradualness, are not realized for a long time, and the illusion of the “immutability” of oneself arises. The awareness of aging and old age can be unexpected (for example, when meeting classmates) and painful and leads to various internal conflicts. The discrepancy between the aged body and the unchanged consciousness of the individual leads to attentive fixation on the sensations of one’s own body, observing it, listening to one’s body. Sometimes the identity crisis caused by the awareness of old age is compared to adolescence (there is also the task of developing a new attitude towards one’s changed body), but the crisis in later life is much more painful.

According to E. Erikson, the essence of the psychosocial crisis of personality in old age is the achievement of the integrity of the Ego. Erikson associates the possibility of a “successful” transition to an older psychological age with a positive resolution of previous age-related crises. The integrity of the individual is based on summing up his past life and recognizing it as a single whole, in which nothing can be changed. Wisdom is defined by Erikson as a certain state of mind, as a look into the past, present and future at the same time, freeing life history from accidents and making it possible to establish connection and continuity of generations. Wisdom represents the highest achievement of old age. Resolving the final crisis requires in-depth inner work, searching, and not humility and passivity in accepting the inevitable end. If a person feels that he has not achieved the goals he strived for, or cannot combine his actions into a single whole, then a fear of death, a feeling of hopelessness and despair arises.

This type of crisis is associated with feelings of loneliness. Most often occurs after adult children leave home. The man ceases to feel like the head of the family; it seems to him that his contribution to creating the well-being of the family has become devalued and his authority has been shaken. The feeling of uselessness often develops into resentment towards children and loved ones.

After 50 years, a crisis of “meaningful maturity” begins. A person begins to act, guided by his own priorities. In the event of a negative development of the crisis, many begin to acutely feel their own loneliness; these are the mistakes of going through previous crises.

In a positive version of development, a person begins to see new prospects for himself. Then the concept of old age acquires only a biological meaning. All these crisis periods, moving from one to another, create a ladder of life where you cannot get to the next step without passing the previous one, otherwise you will have to return to work on your mistakes.

1 Conducting an analysis of the psychological characteristics of crises of adulthood

In order to implement the practical part of our work, we took 3 groups of people of 15 people according to the three previously identified crises of adulthood - 30, 40 and 50 years old.

Each member of this group was asked to answer a series of questions within two tests.

To conduct a practical analysis of the psychological characteristics of crises of adulthood, we used the Cattell test “16-Factor Personality Questionnaire” (HSPQ) and the Self-Attitude Questionnaire (SAT) developed by V.V. Stolin.

To compare the psychological indicators of people who are experiencing crises of adulthood, we additionally took a group of 30 people aged 25, 35, 46 and 55 years, i.e. a group of people who have already survived this crisis age stage.

The use of these techniques allowed us to state at the control stage the fact that the degree of psychological stability, the stability of an individual who has not yet been affected, or who has already experienced one or more crises of adulthood, is much higher than that of those who are currently at this age stage .

The same applies to the degree of psychological self-regulation of the people who took part in the experiment.

To better understand the specifics of our experiment, let’s consider Cattell’s 16-Factor Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), which included the following components:

.Factor A: “closedness - sociability.” In general, factor A is focused on measuring a person’s sociability in small groups and the ability to establish direct, interpersonal contacts.

.Factor B: intelligence. Factor B does not determine the level of intelligence; it is focused on measuring the efficiency of thinking and the general level of verbal culture and erudition. It should be noted that low scores on this factor may depend on other personality characteristics: anxiety, frustration, low educational qualifications. And most importantly, factor B is perhaps the only factor of the technique that is not strictly validated. Therefore, the results for this factor are indicative.

.Factor C: “emotional instability - emotional stability.” This factor characterizes dynamic generalization and maturity of emotions, as opposed to unregulated emotionality. Psychoanalysts have tried to describe this factor as ego-strength and ego-weakness. According to Cattell’s method, a person with the C- pole is easily irritated by certain events or people, is not satisfied with life situations, with his own health, in addition, he is a weak-willed person. However, this interpretation is quite orthodox, since it does not take into account the plasticity of the emotional sphere. People with a high score on the C+ factor are more likely to be leaders than those whose scores on this factor are closer to the C- pole. On the other hand, the range of indicators for factor C among management personnel is wide; Some of them have low values ​​for this factor (perhaps this is due to the reaction of fatigue and preoccupation with stress). It has been established that people with high and average scores on factor C are also characterized by higher moral qualities. In general, the factor is of genetic origin and is aimed at measuring emotional stability; it largely correlates with the concepts of a weak and strong nervous system (according to I.P. Pavlov). Professions that require overcoming stressful situations (managers, pilots, rescuers, etc.) should be mastered by individuals with high scores on factor C. At the same time, in professions that do not require quick decision-making, emotional stability and where it is possible to resolve the issue yourself (artists, postmen, etc.), you can have low scores on this factor.

.Factor E: “subordination-dominance”. Factor E does not correlate very significantly with leadership achievements, but is associated with social status and is higher among leaders than among followers. There is an assumption that estimates for this factor change with age and depend on the gender of the subject. In their behavior, people with high scores (on this factor) experience a need for autonomy.

.Factor F: “restraint - expressiveness.” This factor is a component of second-order factors of various personality traits. An interesting fact is that over the years, the manifestation of impulsiveness and carelessness gradually decreases, which can be considered as evidence of a certain emotional maturity. In general, factor F is focused on measuring emotional intensity and dynamism in communication processes. Example: actors, effective leaders have higher ratings, artists, followers - lower ones.

.Factor G: “low normative behavior - high normative behavior.” This factor resembles factor C, especially with regard to the role of self-regulation of behavior and attitudes towards other people. This factor characterizes the characteristics of the emotional-volitional sphere (perseverance, organization - irresponsibility, disorganization) and the characteristics of the regulation of social behavior (acceptance or ignorance of generally accepted moral rules and norms). Psychoanalysts interpret this factor as a high superego and a low superego. The researcher should be especially careful in analyzing low scores for this factor (G-) since there is no direct relationship between low scores and pronounced antisocial behavior (for example, with criminals). On the contrary, it is known that many people who do not perceive “middle class morality”, “intellectuals”, “emancipated individuals”, people who express humanistic ideals and are flexible about social and cultural traditions, may have low scores on this factor. High scores can often characterize not only strong-willed personality traits, but also a tendency toward cooperation and conformity.

.Factor H: “timidity - courage.” Factor H is a clearly defined factor that characterizes the degree of activity in social contacts. It should be taken into account that this factor is of genetic origin and reflects the activity of the body and temperamental characteristics. People with high ratings of this factor are prone to risk professions (test pilots), persistent, sociable, and able to withstand emotional stress, which often makes them leaders. Low scores for this factor characterize people who are shy, timid, not sociable, and have difficulty making independent decisions.

.Factor I: “hardness - sensitivity”. This factor reflects differences in the cultural level and aesthetic sensitivity of the individual. An interesting fact is that people with low scores on this factor get sick less, are more aggressive, play sports more often, and are athletic. The characteristics of this factor are closer to the second-order factor “low emotionality - high emotionality”; this factor is dominant there. A person with high scores on this factor is characterized as physically and mentally sophisticated, prone to reflection, thinking about his mistakes and ways to avoid them. Let us note that scores for this factor are higher for women than for men, and they depend on environmental conditions and cultural level. Cattell defines this personality trait as “programmed emotional sensitivity,” thereby emphasizing the prerogative of the genetic origin of this personality trait. It should be noted that men with high grades most often belong to the artistic personality type. By occupation, high scores on this factor unite artists, performers, musicians, writers, diagnosticians and psychiatrists, and lawyers. Persons with I- are more prone to neurotic discrepancies (when studied using the Eysenck test, these people have high scores on such a characteristic as neuroticism). In general, this factor determines the degree of emotional sophistication of the individual.

The above factors are the main ones of this test, to which we paid our attention during the implementation of the experimental work.

Thus, at the ascertaining stage, we obtained the following data on the psychological stability of the individual at various stages of development, presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Psychological stability at the ascertaining stage.

Age group 30 years 40 years 50 years Team group Level of psychological stability 54% 55% 49% 80%

2 Summing up the results of the analysis of crises of adulthood

After the level of psychological stability was determined in all the groups we identified, we, with the participation of a professional psychologist, carried out correctional work aimed at overcoming crises of adulthood.

In addition to general and individual sessions with a psychologist, all participants in the experiment took part in performing certain exercises aimed at stabilizing the nervous system.

In Appendix 1 we also present training, the purpose of which was to develop the psychological stability of people experiencing an adulthood crisis.

Below is a set of rhythmic-motor exercises that allows a person to understand whether he manages to present his true face to the world? Do other people receive the signals he sends to them? If they understand these messages differently, then maybe that is why a person fails to integrate into the world? Maybe this explains his failures in life?

WARM-UP

Exercise 1. “Mirror”

Participants become pairs facing each other. One of them makes slow movements. The other must exactly copy all the movements of the partner, be his “mirror image”. After a while they change roles.

At the first stages of working through the task, the consultant imposes restrictions on the actions of the leading partner: do not make complex movements, do not perform several movements at the same time, do not make facial movements, perform movements at a very slow pace.

During the exercise, participants quickly learn to feel the partner’s body and grasp the logic of his movements. From time to time it becomes easier to follow the leader, and more and more often a situation arises of anticipation and even ahead of his actions. This exercise is a good way to establish psychological contact.

Exercise 2. “Internal state”

Each of the partners takes turns making a movement that reflects his internal state, and the other repeats this movement 3-4 times, trying to feel the leader’s state and understand this state.

After finishing the exercise, participants discuss the question: what do you think the state of each of us is? After several hypotheses have been made about the condition of one of the participants, you should turn to him for an explanation of his actual condition.

QUICK PART

Exercise 1. “Double”

The exercise activates “body attention”, facilitates interaction with a partner, understanding his non-verbal messages through imitation of them.

One of the participants comes to the center and pronounces a monologue about his thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This is not a prepared speech, but thoughts out loud, a stream of consciousness. He can move around the room and perform any action. The second participant, on his own initiative, comes up and stands behind the first, taking his position and repeating the movements and words. His task is to imagine the feelings of the first one. A prerequisite is to copy non-verbal behavior. After a few minutes the double changes.

Exercise 2. “Display”

Any music without a rigid rhythm is used. In each pair, one of the participants becomes the leader, the other becomes the follower; they look into each other's eyes. The leader begins slow, smooth movements. The follower mirrors the movements of the leader, trying not to think about anything: let the body lead. After five minutes, the participants change roles. At the end, they share their feelings.

Exercise 3: Group Display

The leader moves freely around the room, making any dance moves that are not too fast. The rest of the group must follow him, repeating his movements and “experiencing” them. After a few minutes, the leader moves to the end of the chain, the next leader changes the nature of the movements. Music is not needed for this exercise - the rhythm of the movements is set by each new leader.

FINAL PART

Exercise 1. “Hand contact”

“Move freely around the room, shaking hands. Stop periodically with someone's hand in yours. Close your eyes and explore it with your touch. After two minutes, open your eyes and look at your partner.

Now move around with your eyes closed, shaking the hands of other group members with your left hand. Stop, take someone's left hand and try to guess whose hand it is. After a minute, still holding hands, open your eyes, look at each other and check if your feelings are correct.

Move around the room again, making a two-handed handshake. You must shake hands with your partner within 30 seconds, being in different states - “hurried”, “angry”, “depressed”, “happy”, “in love”.

Close your eyes, find another partner, take both hands and try to guess who it is. After two minutes, without opening your eyes, together with your partner, try to express different states using your hands: argue, make peace, be playful, be gentle, depict a dance with both hands. After 5 minutes, still holding hands, open your eyes and look at your partner.”

Exercise 2. “Back contact”

“Close your eyes and slowly move backwards. When you bump into someone, break up and move on. After a minute, stand next to someone, back to back, and try to get to know your partner. After another minute, one of the partners turns and, without opening his eyes, tries to recognize his partner by touching his back with his hands. After two minutes, switch places.

Now, without opening your eyes, slowly move backwards again. When bumping into someone, talk back to back: argue, be playful, be affectionate, dance back to back, explore different types of movement. Each of these exercises is given 30 seconds.

After 5 minutes, stop and become aware of each other. Then move apart slowly and carefully. Pay attention to how your back feels. After that, open your eyes and look at your partners.”

Exercise 3. “Siamese twins”

“Get into pairs. Imagine yourself as Siamese twins, joined by any parts of your body. You are forced to act as one. Walk around the room, try to sit down, get used to each other. Now show us some episode from your life: how you have breakfast, dress, etc.”

Exercise 4. “Taking into account your partner’s capabilities”

“Sit facing each other and bring your feet together with your knees slightly bent. Then lean forward, grab your hands and, pressing your feet, lift your legs up in one motion. Stay in this position for as long as possible, then lower your legs and relax."

WORKING WITH AGGRESSION

Aggression is any form of behavior aimed at causing harm to another living being who does not want such treatment. Animals are characterized by two types of aggression: social, which is characterized by demonstrative outbursts of rage, and silent aggression, similar to that shown by a predator when creeping up on its prey. People show two more types of aggression that are practically not found in animals: hostile and instrumental. The source of hostile aggression is anger. Its only purpose is to cause harm. In the case of instrumental aggression, causing harm is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve some other goal. The whole variety of forms of human aggression can also be divided into hetero-aggression, directed at others, and auto-aggression, directed at oneself.

According to theories of hostility developed in various psychological schools, in the process of accumulating subjective experience, a person gradually forms internal, subjective ideas about himself, about the surrounding reality and other people. One of the basic characteristics of objects in such a subjective world may be hostility. Ideas about the world around us as hostile are formed from the first days of a child’s life under the influence of a number of factors - hereditary, family, social. In addition, they can be formed already in adulthood as a result of mental trauma, when the picture of the world undergoes catastrophic changes.

Bioenergetic theory suggests that chronically tense muscles inhibit impulses that would occur if the movements were not constrained. Therefore, encouraging freedom of movement should help release these impulses and blocked feelings. One of the most basic ways to express protest through movement is to sharply straighten a limb, in what is called a “kick.” If we add here the shouts “I don’t want to! I won’t!”, you can access your blocked rage or anger.

Movement exercises should not be used mechanically, as a kind of ritual, they best help those who are really looking for a way to discharge accumulated anger. An explosion of emotions that pose a danger to others is unlikely. On the contrary, it is more dangerous to hold back anger, because then the exercise will not lead to the desired result.

Below is a set of rhythmic-motor exercises that allows a person to free himself from accumulated aggression.

WARM-UP

Exercise 1. “I won’t!”

The exercise is designed to release tension in the chin muscles. Getting in touch with this tension, as well as its cause - feelings of anger and rage - is a positive experience that gives a person greater self-control.

“Place your feet parallel, about 20cm apart. Bend your knees slightly. Lean forward, placing your body weight on the balls of your feet. Move your chin forward and hold it in this position for 30 seconds. Breathing is uniform. Move your tense jaw left and right, keeping it forward. This may cause pain in the back of the head. Open your mouth as wide as possible and see if you can place the three middle fingers of your palm between your teeth. Many people have so much tension in their chin muscles that they cannot open their mouth wide.

Let your chin relax. Push it forward again, clench your fists and say “I won’t!” several times. in an appropriate tone. Does your voice sound convincing? You can also do this exercise by saying the word “No!” Say “I won’t!” and “No!” you need to assert your will as loudly as possible. The more strongly it is expressed, the stronger the sense of self caused by this method will be.

Exercise 2. “Scream”

“Sit on the floor, close your eyes; breathing deeply. Focus on your breathing, feel the flow of air-energy throughout your body: how muscles, bones, and blood vessels react to the energy coming in with deep breathing. After one or two minutes, begin to vocalize your exhalation with the transition to a scream - inarticulate, without tension on the vocal cords. Get up slowly. The sound becomes louder, the whole body participates in it: help yourself with your hands, feet, “beat the air.” The full sound is maintained for some time, then gradually fades away.

The lips and lower jaw muscles should be relaxed. To release the jaw, you can massage its muscles. The scream subsides, attention is again focused on breathing. Slowly lower yourself to the floor and lie on your back. Now, while inhaling and exhaling, you will make articulate sounds. When inhaling, you must pronounce “so”, when exhaling, “hum”. “So hum” in Sanskrit means “it is I”; in addition, these syllables correspond to the natural voicing of breathing. After two to three minutes, you can replace the sounds with a buzzing sound with each exhalation. Breathing becomes deeper and deeper. One hand lies on the solar plexus, the other on the stomach. Attention is directed to the simultaneous and smooth movement of the diaphragm and abdomen. We must come to the inner realization that the inhaled air is the nutrition the body needs. Deep breathing and concentration on it continue for 5-10 minutes. You need to feel the body being saturated with energy.”

Exercise 3. “Resonance”

The following stages: resonance with the ceiling, walls, floor, soft carpet, window, space. Practice shows that the easiest way to achieve resonance is with the floor, so you can start with it so that participants feel the effect faster.

After mastering resonance with real objects, you can try to achieve resonance with an imaginary object - an animal, an enemy, a friend; observers can guess the imaginary object. When performing the exercise, you can help yourself by massaging your neck: your thumbs rest on the corners of the lower jaw, your middle fingers press on the neck successively in the upper, middle and lower parts.

QUICK PART

Exercise 1. “Shadow Boxing”

Participants, having dispersed to a safe distance, imitate a fight with an imaginary opponent, striking him with any blows with their hands and feet.

Exercise 2. “Shiva Tandava”

“This is a ritual dance of the Hindu god Shiva, the destroyer of the world. Imagine yourself as an immense giant, whose every step shakes the earth. Shiva begins his dance, and the seas overflow their shores, volcanoes erupt, terrible hurricanes blow, fire blazes, in a word, the apocalypse comes. In this dance, throw out all your accumulated anger, all aggression and tension. Watch as the entire Universe is destroyed by your furious dance and you are left alone in the endless void. Enjoy this feeling of grandiose power!”

FINAL PART

Exercise 1. “Anger”

This is an active bioenergetic exercise. Can be performed by all participants or each group member in turn. You should not imitate anger, but try to really feel it, getting involved in the movements as much as possible.

Kneel in front of the gym mat and hit it with your fists as hard as you can. The whole body is involved in the blow. During movements, the body and arms should be as relaxed as possible; muscles should only be tensed at the moment of impact. Breathing deeply, mouth open. You cannot restrain sounds, they can be anything: screaming, words expressing feelings of anger. Here, internal justification is needed - at whom or what the anger is directed. There is no need to invent unnecessary circumstances, the main circumstance is “here and now.”

Lie down on the carpet, spread your legs freely and start kicking like a child “throwing a tantrum,” increasing the tempo and intensity of the kicks. You need to beat the carpet with your fists, turn your head, accompanying physical movements with shouts: “No!”, “I don’t want to!” etc.

Exercise 2. “Show claws and teeth”

“This simple exercise will help you feel strong, to demonstrate your strength to someone who can count on your weakness. Its meaning lies in animal gestures and activation of the mental meaning of claws and fangs, influencing the natural “anchors” of self-defense. Teeth are not only a tool for chewing or part of the speech apparatus, but also carry a certain aggressive meaning. Psychological studies of the facial expressions and gestures of monkeys have shown that the animal grin also carries the function of humility and devotion, which is expressed in the appearance of a “smile” in young monkeys during deep contact with the mother. A person and his closest relatives have approximately 30 patterns of facial expressions and gestures that coincide in meaning.

Take a confident pose: as you inhale, straighten your shoulders, straighten your spine, while simultaneously raising your hands to your shoulders and stretching the corners of your mouth.

As you exhale, imitate a growl (show teeth), open your palms and curl your fingers (show claws). Feel the muscle tension in your body.

As you inhale, return to the starting position, remembering the sensations of your body.

On the next exhalation, consciously relax the muscles that were involved in the exercise.”

WORKING WITH OVERCONTROL

What makes life crises especially difficult? The fact that non-adaptive strategies of our behavior, what we called basic problems, further aggravate the situation. One of these strategies is perfectionism (from the English perfect - the best, excellent). In life, this quality is expressed in the fact that a person is incredibly demanding of himself, he feels an indomitable need to meet the highest standards. But this quality has another side - those around you must also meet these standards. The goals are achieved using behavior that in psychology is called over-controlling.

There are two types of control. One is external control: I am under the control of other people, order, environment, etc.; the other is internal control, which is built into our personality and is part of individual character.

Our manipulation of ourselves is usually referred to as “consciousness.” Many people dedicate their lives to being the way they should be instead of being the best they can be. This difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization is very important. Many people live only for their image. Where some people have a self, most people have an emptiness because they are too busy designing themselves according to some image. This is the curse of the ideal, which is that a person should not be what he is. The less we trust ourselves, the more we need control. Any external control, even internalized external control - “You should” - interferes with the healthy functioning of the body.

After carrying out the above work, we conducted a control assessment of the psychological stability of people experiencing an adulthood crisis.

Our results are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Psychological stability at the control stage.

Age group 30 years 40 years 50 years Team group Level of psychological stability 59% 61% 58% 80%

As we can see, at the control stage there is a noticeable significant increase in the level of psychological stability, which indicates the importance and feasibility of carrying out corrective psychological work with people experiencing crises of adulthood.

Get some exercise. Thanks to it, the muscles acquire the tone of a young person, which has a similar effect on the psyche. Let these not be exhausting, depriving activities, but feasible and pleasant loads. A light jog in the early morning or a visit to the pool in the evening can relieve fatigue, give a fresh perception of the world and even relieve depression. When doing physical education, it is very important, firstly, to take into account your personal biorhythm of a lark or an owl and load yourself when you have the strength, and not when it is impossible to tear yourself away from the bed, and secondly, do this not alone, but in the company of friends will distract you from unpleasant annoying memories.

Change your appearance - a new hairstyle and well-groomed appearance will distract you from gloomy thoughts and give you confidence. For this purpose, it is best to visit a stylist, cosmetologist or even an image maker.

Return to childhood hobbies. Numismatics and computer games will remind you of carefree times or distract you, although in some cases - with a new addiction.

Expand the field of intellectual communication. Philosophical books and sophisticated psychological films can help restore temporarily lost balance. But it’s rare that someone close to you can give a clear recommendation to a specific person on what they need to read or watch. Therefore, at this age you should definitely visit a psychotherapist.

Talk to your children more often - not just “Hello, how are you - fine,” but ask who they were rooting for at the Olympics, what films are now in vogue among young people, etc. Information about the lives of young people can give a surge to your emotions and rejuvenate them.

Many 40-year-olds, seeing that their children will soon fly out of the family “nest,” feel sad. “Shock” therapy in this case will be the birth of a baby - age still allows. You simply won't have time to get depressed.

Make your children give birth to grandchildren for you, they are the best joy for your grandfather, and they are also more useful for them: a grandfather can raise grandchildren better than his own father and mother: wisdom is added to rich life experience.

Get a dog. She definitely becomes a member of the family and gives you the joy that you are used to getting from children, and she won’t be able to upset you as much as they can at times.

The criteria for successfully surviving a crisis can be considered:

a person’s acceptance of responsibility for his internal ill-being;

treating this as a signal for the need for internal and possibly subsequent external changes without feeling sorry for oneself or complaining about the injustice of what is happening;

treating internal ill-being as physical pain, which indicates the presence of physiological “failures” in the body - after all, one should not only relieve pain, but also treat its cause.

This perception of internal ill-being gives a person the opportunity for the emergence of certain personal new formations.

Conclusion

Having analyzed the relevant literature, we note that the idea of ​​the age crisis as a factor influencing the formation and development of personality appears in the studies of P.P. Blonsky, then develops in the works of L.S. Vygotsky. An age crisis is a special period of transformation of the social situation of development: a new formation of the previous period destroys the old social situation of development and provokes the formation of a new one. According to Vygotsky, the age crisis is the norm for the development and formation of personality.

Most age-related crises are far-fetched problems. There are two real biological basis: adolescence and menopause. The first is associated with an increase in the level of sex hormones, the second - with its decline. In both cases, this affects the man’s behavior. In both cases, the best solution for a man is to find a partner who is concerned about the same problems: it is easier to experience life’s difficulties together. Other crises are not necessary and can occur unnoticed in harmoniously developed people. The risk group is impressionable, vulnerable people.

In everyday psychology, the word “crisis” is associated with something complex, difficult, which must be avoided and which is better not to think about. Although recently, childhood and adolescent crises have been widely discussed. Many already understand: a crisis is the norm, not a deviation, it is a necessary stage in the development of a little person.

Adults are in a different situation. Most of them do not even assume that age-related crises of maturity exist, although they are clearly identified in psychology.

Thirty Years Crisis

Midlife crisis (age 40)

Late age crisis (50 years)

People who know about the existence of such things consider their existence shameful, unworthy of the “strong man” that everyone wants to consider themselves. As a result, they forbid themselves to think about unpleasant things, and they push their feelings deep, deep inside, spending a lot of energy on this. And, as you know, if a person forbids himself to feel, he begins to get sick. Such ailments are usually called psychosomatic, that is, having psychological background.

A consequence of avoiding age-related crises, in addition to illness, may be a deterioration in the quality of professional activity, especially for those who work with people. And this is understandable - after all, avoiding a crisis is accompanied by deep depressive feelings, which a person carefully hides from himself, and especially from strangers. This greatly interferes with interaction with others and often causes aggressive outbursts.

If we consider a person’s life in adulthood as a path, then everyone will agree that this path cannot be absolutely straight. After all, maturity does not come overnight, and at first a person has neither experience nor wisdom. Therefore, he needs “stops” to think about what has already been passed, to comprehend the experience and realize its value... To check whether it is worth changing the direction and speed a little, because other desires, aspirations, opportunities have appeared... And most importantly, to search and find contains new resources and opportunities that necessarily accumulate in a person throughout life.

Crises are those very stops during which a person comprehends the segment of the path he has traveled, affirms its significance, sometimes reassesses values, seeks and finds something new in himself, is surprised by this and moves on with life, happy and healthy.

In the same way, the structural elements of the product of self-consciousness - the self-concept - are characterized by internal conflict. The approach of a person to a critical age is characterized, in our opinion, by an increase in the degree of mismatch between the structural elements of the self-concept. In this case, we can consider the following types of conflicts within the self-concept of an individual. The first is the conflict between the “real self” and the “ideal self” - it is this conflict that leads to a reassessment of one’s own capabilities in various spheres of an individual’s life (family, profession) and, as a result, to a change in life plans, bringing them closer to more real, less idealized ones in comparison with the stage of early adulthood. The second is the conflict between various aspects of the temporal representation of the Self, that is, between the “Present Self”, “Future Self”, “Past Self”, while for the personality of an adult, more than for any other age, maximum concentration on the present is important, which contributes to optimal disclosure of personality potential at a given age stage. Another concept that characterizes the temporal aspect of the self-concept is the “possible” or “potential self” - what I am most likely to be. Overcoming the critical period is characterized by a rethinking of the value and semantic aspects of ideas about one’s own “I”, and, accordingly, a change in the relationships between the structural elements within a given system, bringing it back to a relatively balanced, consistent state.

The study of the internal dynamics of such integral personal formations as the self-concept, the study of the specifics of their functioning at various age stages, especially during transitional, critical periods of development for the individual, can help create a holistic picture of a person’s life path.

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Annex 1

Training “Working with subpersonalities” aimed at overcoming crises of adulthood

Exercise 1. “Circle of subpersonalities”

List all your desires. Write down everything that comes to your mind. Make sure you include both what you already have and what you would like to have in the future (we're not talking about things or gifts here, of course). Since you can't look at other people's lists, here are the most common wishes:

finish your studies;

not to get sick, and so that none of your loved ones get sick;

have enough money;

to be loved;

achieve success in work (business);

get a good education.

Now focus on how you felt when you read the list. Do you have a subpersonality that tells you that it, too, would like to have all this? Or a subpersonality that judges people who have desires that you don’t have or that are unimportant to you? Now make a list of your own desires.

When you have 20 items on your list (or when you feel like you have written down all your desires), look through the list and select the 5-6 most significant. Maybe you want to change something about it. For example, you might combine the desires “skiing,” “swimming,” “playing tennis,” and “hiking” into one general desire, “playing outdoor sports.” Now highlight your most important desires and do not include those that your “What Will People Think” subpersonality wants to prioritize?

On a large sheet of paper, draw a circle with a diameter of about 20 cm. Inside it is a smaller circle. The result is a ring, the central part of which is your “I”. And in the ring itself, place those 5-6 subpersonalities that are the spokesmen of your desires.

Draw (preferably with colored pencils or paints) symbols that reflect your desires. Lack of artistic ability does not matter in this case. Just draw and color any symbols that come to mind.

When you're done drawing, give each subpersonality its own individual name. Some of them may resemble nicknames: Adventurer, Prudent, Defenseless Baby, Big Man, Hero-lover, Doctor, Expert. Others will be more romantic, for example: Primitive Horse and Hound Lover, Country Girl, Forest Fairy, Miss Perfect, etc. It is important to come up with your own names that have meaning for you.

Now color your “I”.

This exercise first of all allows us to identify positively oriented subpersonalities that correspond to our conscious desires. Negative subpersonalities (Skeptic, Critic), subpersonalities corresponding to suppressed desires, remain in the shadows when performing this exercise.

This exercise can be repeated many times, and the names of some subpersonalities, including the most important ones, can change as you become more clear about what they want, how they act and why they change.

Exercise 2. “In the footsteps of subpersonality”

Stand up and try to portray any of your subpersonalities.

In what life situations does this subpersonality appear? How often? What circumstances provoke the emergence of this subpersonality? Does this subpersonality help you act in this situation? How does she help you? Does she hinder you in any way? What's happening to your body? What's going on with your emotions? What's going on with your thoughts?

Write down the answers to these questions to better understand your subpersonality. Recording itself as a repeated reference to the experience gained is an important part of the work and often allows you to notice some factors, nuances that did not appear so clearly when working with the technique of internal dialogue.

Exercise 3. “Getting to know the subpersonality”

You will need a notepad and pen to take notes. Try to find a quiet, comfortable place where you will not be disturbed. Sit more comfortably. Relax. You can turn on soft, relaxing music. You can take notes during the exercise, and you can do it later. Pause where necessary to get answers to the questions asked.

Imagine that you are in the forest. Feel that there is earth under your feet. Look at the trees. Walk a little through the forest, looking around. You see a lot of trees and some flowers. Pay attention to details, you are curious, you are very interested in everything around you.

Looking around, you notice a small hut in the distance and go towards it. You hear some noise coming from it. You start wondering what's going on there. You come closer and notice that the hut has a window. You go to the window and look inside. There, inside, where all this noise is coming from, you see many of your subpersonalities, and they are all very active. Suddenly the door of the hut opens and they all pour out, remaining just as active. You watch them with great interest. Soon you notice that one of the subpersonalities is very interested in you and approaches you. You look closely at what it looks like. It doesn't have to look like a human. It could be an animal or something completely unlike anything. She is very interested in you, she is very drawn to you. When you realize that this is some part of you, it also becomes interesting to you, and then you invite her for a walk. You go with her to the edge of the forest, where a beautiful green meadow begins. You go out with her to the meadow. You notice how she moves, what she says, what she asks. You start a conversation with her. In this conversation, you can ask her any questions, and she can ask you. It's just an opportunity to get to know each other. So you ask your subpersonality: who are you? What is your role in my life? What do you want? What do you expect from me? How can I help you? What are you doing for me? Why are you doing it? When did you come into my life? What events, what circumstances of my life caused your appearance? Perhaps you have come to help me? Why are you helping me? And how are you helping me? Have you brought something into my life? And when do you create problems for me? So what do you want? What is your basic need, what do you really need? What is your essential quality?

Are you aware of how you feel about this part? Are you angry with her because she bothers you? Or is this a very important part that helps you, makes you stronger? Talk to her, tell her about your difficulties with her, tell her how you feel about her. Ask her if she would like to take the opportunity to tell you something or ask you something?

Now invite this subpersonality to walk with you across the meadow. See how she reacts to this: maybe she doesn’t want to go with you? Or, on the contrary, does he really want it?

You are walking through a meadow. You feel the breeze gently brushing your face, hear the sounds that fill the meadow - the buzzing of insects, the singing of birds - and notice that you are walking with your companion along the path. As you walk further, you begin to notice that the trail begins to climb up a hill. As you climb it, you notice that the hill turns into a high mountain. You are leading your subpersonality to a very high mountain. The mountain is high, but the walk is easy. Notice what you can see from this mountain? And now you reach the top of this mountain. Pause a little and look from above at the distances unfolding before you. When you look down, how tiny people, houses, streets, cars seem. You and your companion are standing on top of this mountain and just looking at everything else. How much can you see from this place?

Standing there on the top of the mountain, you begin to realize that there is some other, very wise being next to you. You realize that this being has great compassion, and you can feel how much this being loves you. This being is full of light and you can feel it. This being is able to speak to you, and you are given the opportunity to ask him any question you are interested in about the subpersonality that came with you: what its purpose is in your life, and how to develop your relationship with it. For you know that this is a very wise and compassionate being. Perhaps this wise being has a gift for you that you can use in your life that will help you. Pause a moment to feel the presence of this wise being and point to it to the subpersonality accompanying you.

And now it’s time to say goodbye to this wise creature and thank him for being so compassionate to you. The wise being tells you that he is always at your disposal whenever you come here. So, grab your companion and head down. Realize how your subpersonality now feels and what you feel towards it. Return to the meadow, and then take your subpersonality back to the forest. Talk to her if you want, or perhaps if she wants, about what happened on the mountain. Tell her that you will talk to her many more times and that you will not forget her. And then lead her to the forest hut, say goodbye to her and return to the meadow.

Now slowly bring your attention to your body sitting on the chair in this room. Feel that your feet are on the floor and that you can move your toes. Open your eyes, look around.

Make short notes about your experiences during the exercise. If you were unable to complete it completely, write about it and try to analyze what prevented you from following the proposed path. If you find it difficult to do this, write down why it is difficult for you. The following three issues should be given priority attention:

What does your subpersonality want?

What does she need?

What is its essential quality?

Perhaps you did not like the discovered subpersonality or some of its qualities. This is one of the common reactions - to perceive the presence of some negative traits in oneself. One of the main postulates of psychosynthesis: every subpersonality, even the most difficult, has a healthy core - its essential quality. The synthesis itself consists in the fact that, having identified the essential quality, the essential energy of the subpersonality, we can begin to integrate it into our life, that is, reunite, unite it with our other parts.

One of the important points in working with subpersonalities is to recognize the fact that each of our subpersonalities - including those who suffer and experience pain - is a part of us and, as such, truly needs us. In the practice of psychosynthesis, no experiences are suppressed, but on the contrary, they are tried to be given a way out, to “call out” them from the depths of the psyche, and then direct their energy to self-transformation and self-change. It is very important to find out what the suffering subpersonality wants. She does not have what she wants, and this causes suffering.

The very fact of uncritical awareness of the part that worries us, the very fact of awareness without condemnation, sharply reduces the level of defensive activity of the conscious part. By accepting it as it is, we create conditions in which this part feels safer. The very basis for conflicts disappears. Instead of saying, “I don’t like you,” we say, “Hi.” This makes it possible to approach the process of transformation and integration. In general, integration is a natural process that occurs in a person constantly. Throughout our lives, we quite naturally integrate our various conflicting parts. But when some part of us, for one reason or another (for example, as a result of suppression) stops in its growth, it seems to fall away from the whole and loses the ability for natural integration. Then work is needed to restore the lost integrity.

Exercise 4. “Dialogue of subpersonalities”

To complete this exercise, you will need the drawing you made during the “Circle of Subpersonalities” exercise. You can add to this circle the subpersonality that you met during the “Getting to Know the Subpersonality” exercise.

Close your eyes and imagine that you have stepped into the center of the circle and are now surrounded by your subpersonalities. Slowly turn around and watch them. It may seem to you that they are talking to each other.

What they're saying? Which subpersonality plays the main role? What subpersonalities help each other? Which ones fight each other? Which ones are stronger? Which ones are weaker? Do you recognize your habits, stereotypes, and recurring situations from everyday life?

Now try to talk to these images so that peace reigns between them.

Write down your most important observations.

One of the goals of introspection is to feel the center, the essence of one’s own “I”, to strengthen it so that it is able to resolve conflicts between subpersonalities. When the interests of such unconscious parts of the personality come into conflict with each other, the struggle between them leads to ineffective expenditure of a person’s creative and vital energy. Such a conflict can manifest itself both as “inner voices” arguing among themselves, and as regrets that “again I did not do what I wanted.” When performing the exercise, your “I” should not ignore or drive away any of the subpersonalities. This strategy is wrong, since non-acceptance of any of your traits (subpersonalities) does not cancel their existence, but only leads to aggravation of the problem. Remember that each of the subpersonalities reflects the needs of the whole personality. Mastering the “Dialogue of Subpersonalities” technique also allows you to resolve conflicts between two or three separate subpersonalities by concluding a kind of labor agreement or contract between them, when your “I” acts as a conductor. For example, this agreement may concern how the Student (who needs to pass a test), the Football Amateur, and the Lover will distribute time among themselves. The contract is concluded for a certain time. This type of work does not involve the transformation of subpersonalities.

For more serious transformational work with a pair of conflicting subpersonalities or for a deeper acquaintance with any subpersonality, the following exercise is suggested. It gives an example of the practical application of one of the basic principles of the practice of psychosynthesis: being in one of the conflicting subpersonalities, it is impossible to resolve the conflict, because each of them considers itself to be right. Conflict resolution becomes possible only when a person is in the “aware center.” From the “center” you can see the core, the essential part of each of the subpersonalities.

Exercise 5. “Conflict of subpersonalities”

Try to find a quiet, comfortable place where you will not be disturbed. Sit more comfortably. Relax. You can turn on soft, relaxing music.

Imagine that you are at the center of your Self. Feel that you are in the center of the Self.

Now invite one of the subpersonalities to appear to your right. If she appears, watch her. Visualize or otherwise feel this part appear. Observe her body position and facial expression. Pay attention to why she holds her head this way, why she has this expression in her eyes, why she stands or sits this way. If you can, pay attention to what she is trying to tell you with her appearance.

Now imagine that you take a step from the center and enter this part. Having become this part, imagine that her body and feelings have become yours. How do you stand or sit? What are your hands doing? How do you hold your head? What do your eyes express? What is your bite? Check if you really feel that your body has become the body of this part?

Tell the center who you are: “I am.”

Tell the center what is the purpose of your existence.

Now take a step from this part back to the center and from the center look at this part again. If you additionally want to know something about her purpose, ask her about it. Ask this part when it came into your life. Ask her what she wants to tell you. See if you can sense the essential quality of this piece. Ask her what she wants, what she needs. And ask yourself at the center if you really feel ready to take responsibility for this need.

Enough, now take a break from this part and again pay attention to your stay in the center, to your ability to observe, your ability to be aware, your ability to identify the deep value and meaning of any of your parts.

Now invite the opposite part to appear to your left. When this part appears, try to get a better look at it. Watch for a while as this part presents itself to you. Pay attention to her posture and facial expression. Pay attention to what she already tells you with just her appearance.

Now step out from the center and enter this part. When you enter her, you take on her body, her posture, her facial expression. Become this subpersonality and tell the center who you are. Tell the center what is your purpose, what is the purpose of your existence.

Now move from this part back to the center. If, while you are at the center, you find that you would like to know something more about the purpose of this part, ask her. Ask this part when it came into your life. Ask her what she wants to tell you. See if you can sense the essential quality of this piece. Ask her what she wants, what she needs. Pay attention to whether you feel ready to take responsibility for this need.

Now take a break from this part. Feel that you are in the center, and only in the center. Summarize what you have learned and realized, and begin to gradually move out of this inner space, gradually opening your eyes, feeling your body, stretch, take a deep breath and exhale sharply.

Write down your impressions of this exercise, your thoughts and feelings.

Sometimes working with conflicting parts in the imagination makes the experience of the conflict very vivid, more vivid than in everyday life. There may even be a feeling that what is happening is catastrophic. But this helps to see more clearly what the real conflict is, helps to see the real state of affairs.

Let us remember once again that, even if we really don’t like some part, we cannot destroy it, since behind it stands some of our essential quality, our “energy,” and it is indestructible. The more we try to get rid of what we don’t like in our personality, the more it comes out, exacerbating the conflict. And only through acceptance, and not condemnation, can real transformation be approached.

Critical, negative perception of information about oneself, about one’s subpersonalities may also be due to the inclusion of the Judge (Critic). We all have such a subpersonality. Therefore, when you begin to judge yourself, consider it as the activity of one of your subpersonalities - Criticism - and try to return to the “aware center”. The critic is often strong and strives to take center stage. You may be required to have benevolent attentiveness in order to notice: “Aha, my inner Critic has turned on again,” and certain efforts to disengage with it.

The following two exercises are needed to get to know and work with the subpersonalities that everyone has, which often prevent us from realizing our plans - the Critic and the Saboteur.

Exercise 6. “Identify your Critic”

What is he telling you? Perhaps he gives some instructions starting with the words: “You must” and “When you first learn.” In what tone does he say this? When? What does he require from you? How do you feel about him?

Give it a name that reflects its essence. If you identified this character with a noun, add one or two more adjectives to more accurately describe its properties.

Here are some names: Persecutor, District Attorney, Critic, Clip My Wings, Miss Perfect, Whistleblower, etc.

What will you call your Critic?

Now become a Critic. Explain to your whole self how much it needs you. Tell her what a mess it will be without you.

As your Self, recognize the valuable aspects of the Critic. Discuss with him how to preserve and use his valuable qualities and reduce negative ones that cause pain. For example, the Pursuer's valued side may be the Patron.

Exercise 7. “Meeting with the Saboteur”

Think of something you would like to do successfully. This could be enrolling in an educational institution, starting a family, organizing your own business, or simply receiving guests.

Now try to come up with something that will harm your enterprise and interfere with its implementation. Imagine this picture.

Draw the Saboteur or the force that pushes for sabotage and opposes the fulfillment of the plan.

Now play the role of a Saboteur yourself and deliberately interfere with the implementation of your project. Tell us how you benefited from it.

From the “I” point of view, imagine meeting the Saboteur and negotiating with him.

A Saboteur can also be called: Stubborn Child, Why Try - Everything Is Useless If You Can't Be The Best - Quit It, Quibbler, Destroyer, Loser. Sometimes a Saboteur is also a Victim, a subpersonality that likes to feel helpless, to gain attention by skillfully appearing inept, awkward, etc.

What would you name your Wrecker?

Remember that subpersonality is a convenient model that allows us to deal with the driving forces of personality, but it is just a model that does not claim to be an original. When they talk about subpersonality, they mean a certain set of attitudes, behavioral stereotypes, beliefs, drives, etc., which takes on a holistic, discernible form only in our consciousness.

Exercise 8. Group version of the exercise “Circle of Subpersonalities”

The training exercise discussed below can be used in group psychological work. However, it should be carried out in a fairly advanced group and with a great deal of caution. At its core, this is a psychotherapeutic exercise, so the protagonist in it is a person who is psychologically ready to face the contradictory tendencies of his inner world.

Host: Every day, every person finds himself in situations in which he needs to make a choice. Sometimes this choice is painful. And sometimes our conflicting motives literally tear us apart. It seems that in the inner world the voices of different people are heard, entering into disputes and bickering with each other. You and I can try to understand those subpersonalities that live within us and help them find contact with each other. Maybe we will be able to give each subpersonality its rightful place in our inner world.

First stage

Host: Please prepare sheets of paper and a pen. You need to write on these sheets all your desires that will come to your mind today, now, at this minute. I emphasize - absolutely everything, any desires! This could be the desire to go to the toilet or the desire to become the Minister of Education, the desire to learn English or buy a three-room apartment. Don't limit yourself.

After completing your work, you don’t have to show your notes to anyone. Number each wish, starting it on a new line. Each point can be started with the words “I want...”. Leave small margins on the left side of the sheet - two to three centimeters is enough.

The work will last 15-20 minutes. If you feel like all your desires have dried up, don’t stop. If everything is clear to you, then you can start working.

Second phase

Host: Let's name the number of desires you have recorded. (Each participant answers.)

Reread to yourself the wishes you wrote down. They probably turned out to be quite diverse: some are associated with material needs, others with romantic dreams, and others with a focus on personal development. However, each one is special.

Choose some criteria by which you can divide your desires into separate groups. Indicate desires belonging to one group with some symbol - for this we left margins on the sheets on the left. Symbols can be check marks, squares, circles, or any other icon you choose. Don't try to be too granular. It's not bad if you get three to six groups. There is no need to try to make the groups equal in size. The number of wishes in groups may vary.

Third stage

Host: Each group of desires is associated with some aspect of your personality, with some main motives operating in your life. Using the terms of psychosynthesis, we can say that each group reflects a certain subpersonality that has manifested itself here and now.

Imagine that behind each set of desires there is a certain person who has his own personality. What would you call such a person?

Try to come up with names for the resulting subpersonalities. So, say, a group of desires related to material acquisitions could be called “Raking Hands,” and a group of romantic desires about long journeys could be combined under the name “Sinbad the Sailor.” The brighter and wittier the names are, the better. Write down these names under your wish list, providing them with the appropriate icons.

Having waited until the majority of participants have completed the task, the presenter invites everyone to draw their own “diagram of subpersonalities”, distributing the names of subpersonalities into sectors and bringing the sizes of the sectors in line with the number of desires of each subpersonality.

After this, the facilitator invites those who wish to tell the group the names of their subpersonalities and the number of desires that fall into the corresponding group.

The presenter needs to pay attention to those participants who volunteered to voice their results. As a rule, it is one of them who, in the next stages, shows a desire to become a protagonist.

The facilitator should encourage participants to talk about their own “subpersonality diagram”, but should not insist on this. Sometimes the invented names are very witty and meaningful - “Dog in the manger”, “Hen-hen”, “Ray of light”, “Natasha with wings” and others.

Fourth stage

Here the protagonist becomes the most important character, and a psychodramatic procedure unfolds with the involvement of other members of the group.

Host: So, we managed to isolate some of our subpersonalities that manifested themselves here and now. How many of you want to get to know them better and try to figure out which of your subpersonalities is most significant to you? I warn you that this person will have to reveal his wish list to others.

The protagonist is chosen.

Presenter (addresses the protagonist): Now you

you need to select from among the group members those who, in your opinion, could fulfill the role of each of your subpersonalities.

I ask participants not to refuse the protagonist if his choice falls on you.

The protagonist indicates the “actors” he has chosen and calls them “roles.”

Presenter: You stand in the middle of the circle. Your “subpersonalities” occupy places around you - at the same distance. Your task is simply to listen, and the task of each subpersonality is to convince the protagonist that it is the most important, the most important in his personality.

To know what to say and how to convince, you must understand well what each subpersonality is and what desires are concentrated in it. Therefore, I ask the protagonist to explain to the subpersonalities the content of desires.

A few minutes are devoted to preparing subpersonal actors for playing roles. The content of the protagonist’s communication with support persons does not necessarily have to be revealed to the rest of the group. The facilitator should invite them to carefully observe what will happen next.

Upon completion of the actors’ preparation, the presenter again addresses them and the protagonist.

Host: The difficulty of the upcoming procedure will be that all subpersonalities will have to speak... at the same time!

The protagonist will have the opportunity to regulate this process of simultaneous speaking in the following way: raising his hand means a request to some subpersonality to speak louder; lowering your hand - speak more quietly; clapping your hands in the direction of some subpersonality - to shut up; pulling away movement of the hand - move away a little; movement of the hand towards oneself - to get closer; hands crossed above the head - everyone shut up.

Despite the apparent simplicity of this procedure, the power of its emotional impact is unusually great. Often the result is genuine catharsis. The presenter must monitor the progress of the process and the reaction of the protagonist very carefully.

Usually it takes the protagonist two to three minutes to listen to subpersonalities, but they are very emotionally intense for him.

Discussion

The discussion begins with the traditional question to the protagonist: “How do you feel now?” It is interesting that in the process of simultaneous speaking of subpersonalities, often perceived by external observers as a cacophony, the protagonist usually hears everyone and grasps the meaning of what is being said. However, this is very difficult. The sensations that arise in the protagonist are sometimes quite unexpected and usually very vivid. They often lead to real self-discoveries.

Then the supporting persons share their impressions.

During one lesson, it is possible to conduct a conversation between subpersonalities with two or even three protagonists. Comparing their feelings and experiences gives the group an interesting experience.

Exercise 9. “Identification/disidentification”

The following exercise helps us get to know our inner actors and the roles they play in our lives.

Allow yourself to sit back, close your eyes, breathe in and out deeply, and turn your attention inward.

Perhaps you will remember a situation in which you found yourself a day or two ago and which constantly occupies your thoughts.

Imagine that you can see yourself in this situation. Maybe you felt irritated, afraid, or angry and acted accordingly.

Just let this whole scene happen again before your mind's eye. After that, put yourself in this situation again. What do you think? What do you feel in your body? What emotions are you aware of? Where in the body do you feel them? What does the world look like from here? How would you like to act?

Now take a deep breath and exhale, step back and analyze what is happening.

What are you observing? Which part of you expresses itself in this situation? What is this part trying to do for you? Is this part trying to help you stay in control? Do you want to thank this part for trying to help you? If yes, then thank her. If not, watch your internal resistance to do so.

How do you feel about this part of yourself? How does this subpersonality limit you? Note its limiting effect. How does she see the world? What do you think she really wants from you? Do you want to give her what she needs? How can you do this? What special qualities or abilities does this subpersonality offer you? How can you bring these qualities to life?

Feel yourself in your own body; Feel your arms and legs, move them slowly. After this, open your eyes and take notes if you wish.

In this exercise, the individual identifies with a role in order to better observe bodily sensations, mental constructs and emotions. For a neutral perception of the situation, the “observer” is activated. This is called role disassociation. From this position, it becomes possible to recognize the subpersonality that is currently directing the performance. Along with this, its (subpersonality’s) behavioral patterns become clearer. As a result, a person realizes that it is this part of him, in its own, albeit distorted, way, that is trying to save the situation. The limited capabilities of this subpersonality become obvious. The discovery through the observer of its hidden qualities and the reality of bringing these qualities into everyday life opens up new and varied perspectives for the individual.

Exercise 10. “Getting to know our inner actors”

The purpose of this exercise is to get closer to subpersonalities with the help of spontaneously arising images. Through visualization, the content of the psyche is intensified, which becomes visible.

How can we get to know our subpersonalities? Visualization is one of the main techniques used in working with subpersonalities. It allows internal pictures and images to appear in our consciousness. Internal images, which represent the richness of personality aspects, help us become aware of the different parts of our personality. We are aware of their needs, desires, inherent qualities and behavior patterns. In addition, our internal images reveal the qualities of our usual behavioral patterns, our needs and desires. The exercise helps us recognize and accept our psychodynamic structures.

Take paper and pencil and find a comfortable place to relax. Close your eyes, take a deep breath in and out, and turn your attention inward. Imagine that you are the director of a play. You are in the theater. The curtain is down and you are sitting in front of the stage. On the stage, behind the curtain, are the actors taking part in your performance. They can't wait to get in front of you.

The curtain rises and the first actor appears. Look at him (her). How do you react? Maybe you want to ask him something? Ask: “What are you here for? What do you want from me? What do you want from me? What can you offer me?" Wait for the answer to each question and listen carefully to what it will be.

Now thank the subpersonality and lower the curtain.

Feel your body, move your arms and legs before opening your eyes. If you want, you can write down your impressions.

This exercise can be repeated to become familiar with the many different actors in the inner play of our lives. Please consider the following questions: What do I, as a director, expect from my actors? What behavior of my actors would create a good performance for me as a director? Maybe some of the actors are too radical, too noble, or too power-hungry? How can I, as a director, help them realize their potential while at the same time expressing their own creativity?

Both the director and the observer can become better acquainted with our inner actors and their roles on the inner stage. The observer, through certain questions (some of them given above), becomes acquainted with the purpose, desires, needs and hidden qualities of various subpersonalities.

Exercise 11. “Temple of Silence”

We all know very well how difficult it is today to find silence within and without us. In the next exercise, working with subpersonalities is associated with silence, the experience of which leads us to the “Inner Sage”.

This exercise gives us the opportunity to feel the dimension of silence and contemplate it. This brings subpersonalities into contact with the “Sage”, with the energy of the “Superconscious”. Very often, the transformation of old psychodynamic structures occurs only with the help of the energy of the superconscious, without the use of any additional methods of transformation.

Find a quiet place where no one will disturb you. Take a pencil and paper to take notes if you like. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and allow yourself to relax.

Imagine that you are in a beautiful forest clearing at the foot of a mountain. Sunny. Your skin feels warm. You see a path leading to the top of the mountain. At the top you see a temple.

You want to climb the mountain. The path is not very steep. The higher you rise, the clearer and lighter the air becomes.

When you reach the top, allow yourself to become aware of the silence and calmness around you. You feel the silence in every cell of your body. The closer you get to the entrance of the temple, the deeper the silence becomes. Your feelings, emotions and thoughts calm down on their own.

Enter the temple. Sunlight streams through a hole in the roof in the center of the temple. This sunlight evokes a clear sense of deep silence. Surrender to this feeling. If you look up at where the light comes from, you will see a small staircase leading to the entrance to the roof terrace. Step up to the terrace and step into the sunshine. If you want, turn your face to the sun. Allow yourself to feel the warmth and energy emanating from it. Spend as much time here as you want.

Call your most significant subpersonality, ask it to climb the steps to the terrace and join you. Invite her to stand next to you and enjoy the sunshine. Just watch what happens to you as you stand in the warmth of the sun's rays.

In the rays of the sun, the face of a Sage may appear, looking at you with love. You feel this love pouring over you. He might want to tell you something. You might want to ask him something.

You can enter into a conversation with the Sage. Ask what the next step in the development of the subpersonality next to you will be. You can ask the Sage to help you.

When you feel that the conversation is over, ask the Sage to envelop you with his light, love and warmth.

Become aware of the changes that have taken place in you and your subpersonality.

Thank the Sage and say goodbye to him. Slowly go down the stairs and then follow the mountain path down.

Feel your body, move your arms and legs before opening your eyes. If you want, you can write about what happened on the mountain. You may want to ask yourself how the silence, the sun, and the encounter with the Sage affected your relationship with your subpersonality.

Has anything changed under the sun's rays? If something has changed, how will you incorporate that change into your daily routine?

This exercise helps induce deep relaxation through visualization of nature, peaceful surroundings and sunlight. Climbing to the temple on the top of the mountain allows you to come into contact with the dimension of the superconscious. Silence is of particular importance. The second ascent (up the stairs to the roof of the temple) and entry into the sunlight, felt by the body through the imagination, facilitates contact with the “Sage Within Us.” This source of information, pointer to the path and inner wisdom is always available to us. The influence of the energy of the superconscious on the subpersonality is often sufficient for profound transformation.

Exercise 12. “Dialogue with subpersonalities”

To better familiarize yourself with subpersonalities, the following questions are used:

“What is your goal?” The question allows the subpersonality to talk about the purpose of its existence. This allows us to determine how much the goal of the subpersonality corresponds to the consciously chosen direction of our life. Does the goal of the subpersonality contribute to the realization of our potential, or does it contradict our goals, interests and ideals?

“Why are you here?” - allows you to learn about the actual activities of the subpersonality. The answer to this question makes available valuable information about the actions of the subpersonality. Do these actions help the conscious personality, or do they hinder the personality from fully expressing itself?

"What do you want from me?" - helps to discover the hopes and desires of the subpersonality. As observers, we are aware of the demands of the subpersonality and their manifestation in everyday life (which often happens against the will of the individual).

"What do you want from me?" - reveals the hidden real needs of the subpersonality. The answer points to secret desires deeply hidden in the subpersonality, and to the possibilities of satisfying these desires.

“What are you offering me?” - shows the hidden qualities of the subpersonality. Although they exist, you need to get to them. At the same time, they indicate the possibilities of transformation of the subpersonality and the potential impact of such transformation on the individual.

“What are you protecting me from?” - allows you to understand the motivation of the subpersonality. Its primary motivation is to protect the individual, but the ways and means of protection chosen by the subpersonality often leave much to be desired. Quite often the reaction of a subpersonality is the opposite of its primary intention. Recognition of the primary protective function of the subpersonality is extremely useful. Showing sincere understanding and compassion is especially important when we are dealing with difficult subpersonalities. Recognizing the original defensive function is extremely useful, especially when trying to interact with a difficult and uncomfortable subpersonality, which requires understanding and genuine compassion. The result of this is the acceptance of those qualities that, at first glance, are impossible to accept. What follows is an increased understanding of the very difficult negative parts of our personality. Understanding and being able to face the subpersonality is the most direct and loving way to soften and transform rigid structures.

Similar works to - Crises of adulthood 30 years, 40 years, 50 years

The general identification motives noted above also appear in age cohorts, but acquire a coloring specific to age groups.<...>

Young people under 20 years old.<...>

Young people predominantly identify themselves with the family, the values ​​of Soviet society (a consequence of school and family education) and groups of everyday communication.<...>

Along with age-specific dominant identification with family and much weaker identification with peer groups, Soviet models of social identity formation, brought up from childhood, clearly dominate. Young people are proud of belonging to their people; they are close to the veterans of the Patriotic War and the war in Afghanistan, and great construction projects. More than other age cohorts, romantic identification with humanity is represented. At the same time, young people have not yet experienced the impact of national-democratic movements or a rapid revival of interest in religion, which has a significantly greater impact on identification trends in the group of 40-49 years old (differences by 3-5 times).<...>

Age group 20-24 years. According to theories about changes in socio-psychological characteristics with age, during this period the sphere of motivation expands, young people acquire a profession and begin to move towards successfully mastering social roles. This is precisely what can explain the sharp increase in identification with the category “specialist in his field” (rank 2 - 3 instead of rank 4 -5 in the group under 20 years old). This, however, does not imply a clear professional orientation, but, at a minimum, a desire to take a strong place in the system of social positions. At the same time, the dominant identification with the parental family, “Soviet identity,” remains, and solidarity with the “circle, company” sharply weakens in favor of a broader social community - at the place of residence. There is a desire to “be the master”, that is, independently

control living conditions. In this cohort, more than half of the most pronounced identifications are equivalent and have not yet formed into a rigid hierarchy.<...>

Age 25-29 years. The age when a family is built. Young parents begin to feel responsible not only for themselves, but also for their children. At this age, people are actively involved in working activities. Professional adaptation takes place here (this is especially true for young people who have recently graduated from universities and technical schools). Research in the world sociology of labor has established that in this age range the curve of professional mobility rises sharply, and by the age of 30 it sharply slows down. As if this period of time in people’s lives was given to them for final professional self-determination. The most characteristic feature of this age group is the desire to make a career.<...>At the same time, in this age group the largest percentage expresses consumer interest in relation to the state [Levada Yu. A., 1991]. The latter, in our opinion, can be explained by the great strength of the need to equip one’s family.

Naturally, if the most characteristic feature of this age group is the desire to make a career, then many identify themselves with “experts in their field” - 24.8%, as well as with people “in a prominent position” - 23.3%. This is the highest percentage compared to other age groups.<...>

Age group 30-39 years. The age of peak physical and spiritual strength and greatest productivity. The famous Soviet demographer B. Ts. Urlanis calculated that the greatest contribution to social welfare is made by the age group of 30 - 39 years (Urlanis B. Ts., 1970).

In connection with the consideration of data for this age group, the results of a survey conducted among readers of the magazine “Free Thought” (N. Naumova) are interesting. Target

research - to find out the features of individual overcoming a crisis situation (Naumova N.F., 1990, 8). It turns out that in our difficult times, the most common element of the universal attitude for this age group of 30-39 years is “self-irony.” What's the matter here? Representatives of this generation, in the majority compared to other cohorts, now determine the country’s policy and its appearance. They often have to behave flexibly, with a certain amount of skepticism. It must be said that what was unexpected for us was that the Soviet identity - “I’m proud that I’m co-376

"vetsky person" -■ turned out to be the highest in this age group, as well as in the cohort of 40 - 49 years old, -21.7%. It is possible that these people, more than anyone else, feel responsible for the severance of social and economic ties between the peoples of the former USSR.

The leading identification “syndrome” consists of identifications of the second (after parenthood) level - a feeling of one’s social usefulness (a specialist), belonging to the people (“Soviet”) and a feeling of being the master of one’s home—a syndrome of self-affirmation in life. Moreover, in this group there is a relatively stable “three-level” hierarchy of dominant identifications.

There is a family in the age group of 30 -39 years. As parents, they devote a significant part of their time and a lot of mental energy to their children. From the data of VTsIOM it is clear that the strongest identification is “I am proud to be the father (mother) of my children” - 52.2%. It should be noted that this identification rate turns out to be the highest in comparison with other age groups - 25.3%, followed by a professional identifier - “a specialist in his field” - 24.3%.<...>

Age 40-49 years. At this age, a person is full of energy, continues to work, some move up the career ladder. According to the research of N. Naumova, for this age group the most common element of the universal crisis attitude is “perseverance” (Naumova N.F., 1990, 9). Why this particular quality?

We must remember that people at this age are children either of war, or of difficult post-war times, who have a wealth of experience of hardship. For this age group, the most significant indicators of identification after “family” are identity with a “specialist in his field” - 25.9% and “Soviet person” - 23.4%.

In this age group there is a very strong sense of involvement in the destinies of their people, their best representatives. This is evident from the high values ​​of such identification indicators as “I am proud that I am a Soviet person” (the same rank as for professional identity) and “a master of my land” - 24.8%. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that older people turn to faith more often than young people - 12.8%. The identified identification rates for this age group remain relatively high compared to those for other groups. So, “proud to be the owner of my land” is 27.1% (the highest among all other age groups)

and “a believer” -20.1%. Attitude to faith in comparison with the group over 60 years of age, however, is not yet included in the complex of the most significant identifications. Many of this age group have achieved a high position at work, therefore, in comparison with others, two objects of identification stand out: “an employee of his enterprise” - 37.8% and “a person occupying a prominent position” - 30%.<...>

Age 50-59 years. Although a person continues to work at this age, many people move from more successful roles to less visible ones. Do people at this age identify themselves with the elderly? As we know from the research of R. Kühlen, to the question: “When does a person become old?” people answer differently. The latter was due to their social status. Probably, the answer to such a question is also determined by personal position, the dominant criterion according to the criterion “optimist” - “pessimist” and the state of health.

Representatives of this cohort were born in the 30s and early 40s. These are also children of war. They were brought up in a system of “Soviet” and patriotic values. Some of this generation (part of the intelligentsia) are now called “sixties”, most of them are conservatives. Therefore, it is no coincidence, according to N. Naumova, that for this group the main element of the worldview is “humility, acceptance of eternal values” (Naumova N.F., 1990, 19). At the same time, here the identity with the criterion of “maintaining control over the life situation” (feelings of the owner) with the previous identification with the Soviet person acquires equally high importance. Only in this age cohort is religious identity equated with other significant identities.<...>

Age group after 60 years. The “autumn of life” is approaching, and health is deteriorating. It's a difficult time in a person's life. In the developed industrial countries of the world, the tradition of treating old people with respect and due attention, as is customary in traditional societies and preserved in the East, is fading away.

The average life expectancy of Russians in 1990 was 63.8 years for men and 74.3 years for women.<...>People at this age, as they say, think about “their soul.” Apparently, therefore, one of the first places for them, along with the established identity of “Soviet person,” is identification with a “believer” - 18.9%.<...>The oldest age group is inclined, just like the previous one, to identify themselves with the best people of their generation: “participants of great construction projects, Stakhanovites, virgin lands workers” - 35.7%.

In one significant way, 60-year-olds and older resemble young people. In the group 20 - 24 years old

the identification tendency has not yet developed, and in old age it blurs: in this group, 4 relatively different rank orders of identities can be distinguished.<...>

CONCLUSIONS

For the period of 1990, the identification trends that we sought to identify in connection with the characteristics of age differences in the dominant motivations of life can be summarized as follows.

1. Most likely, social changes at the moment do not yet significantly affect previously established social group identities and solidarity with large communities that were authoritative in the mass consciousness before the start of the perestroika period.

2. It is possible that the tendency towards identification with primary groups (family, friends) and motivation to gain and maintain control over living conditions is a certain reaction to a crisis situation in society.

3. Cohort differences in identifications fully reflect the typical features of the stages of the life cycle of the general cultural characteristics of society. Along with the features noted in the analysis for various age groups, we can conclude that the most “simple” structure of hierarchical identifications develops at the age of 30-39 years.

During the period of the survey, parenthood dominates in this cohort, then, with a large gap, identification according to the criterion of professional maturity, belonging to the endangered community “Soviet person”, self-affirmation, again within the family circle (“master in his own house” and “son or daughter”) your parents). This dominant syndrome can be defined as the desire for a bidirectional identity - “my family is part of my people,” which is supported by the third most important identification desire according to the formula “son/daughter of my people” + “resident of my city/village.” This unity of oneself as a useful member of society (professional), one’s family with the destinies of the people is the most characteristic type of social identification structure for active age.

Also noteworthy is the structure of identification hierarchies in the group of young (20-24 years old) and older generations (over 60 years old). In both cases it is noticeably blurred. In the first, due to lack of formation, in the second, due to the breakdown of previously established hierarchies and the uncertainty of the current ones.

There are prejudices that after reaching a certain age, it is not customary to dress or behave as before. Age stereotypes are mainly aimed at girls over 30 and 40 years old. There are thousands of taboos for a woman of a certain age: short shorts, tattoos, piercings, provocative makeup... But what if external data allows you to look young and behave and dress accordingly?

Stereotypes for girls over 30

1. Is it possible to wear youth clothes? Of course, a girl of 30 should not wear a miniskirt and short shorts. It is not advisable to wear short blouses that reveal the abdominal area. These clothes can be worn outdoors. Proper decorations were also banned. At 30, a girl will suit an elegant style, not ripped jeans with a T-shirt with a bright print.
2. At 30 years old, personal life is not prohibited. But is it proper to be unmarried at this age? In villages, it is generally accepted that by the age of 30, a girl must already experience family life. It doesn't matter whether she's divorced or still married. Although nothing like this has been invented for city girls, they can live for their own pleasure even until retirement. The same applies to statements like “before the age of 30, a girl must give birth.” At the age of 20, you can start a family and be disappointed in your choice made due to your “stupid” youth. You can meet your destiny at 35 years old, be a happy and beloved woman, and only then give birth to a child.
3. Is it possible for a girl over 30 to wear a swimsuit with thong panties? Most likely, at this age a woman has a husband and a child. And the butt is an intimate part. And the girl’s figure is no longer the same as when she was 20 years old - the body takes on a rounded shape, signs of cellulite are noticeable, do you need it?
4. You cannot stay late for business meetings. This spoils the reputation in the eyes of business partners. A successful woman must manage her time correctly. Excuses that were appropriate at 20 are no longer suitable.

With girls at 30, everything is clear. What about 40-year-old women? At this age, a woman should already know how to become successful and happy. And she should receive this knowledge not from books, but from life experience. A 40-year-old woman is capable of solving her problems herself. She understands the psychology of a man and finds a logical explanation for his actions. They are no longer a “closed book” to her. Low self-esteem is not typical for a forty-year-old woman; she knows her worth.

Stereotypes for women over 40

1. Long hair is inappropriate, because a short haircut makes a woman look younger. But the choice of hairstyle should be individual! You can ask an experienced hairdresser for advice. And gray hair makes a woman look unkempt, so it is recommended to use hair dye. Light shades make a woman look younger, but the main thing is to choose the right hair tone for you.
2. Intimate life after 40 years is impossible. Mature women also have the right to an intimate life, and need it no less than “young” ones. And there is nothing shameful in this.

It is important to always understand that a woman is characterized not by the number in her passport, but by her state of mind. If you are cheerful and in good physical shape, no stereotypes are important! Live for your own pleasure!

– one of the most important and joyful events in a woman’s life. But, like all the most important things, this event entails not only joy, hopes and aspirations, but also a lot of worries and fears. And with age, these experiences become more and more common. Unfortunately, not all the worries of expectant mothers who have crossed the 30-35 year mark are unfounded.

The most favorable age for the birth of a first child is considered to be from 20 to 30 years. For subsequent births, the best interval is 3 years. During this time, the woman’s body has time to recover, that is, go through a period of rehabilitation after childbirth.

In obstetric practice, there is a specific term “age-related primipara,” which refers to women who give birth for the first time at the age of 30 years or older. However, more and more women around the world are postponing motherhood until their fourth decade. The reasons may be different, but for most women it is the desire to achieve a certain social and professional status, to make a career, before fully devoting themselves to the family. Following the pattern of other countries, where women only begin to give birth at thirty-five, and sometimes at forty, in our country, the number of women who gave birth to their first child between the ages of 30 and 40 has tripled over the past twenty years. Today, every 12th child is given birth to a woman over 35 years old. Over a quarter of a century, the number of women giving birth among women aged 35-39 has increased by 90%, and the number of mothers aged 40 and over has increased by 87%. Even such well-known conservatives as doctors, for the sake of mature mothers, softened their formulations: they used to be called “old-time mothers”, now “age-related”. More and more often, opinions are emerging that women who give birth for the first time over the age of 35 should be considered “aged”. Everything would be fine, but such a late pregnancy, alas, is fraught with many medical troubles.

Not too late?

The most important problem for women who are not too young is infertility. So, if a woman under 30 years of age has a 20% chance of becoming pregnant during one monthly cycle, then a woman over 40 has only a 5% chance of becoming pregnant. About 30% of women over 35 years of age are generally infertile. Why? This is primarily due to age-related changes in the tissues of the uterus and ovaries, leading to a decrease in their functional characteristics. After all, it’s no secret that we grow up to a maximum of 25 years, and then the natural aging of the human body occurs. It is expressed not only externally - in our small wrinkles on the face and body. Age-related changes in the body primarily affect the circulatory system and manifest themselves primarily in insufficiently functioning organs.

In particular, in young women who have not given birth for many years, the internal genital organs are in a state of functional failure and are therefore subject to premature aging. Starting from 28-30 years of age, changes in small arteries occur in the fallopian tubes of women; In addition, with age, scars and adhesions form around and inside the fallopian tubes. The frequency of such changes is especially high in women suffering from inflammatory diseases of the uterus, tubes, and ovaries. This leads to tubal obstruction, which makes it impossible for the egg to enter the uterine cavity. These changes can be combated with the help of modern microsurgery. In addition, over the years, an increasing number of menstrual cycles pass without the formation of an egg, and pregnancy during such a cycle is naturally impossible. During this period, the quality of the eggs noticeably decreases and the number of defective eggs increases. Smoking, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy reduce the likelihood of pregnancy due to the death of eggs.

An additional factor that reduces a woman’s reproductive ability with age is also a decrease in “uterine fertility” - the ability to conceive, caused by a decrease in blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, a decrease in the uterine sensitivity to hormones and some chronic diseases (fibroids - a benign tumor of the uterus, chronic inflammatory processes, endometriosis (proliferation of the endometrium, the inner layer of the uterus, in uncharacteristic places). These diseases not only prevent implantation of the embryo, but also cause problems in carrying the resulting pregnancy.

What about your health?

Another cause for concern is the exacerbation of all chronic diseases that were inherited by a woman or acquired over her entire past life. Obstetricians are especially wary of women with cardiovascular diseases (arterial hypertension - increased blood pressure, heart defects), chronic diseases lungs (pneumonia or bronchitis, bronchial asthma, etc.) and kidneys (chronic pyelonephritis), with endocrine diseases (diabetes mellitus, diseases of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, etc.). After all, if a woman had some kind of chronic disease, which did not seem to cause her much trouble, during pregnancy it will certainly remind itself of itself. And first of all, alas, it is necessary to find out whether pregnancy is in principle contraindicated for this pathology.
Such contraindications may include severe diabetes mellitus, severe heart defects, cancer, and severe kidney pathology.
But often a woman’s desire to have a child is much stronger than her awareness of the risk she exposes herself to during pregnancy. 2-3 months before the expected pregnancy, chronic diseases should be treated, if necessary. Since fetal organs are formed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, treatment of chronic diseases at the onset of pregnancy will not bring much benefit to the unborn child. It is better for women with chronic pathologies to be observed during pregnancy in special centers.

Women over 40 are 3 times more likely than women under 30 to develop gestational diabetes. In women with diabetes, during pregnancy the risk of gestosis, stillbirth and specific damage to the fetus increases. Diabetes in pregnant women requires following a diet and following special prescriptions from an endocrinologist.

Complications of pregnancy

The first thing that needs to be said is, of course, the increased likelihood of miscarriage. If women under 30 have a 10% risk of miscarriage, then for women 30-39 years old it is already 17%, and for women 40-44 years old it increases to 33%. The risk of miscarriage is associated not only with age-related changes in the entire female body, but also with genetic disorders, as well as hormonal characteristics. Problems such as chronic placental insufficiency, previa, and premature placental abruption are also possible. They are one of the causes of intrauterine fetal hypoxia, the birth of a low birth weight baby, and also the background against which premature and complicated births develop.

Are we giving birth ourselves?

Childbirth in women after 30 also has its own characteristics, including a greater likelihood of labor weakness, a greater risk of ruptures of the soft birth canal due to decreased tissue elasticity, and bleeding.

Due to weak labor activity, childbirth may end in caesarean section. Doctors consider this method more gentle both for the health of the child and for the health of the mother herself. However, the belief that no one gives birth naturally in their fourth decade is a myth. If we are talking only about the age factor, childbirth takes place through the natural birth canal. The decision to have a planned caesarean section usually arises from a combination of factors. For example, a woman has been infertile for a long time, and fears for the life of her long-awaited baby are very strong. This is a strong argument in favor of a cesarean section.

Childbirth becomes difficult and lengthy for those women whose muscle elasticity and joint elasticity decrease with age. For “late” mothers, an active lifestyle is especially important: more movement, swimming, special gymnastics, especially exercises to train the muscles of the perineum.

After the development of the organism is completed, the processes of involution begin. They affect all tissues, organs and systems, as well as their regulation. Most people aged 35-50 years begin to experience osteoporosis (thinning) of the tissue of long bones, loss of calcium salts, thinning of the cortical layer and expansion of the medullary canal, which contributes to bone fractures. Age-related deformation of the vertebrae and thinning of the intervertebral discs lead to the development of osteochondrosis and radiculitis. In the joints, destructive changes in the cartilage, coarsening of the synovial bursa, a decrease in synovial fluid and a decrease in the elasticity of the ligaments are noted. All this contributes to the occurrence of arthritis, arthrosis, decreased mobility in the joints, the appearance of joint pain, and rupture of ligaments.

Age-related changes in skeletal muscles are characterized by their atrophy, replacement of muscle fibers with connective tissue, decreased blood supply and oxygenation (acidification) of muscles, decreased functional activity of muscle proteins and enzymes, and deterioration of metabolism in muscles. These changes lead to a decrease in the strength and speed of muscle contractions. In those parts of the musculoskeletal system and muscular system that are subject to moderate regular loads during life (thigh, lower leg, their muscles), destructive changes are less pronounced.

The morphological composition of blood, as mentioned earlier, does not change significantly with age. And yet, data from recent years indicate a certain age-related evolution of peripheral blood parameters. After 35-40 years, cholesterol is found in the walls of blood vessels, and its maximum is observed at 60-70 years, which leads to the development of atherosclerosis. The development of atherosclerosis is promoted by an unbalanced diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and stress. Heart rate increases after 40-50 years. The level of blood pressure increases, and to a greater extent diastolic, which is due to an increase in vascular tone; Pulse pressure naturally decreases. One of the most important medical problems is monitoring the dynamics of blood pressure in older people and knowing its normal age-related indicators. Professor of the Military Medical Academy Z.M. Volynsky and his colleagues derived the formula for “ideal” blood pressure for people aged 20 to 70 years: systolic blood pressure = 102 + 0.6 - age, diastolic blood pressure = 63 + 0.4 - age. In accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization, normal blood pressure in mature and elderly people should not exceed 140/90 mmHg. Art. The respiratory organs also undergo some functional and morphological changes with age. These changes are expressed in a decrease in the elastic properties of the lung tissue, a decrease in the strength of the respiratory muscles and bronchial patency, the development of pneumosclerosis, which leads to a decrease in ventilation of the lungs, impaired gas exchange, and the appearance of shortness of breath, especially during physical exertion. In adulthood, there is a gradual decrease in renal blood flow, glomerular filtration, reabsorption and excretory function of the tubules; somewhat later, nephron involution is observed. These changes lead to a decrease in diuresis, although it becomes more frequent due to an increase in the threshold of irritation of the bladder receptors, and there is also a delay in the excretion of urea, uric acid, creatinine, and salts.

All types of metabolism (protein, carbohydrate, fat and mineral) decrease with age. The decrease in metabolism is due to a deterioration in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues. These shifts lead to a decrease in energy exchange and a drop in physical performance. A reduced level of metabolism is accompanied by a slight decrease in body and skin temperature, and a violation of thermoregulation, especially chemical. As the body ages, the functions of the sensory systems decrease. This manifests itself in deterioration of vision and hearing, a decrease in pain, temperature and tactile sensitivity of skin receptors, and an increase in the thresholds of taste and olfactory sensitivity. The visual and auditory sensory systems undergo the most pronounced age-related changes. It is known that the elasticity of the lens decreases with age, and by the age of 45-50 the accommodation of the eye decreases by 4-5 times. This leads to the development of farsightedness and decreased visual acuity; in addition, the thresholds for color perception and color discrimination increase, and the boundaries of the visual fields narrow. Deterioration in the functions of the auditory sensory system is manifested in the fact that after 35-40 years of age, auditory sensitivity decreases, especially in the high frequency range.

As is known, there are two main mechanisms for regulating functions - humoral and nervous. The humoral mechanism is carried out due to chemicals found in fluids circulating in the body (blood, lymph, tissue fluid). The main chemical regulators of functions are hormones - physiologically active substances produced by the endocrine glands.

Most endocrine glands mature quite early, but not at the same time. Thus, the pituitary gland reaches its full development by the age of 15 and all the hormones it produces are most active until the age of 40-45, then the activity of most of them gradually decreases. The activity of some pituitary hormones (ACTH, vasopressin) even increases with age.

The adrenal glands reach their maximum weight by 35-40 years. At this time, the function of their cortical layer is most active, producing, in particular, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and analogues of sex hormones. The adrenal medulla matures somewhat earlier and its functional activity (catecholamines) is high already in childhood, sufficient in adulthood and reduced in old age (after 55-60 years). The pancreas (mixed type) matures by 10-12 years, and from 30-35 years, involution begins, especially its endocrine function. This is manifested by a decrease in insulin production, which often leads to the development of age-related diabetes mellitus. Somewhat later (from 50-60 years), the intrasecretory function of the pancreas also deteriorates, which is confirmed by a decrease in the formation and drop in the activity of its enzymes - lipase, amylase and proteases. Age-related decline in the functions of the endocrine glands leads to the development of three “normal” diseases of aging - hyperadaptosis, menopause and obesity. Hyperadaptosis (excessive stress response) develops as a result of an increase in the threshold of sensitivity of the hypothalamus to protective hormones (in particular, to the adrenal hormone - cortisone). Therefore, unfavorable factors that were quite tolerable at a young age become excessive at an older age. Menopause (cessation of reproductive function) is most pronounced in women and is observed after 45-50 years, although these changes are quite individual in nature. The physiological essence of this process is that with age, the sensitivity threshold of the sexual center of the hypothalamus to estrogens increases and, ultimately, the ovulatory cycle is disrupted.

The nervous mechanism of regulation is evolutionarily younger. It differs from humoral in that nerve impulses travel along nerve pathways at a fairly high speed (from 0.5 to 120 m/s) and travel along specific nerve fibers to strictly defined organs and systems of the body. Nervous regulation of functions consists of the most complex relationships between unconditioned and conditioned reflexes.

The central nervous system is the most stable, intensively functioning and long-lived system of the body. Its functional activity is ensured by long-term preservation of nucleic acids in nerve cells, optimal blood flow in the vessels of the brain and sufficient oxygenation of the blood. However, after the age of 30, the nervous system loses 30-50 thousand neurons every day.

It should be noted that the organization of physical exercises should take into account the specific anatomical, physiological and psychological characteristics of the female body; playing a significant role in conducting physical education classes.

Physical exercise and the associated changes in function and emotional reactions have a beneficial effect on the body of mature people. The most pronounced positive effect is manifested when the nature, volume, rhythm, intensity and other qualities of the exercises are established taking into account the fitness level, personal characteristics and functional state of the participants. At the same time, physical activity should ensure the correction of age-related disorders and the prevention of pathological changes in the body.

It has been established that people of mature age, well physically prepared, successfully learn and remember exercises both when told and shown, therefore for them aquafitness is considered as the most suitable and quickly mastered type of physical activity. For insufficiently prepared individuals, memorization is based primarily on demonstration. Thus, the ability to learn and remember physical exercises, and, consequently, the development of motor skills depends not so much on the age of those involved, but on the level of their physical fitness. Observations show that in people aged 40-50 years, the process of developing new motor skills proceeds quite quickly, but after 50 years it slows down. The role of the second signaling system manifests itself at all stages of the formation and implementation of motor skills with the constant active influence of both the speech report and internal speech associated with thinking through exercises. For the successful acquisition of new motor skills by mature adults, the supply of various motor actions acquired earlier, including those not directly related to the exercises being learned, is of great importance. As a rule, people who are physically well-trained master new motor skills faster and better. To successfully perform the subsequent movement, it is necessary to significantly slow down the previous one. Thus, the formation of new motor skills in people of the age under consideration depends, first of all, on the stock of previously acquired skills, the activity of the second signaling system (inner speech) and the nature of the central regulation of movements.