STUDY OF THE FEATURES OF THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF ELDERLY WOMEN WITH ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE
Authors:   H.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology, the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Oniskovets Bogdana 
Published: October 2021

The article highlights the results of an empirical study of the psychological components of the emotional state of elderly women with coronary heart disease (CHD), which covered 135 respondents aged 65 to 75 years with coronary heart disease. The aim of the study was to study the psychological components of emotional states of elderly women that can affect the manifestations and course of coronary heart disease, in particular, alexithymia, anxiety, depression, asthenia. It was found that the components of psycho-emotional states of patients with coronary heart disease consist of a set of psychophysiological factors, including: the specifics of emotionally negative states such as anxiety, depression, asthenia, hostility, etc., and the features of the somatic state, themselves manifestations of coronary heart disease and their concomitant changes in the psycho-emotional sphere, in particular the specifics of the traumatic situation for the patient and her personal characteristics. An empirical study found that elderly women with coronary heart disease are characterized by high levels of anxiety, depression, asthenia, mental stress, irritability, suspicion, resentment, neuroticism, secrecy, emotional lability. It is empirically proven that depending on the gender of an individual with coronary heart disease, the psychological components of emotional states differ significantly. It has been studied that women with coronary heart disease have a high level of lability and unstable emotional state. It is established that the emotional state changes rapidly depending on the factors of external and internal stimuli. A labile emotional state is a sign of danger in a person's psychological state, so it can be critical for women with coronary heart disease. Due to the qualitative processing of the obtained results, we found that in the three formed samples - CG, ECG and ECG, the results of the study differed significantly. In the experimental group of men there are no such psycho-emotional phenomena as negativism, irritation, suspicion, resentment and guilt; neuroticism. The results of the control group revealed a high percentage of women at risk. In the experimental group of women, which is the main goal of our study, the outlined phenomena had the highest rate. A number of emotions that contribute to coronary heart disease were identified: dissatisfaction with work, education, life in general; experiencing creative failures, defeats in ambitious desires; insult; frustration caused by the sharp destruction of the usual stereotype of life; constant feeling of inner tension; lack of satisfaction in achieving success; fear; chronic anxiety. From this list of feelings it is clear that they all belong to the register of negative feelings, those that create emotional discomfort. All these feelings are antipodes of feelings that are traditionally considered attributes of a healthy heart, such as: love, courage, courage, joy. The above conditions are special for people with coronary heart disease and have significant differences between male and female groups, and therefore they can be considered as psychophysiological features of elderly women with coronary heart disease. Prospects for further research may be the feasibility of creating a comprehensive program of psychocorrection of emotional states of elderly women with coronary heart disease.