- Radio has already been invented, but there is still no happiness... (c) I. Ilf, E. Petrov. We all played catch-up in childhood. Remember what we did when, running away with all our five-year-old strength, we heard the overtaking clatter of the considerably stronger hooves of a slightly older sidekick? We understood that they wouldn’t kill us, it was all a game, it was all make-believe. But there was fear - real, not pretend! And - a second, a millimeter before the touch of a greasy hand! — we shouted victoriously: “Chick-chick!” I’m in the house! The saving and saving mantra “chick-chick - I’m in the house” - I found out on purpose! - it was everywhere, all over the country! In Central Asia, the Baltic states, Kamchatka. “Naked”, “greased”, “stuck” - this could be different everywhere. Classics, standard-manders and other old robbers - all this could be different, but “chick-chick - I’m in the house” is the irreplaceable gold standard from the Parisian Chamber of Weights and Measures. This is the most reliable and universal salvation from one of the most sincere childhood fears, a metaphorical formula for absolute protection - a small warm house, a light in the window, and me, small and frightened, in it. And the one who has caught up will not dare to cross the designated border: the house is sacred, and there is also protection there - not only walls, but also elders who can jump out, catch up and punish in response. The child grows up, and fear also grows - and the video changes. And with it, the “house” also changes. And when a person - already an adult - cannot cope with the threat, he goes into the house: into a familiar, small world with clear rules, where he feels safe. The smoking room, for example, is a salvation from office madness, a flood of emails, client chaos and boss trash-testing. Even the craziest boss will not dare to disturb this state; when he finds the poor guy in the smoking room, he will say in a stern voice: “You’ll come to me later!” The boss - in the language of our common childhood - understands: this is sacred, this is the last frontier. If it is violated, the victim will fight for his identity - to the death. The pub after work is also a house. There is no fierce boss, no small salary, no formidable wife in curlers, but there is a clear and cozy world - reflected in the green glass of bottles, as simple and uncomplicated as a roach laid out on a newspaper. There is no addiction to alcohol (and smoking ), there is a hidden anxiety from which a small, frightened child escapes in the “house.” Let’s rewind a little back to school. Something prevented the child from mastering the laws of the world - mathematics, chemistry, physics. They scolded him for failing him, pitied him, or waved their hand at him: “Ah, he turned out to be a mediocre child.” And the child invents a house - magical worlds, a fairy tale where dreams come true with the power of thought - just like in the movies. And he is the boss in this world. There is no dependence on games, there is a house in which a child, who feels useless and abandoned, and therefore mortal fear for his small and so defenseless life, is trying his best to escape. And now smartphones have been invented , and happiness... In my practice, there have been cases where, as a result of investigating the causes of internal anxiety, a long-standing habit that seemed to have become an integral part of the personality disappeared. “I’m calling to say that after our conversation I haven’t even thought about a cigarette for two weeks, I gave away my entire supply to the film crew! This is a cameraman who went on a long expedition to another country and spared no expense on a long-distance call to report his delight.” — On Fridays he became go to the pool, and on weekends I do renovations; I’ve long wanted to renovate the house,” reports a satisfied office clerk, who had previously indulged in a traditional weekly spree. Although at our meetings we discussed completely different stories from childhood, when there was nowhere to run. Every psychologist, I can probably also share this story - we dealt with internal anxiety, and along the way some bad habit fell off - or all at once! Sorry, there were a lot of letters - this is apparently my house. To be continued one of these days, but for now I, chick-chick, left the house of these letters and returned to work. I advise on issues of personal and