SUMMARY
The purpose of the article is to analyze the ways of verbal emotional regulation of modern Ukrainian youth and to outline ways to improve their psycholinguistic hygiene. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were performed: (1) the typical verbal reactions of modern Ukrainian youth to stressful stimuli were clarified; (2) the features of youth spontaneous response to stress were compared with the usual formulas of Ukrainian linguistic culture of psychological self-defense.Methods and Techniques. The investigation is grounded on the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, descriptive, questionnaire, communicative-pragmatic analysis, comparative method (to compare different verbal reactions of respondent), and the quantitative method (to determine the dominant forms of emotional response of young people). The comprehensive methodology was used: monitoring of scientific sources, experimental modeling of stressful situations, interviewing students, analysis of their spontaneous reactions, testing of various forms of influence on youth emotional verbal reactions, formulation of conclusions.Results. Based on the questionnaire, the author concludes about the mostly unconscious attitude of modern Ukrainian youth to forms of emotional response, as their spontaneous speech shows widespread use of non-normative, stylistically reduced units and limited use of traditional emotional exclamations, paremias or ironic expressions. Young people show more empathy in the psychoregulation of others than in relation to themselves. The author recommends cultivating in the youth environment communicative tactics of support, inspiration, outlining a positive perspective, emotional empathy and explaining the ineffectiveness of devaluation tactics, correcting of the addressee's behavior by a negative imperative.Conclusions. The article substantiates the importance of forming emotional competence of modern Ukrainian youth in higher education institutions, diversification and modernization of educational material, giving more attention to tactics and strategies of communication and analysis virtual forms of communication. The author emphasizes the need to develop students' meaningful attitude to their own speech and apply an active and creative approach to finding expressive and at the same time acceptable codes of emotional self-expression. The paper suggests practical recommendations to weaning students from vulgar and non-normative emotional reactions.