Using a strengths based biopsychosocial approach to addressing anxiety

Using a Strengths-Based
Biopsychosocial
Approach to Addressing
Anxiety
Instructor: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC, NCC
Executive Director, AllCEUs
Recovery & Resilience International in partnership with AllCEUs.com
Unlimited CEUs $59 | Specialty Certificates $89 | Live Webinars $5

Objectives
 Define a strengths based approach
 Define a biopsychosocial approach

Why I Care/How It Impacts Recovery
 Anxiety can be debilitating
 Low-grade chronic stress/anxiety erodes your
energy and ability to concentrate
 Anxiety is a major trigger for:
 Addiction relapse
 Increased physical pain
 Sleep problems

What Does Strengths Based Mean
 It is easier (and more effective) to build upon
something that already works to some extent.
 Strengths-based approach helps people identify how
they are already trying to cope and builds on that
 There are two types of strengths
 Prevention/Resilience Strengths
 What you do on a daily basis to stay healthy and happy
 Intervention/Coping Strengths
 In the past when you have felt this way, what helped?
 What made it worse?

What is a Biopsychosocial Approach
 Bio-logical
 Neurochemicals
 Nutrition
 Sleep
 Sunlight & Circadian Rhythms
 Psycho-logical
 Mindfulness
 Distress Tolerance
 Coping Skills
 Cognitive Restructuring
 Social
 Improving self-esteem and your relationship with self
 Improving relationships with healthy, supportive others

What is Anxiety
 Anxiety is half of the “Fight or Flight Response”
 It is an excitatory response
 It’s function is to protect you from danger
 It can become a problem when it is
 Overgeneralized
 Overly intense/uncontrollable
 Constant due to brain injury
 Like depression, it can be caused by excess
serotonin Serotonin: A Common Neurobiologic Substrate in Anxiety and Depression. EISON,
MICHAEL S. PhD

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety
 Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms can vary. They
may include:
 Persistent worrying or obsession about small or large concerns
that's out of proportion to the impact of the event
 Inability to set aside or let go of a worry
 Inability to relax, restlessness, and feeling keyed up or on edge
 Difficulty concentrating, or the feeling that your mind "goes blank"
 Distress about making decisions for fear of making the wrong
decision
 Carrying every option in a situation all the way out to its possible
negative conclusion
 Difficulty handling uncertainty or indecisiveness

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety
 Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms can vary.
They may include:
 Physical signs and symptoms may include:
 Fatigue
 Irritability
 Muscle tension or muscle aches
 Trembling, feeling twitchy
 Being easily startled
 Trouble sleeping
 Sweating
 Nausea, diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome
 Headaches

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety (Kids)
 Excessive worry about:
 Performance at school or sporting events
 Being on time (punctuality)
 Earthquakes, nuclear war or other catastrophic events
 A child or teen with GAD may also:
 Feel overly anxious to fit in
 Be a perfectionist
 Lack confidence
 Strive for approval
 Require a lot of reassurance about performance

Biological Interventions
 Your body thinks there is a threat. Figure out why
 Supportive Care
 Create a sleep routine
 Helps the brain and body rebalance
 Can help repair adrenal fatigue
 Improves energy level
 Nutrition
 Minimize caffeine and other stimulants
 Try to prevent spikes (and drops) in blood sugar
 Drink enough water
 Medication
 SSRIs/SNRIs
 Benzodiazepines

Biological Interventions
 Supportive Care cont…
 Sunlight
Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in some mood
issues
Sunlight prompts the skin to tell the brain to produce
neurotransmitters
Sunlight sets circadian rhythms which impact the release
of serotonin, melatonin and GABA
 Exercise
Studies have shown that exercise can have a relaxing
effect. Start slowly.

Psychological Interventions
 Basic Fears
 Failure
 Rejection/Isolation
 Loss of Control
 The Unknown
 Mindfulness & Acceptance
 Observation | Acceptance | Labeling and Letting Go
 Identify trigger thoughts
 Distress Tolerance: It isn’t always about controlling
your anxiety
 Distract don’t react
 Use distancing techniques

 Relaxation Skills
 What is relaxation…
 Diaphragmatic breathing
Combat breathing
Meditation
 Cued Progressive Muscular Relaxation
 Self-Esteem
 Real vs. Ideal Self
 Compassionate self talk
 Spotlighting strengths & acceptance of imperfections

 Cognitive Restructuring
 Address irrational thoughts and cognitive distortions
 Reframe challenges in terms of current strengths (not
past weaknesses)
 Create an attitude of gratitude and optimism
 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

 Recreation and Relaxation
 There will always be stuff you could do…
 Make a list of fun things

Social Interventions
 Improve your relationship with yourself
 Identify your needs and wants
 Be your own best friend
 Internal vs. external validation
 Be compassionate
 Develop healthy, supportive relationships
 Learn about boundaries
 Develop assertiveness skills
 Describe the ideal healthy, supportive relationship
Separate the ideals from the reals
 Identify who that is, or where that could be found

Resources from New Harbinger
These books represent a wide array of ways to deal with anxiety.
My favorite authors are Matthew McKay and Edmund Bourne, but I tend to be
more cognitive behavioral in my approach
Use promo code 1168SNIPES at checkout to receive 25% off your entire order

Apply It
 Identify 3 ways you could have used this information in
the past week.
 What was the situation?
 What did you do?
 How effective was that for you?
 Short term
 Long Term
 If you would have had this new information, what could you
have done differently?
 How would that have changed the outcome?
 How can you start integrating this knowledge into your routine

Summary
 Anxiety is a natural emotion that serves a survival
function
 Excessive anxiety can develop from
 Lack of sleep
 Nutritional problems
 Neurochemical imbalances
 Failure to develop adequate copings skills
 Cognitive distortions
 Low self-esteem/a need for external validation
 Recovery involves
 Improving health behaviors
 Identifying and building on current coping strategies
 Addressing cognitive distortions
 Developing a healthy, supportive relationship with self and others

Using a strengths based biopsychosocial approach to addressing anxiety

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