Vulnerabilities

Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes

Objectives

• Define vulnerabilities

• Identify some of the most common vulnerabilities

• Their effects

• Ways to prevent them

- Note: Each of the vulnerabilities has its own presentation. This section is designed to give you an overview and get you thinking about possible small changes that might have a big impact.

Why I Care

- Vulnerabilities are situations or things that

- Make it more difficult to deal with life on life’s terms leading to depression, anxiety or “stress”

- Make it easier for you to over-react or get stuck

- Depression occurs if you feel helpless or hopeless

- Anxiety occurs if you feel powerless or out of control

- Addictive behaviors increase when you feel a need to escape because of stress, anxiety, depression or pain

Individual Vulnerabilities: Physical

- Pain

- Effects

- Sleep problems

- Difficulty concentrating

- Irritable mood

- Medications are depressants and can worsen all of the above

- Interventions

- Talk with your doctor

- Explore nonpharmacological interventions

Individual Vulnerabilities: Physical

- Poor nutrition

- Your body needs the building blocks to

- Recover from injury

- Keep you from getting sick

- Make happy chemicals

- Interventions

- Water…. 60 ounces per day

- Have three colors on your plate at each meal (condiments don’t count)

- Try to eat smaller meals every few hours

Individual Vulnerabilities: Physical

- Lack of sufficient, quality sleep

- Drug/alcohol induced sleep is rarely good quality

- Lack of Sleep Effects

- Fogginess

- Difficulty concentrating

- Irritability

- Overeating

- Interventions

- Develop a sleep routine

- Cut back on caffeine and other stimulants 6-12 hours before bed

Individual Vulnerabilities: Physical

- Illness

- Effects

- Sleep disruption

- Exhaustion

- Foggy head/difficulty concentrating

- Irritability

- Interventions

- Compassion

- Good nutrition

Individual Vulnerabilities: Physical

- Brain changes

- Brain changes can be

- Hereditary

- From an accident

- As a result of addictive behaviors

- Effects

- Changes in the structure of the brain have all kinds of effects including memory, concentration, and mood.

- Intervention

- Eat a good diet to give the body the necessary building blocks

- Get adequate quality rest

- Medication

Individual Vunerabilities: Emotional

- Anger

- Anxiety

- Depression

- Grief

- Guilt

- Jealousy

- Resentment

- Inability to self-soothe

Individual Vunerabilities: Emotional

- When you are feeling negative emotions

- Effects

- It causes the brain to keep the fight-or-flight reaction going (which takes energy)

- It lacks or prevents the happy, calming neurotransmitters from being excreted

- Interventions

- Develop coping skills to deal with them

- Insert positive/rewarding experiences

- Get plenty of rest

- Eat a healthy diet

- Exercise

Individual Vulnerabilities: Mental/Cognitive

- Global, internal, stable attributional style

- Effects

- When everything is always it adds extra stress

- When anything that happens reflects on you as a person, it adds extra stress

- Interventions

- Focus on things being specific and alterable

- Identify what is good about you as a person

- Explore the difference between what makes you a good person vs your skills

Individual Vulnerabilities: Mental/Cognitive

- Extremely external or internal locus of control

- Both situations add stress

- Effects

- External locus of control means you feel you have no control over anything

- Internal locus of control means you feel like you should be able to control everything.

- Interventions

- Identify what things you can control and use your energy for them

- Figure out how you are going to cope with things you cannot control

Individual Vulnerabilities: Mental/Cognitive

- Low Self-esteem

- Self esteem is how you feel about who you are compared with who you think you should be

- Effects

- Low self-esteem can