Based on Doc Snipes' upcoming book 100+ Practical Tools to Defeat Depression. Read the whole book for FREE with Amazon Kindle Unlimited
CEUs are available for this presentation at https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/904/c/
Physical Interventions
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes, PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC
Executive Director, AllCEUs Counseling Education
Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox, Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery
Objectives
~ Identify why physical interventions are important to recovery and happiness
~ Explore different physical interventions
Intro
~ There are a myriad of reasons why physical interventions are so helpful in treating depression and anxiety.
~ They release endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine (all happy chemicals)
~ They increase the available oxygen in your blood (helps with confusion and ”foggy head”
~ They have been linked to improvements in self-esteem
~ They help you get your mind/thoughts and bodily reactions more in synch.
~ They often put you in a place where you can engage with other positive people
~ They can help with general aches and pains which can disrupt your sleep and put you in a bad mood.
~ They can help you turn down the stress response, so you sleep better
~ They can help increase your energy
Relaxation
~ Yoga
~ Your calming brain chemical, GABA, increases after a session of yoga
~ Produces significant improvements in tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, and confusion-bewilderment.
~ Group or individual activity: Breath focus; Cued progressive muscular relaxation
~ Meditation
~ Quiets the mind
~ Singular, all-encompassing present focus
~ 20-30 minutes of meditation per day produces consistent effects on anxiety and depression
~ Consider adding a fish tank or similar to your waiting room
~ Experiment with different types of meditation over several sessions
Relaxation
~ Exercise
~ Physical activity helps balance muscles, release muscle tension, increase oxygen flow, increase serotonin and improve sleep.
~ Activity: Identify 10 ways to make exercise fun
~ Group activity: balloon toss, learn a dance, nature walk
~ Stretching
~ Muscle imbalances cause additional pain and can impair sleep and mood as well as keep stress chemicals high.
~ Imbalances between front and back or right and left can cause pain.
~ Group activity: Stretch
Relaxation
~ Hobbies
~ Can help you use up some of the “nervous energy”
~ Enable you to get into a calm mind space
~ Cooking
~ Building
~ Planting
~ Crocheting
~ Reading/writing
~ Can help you get “out” some of your stress
~ Painting
~ Yardwork
~ Construction (demolition)
~ Activity: Share hobbies, Hobby stations or segments
Nutrition
~ Your body needs building blocks to make the brain chemicals that help you feel motivated, happy, and, yes, even stressed.
~ It gets these building blocks from good healthy food.
~ Taking vitamins is not a replacement for a healthy diet, but some people on restrictive diets may need supplements. (Consult a physician.)
~ Malabsorption syndromes, such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis can cause vitamin B6 deficiency which impairs serotonin production
~ Some biological causes of depression can be linked to poor nutrition which keeps the body from being able to make the brain chemicals to support your mood
~ Activity: Create a menu
~ Activity: Identify creative ways to sneak in green vegetables
~ Activity: Potluck
Sleep
~ Sleep is the time when your body rests and rebalances
~ Lack of sleep results in your bod