The Strengths Based Perspective of Anxiety

The Social Work profession, of which I am a part, operates from a strengths-based perspective, meaning that it focuses on what people do well or what is good about them, and that in the meantime, people will naturally expound about the problems plaguing their lives. This profession believes that this is the most effective way to bring about positive change in people, and while it does not guarantee change, it does seem to maximize the chance change will occur.

So what does this perspective have to do with anxiety? Simple, the person who is seeking to bring about change should identify what his or her strengths are, and then try to bring about change in his or her life in terms of anxiety recovery using these strengths as a tool to do so.

For example, take someone who has an extreme level of social anxiety, but who also happens to be incredibly athletic. Athletics (as do all other spheres of life) offer numerous opportunities for a person to challenge anxiety and enhance his or her relaxation. Should a person who is incredibly talented at athletics try to recover from anxiety by becoming an artist? Of course not; this would make no sense at all. However, if a person is engaging in an activity at which or he she is naturally talented, more than likely he or she will have a fair degree of success at recovering from anxiety using that particular talent.

Many of those with severe anxiety disorders have such low self-esteem that they feel that they in fact have no strengths at all. This could not be farther from the truth! Everyone has certain talents that they can put to use in order to benefit other people or themselves, whether it may be financially or emotionally. The problem is not that a person has no strengths, but that he or she has never been pushed by others or him or her self to explore and see what these talents are, and how they might be put to good use. Being talented at something and being able to make a contribution to society is something that makes everyone feel good about themselves.

How can a person discover what his or her strengths are? The only way is to go out there and begin to try new things, no matter how scary they might be. Writing articles or blog posts for a website, being able to listen to others without judgment, or having an eye for artistic detail are all examples of different strengths people can have.

Once a person has identified a few of (every person has many strengths) his or her strengths, it is time to put those to use. Writing can be put to use in that a person could write articles or forum posts that might help others to recover from anxiety, or a person could disclose to others via the written word which things it is that are making him or her anxious. Listening can be put to use in that everyone needs someone to listen to their problems (this is how excellent friendships are created) - the other person in turn will then listen, and a friendship is created. Or, the mere act of listening without responding allows a person to vent what is bother him or her, and having this emotional release is like releasing pressure from a boiling tank of oil - it keeps things from exploding and instead allows them continue operating at a safe level. Artistic talent can allow the person to express his or her anxiety by painting or drawing pictures that represent his or her inner world; or perhaps the mere act allows a person to move outside of his or her head and forget his or her problems, including anxiety, for a while.

The point of the previous paragraph was simply to demonstrate that everyone has talents and any talent can be used in multiple ways to relieve anxiety. Everyone, no matter how much some may not want to believe it, has strengths; for those that think they do not, the problem is simply identifying those traits that are strengths. Sometimes, a certain amount of creativity must be used when strengths are not obvious, but they do exist nonetheless. Good luck to everyone, and be sure to ask friends and family for advice on what your strengths might be!

References

Rapp, R.C. (2007). The Strengths Based Perspective: Proving "My Strengths" and "It Works." NIH Public Access. Retrieved April 30, 2009 from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2254514