Please click here to listen to Episode 114 of the Minutes on Growth Podcast
Hi Soul-Friends,
It’s Tannaz and welcome back to another short solo episode of the minutes on growth podcast. Today I want to share a powerful resource with you and after listening to this episode, your life literally will never be the same again… Here we go : Introducing the BPS framework, a game changer in helping us understand ourselves, and which recently helped me get diagnosed with pcos (& no longer feel confused about my symptoms !)
The BPS framework is the bio-psycho-social framework that therapists sometimes use with their clients. This means that when a client comes in, complaining about anxiety or depression, we don’t just assume that it’s stemming from their thoughts. We look at all three areas: biological, psychological and social.
I’ll use myself as an example. A couple of months ago, I noticed that I was experiencing anxiety more than the usual amount and I was displaying depressive symptoms such as this dissociated feeling from my body and the world around me, this feeling of emptiness, and I was super irritable.
I was literally crying myself to sleep every single night .. and I felt so frustrated that despite doing the work, like daily meditations, practicing mindfulness, avoiding alcohol, when the night time came, this darkness took over my soul.. and it felt so confusing!
As some of you might know, I’m back in school to get licensed in Canada as a clinical psychotherapist and in my studies, we had learn about this framework… and so instead of labeling myself as a depressed person… I applied the framework since I now had the tools to get curious with my symptoms.
To begin, I looked at it through the social lens by examining my relationships. While I’m in a healthy relationship with my significant other, I lost my dog in April after 12 wonderful years. Losing her and that relationship had a huge impact on my life.
Also, I love love travelling, and I tend to travel a few times throughout the year meeting up with my close friends around the world, but this year was the first year that I did not leave the country at all, as I had governmental administrative work that was taking longer than usual. Not being able to have the usual traveling experiences and that quality time with my safe tribe impacted me as well.
I then looked at it through the psycho lens by examining my characteristic patterns of thinking (& identifying any negative ones), looking at my current coping skills (& identifying any deficits), judgment problems, and impaired emotional intelligence (the ability to perceive, understand, and express emotions).
P.S with all that is happening in the Middle East, it’s very normal to be experiencing second hand trauma as well.
Lastly, I called up my doctor and asked him to run some tests. I asked him to look at my thyroid, and my hormones and after weeks of tests, he realized that I have pcos, which got activated once I gained weight after my dog passed away, which then made it harder for me to lose weight, thus exacerbating the issue. It also explained my anxiety, and depression (the two major side effects of pcos) as well as all the other symptoms I was having such as hair loss on my head, and hair growth on my body.
So the point of this episode soul-friends, is to remind you that human beings are multi faceted beings and it’s imperative that we look at symptoms through an integrated and holistic lens, and not just a black or white lens.
Had I not known about the BPS approach, I would have fixated on the psychological side of it, most likely labeling myself, and completely dismissing the role my biology and social dynamics play into how I am feeling, and thus not finding out about my pcos, and finally taking the correct measures to heal from it.
I hope this episode and framework serves you like it has for me, and creates space for you to look at everything that arises through multiple perspectives and angles.
Sending you lots of love,
Speak soon
Minutes on Growth 