Finding Calm — Introduction and Biopsychosocial Framework Notes

Hillary McBride introduces herself as a registered clinical counselor, researcher, author, podcaster, and someone who has personally struggled with anxiety and stress.
The course, Finding Calm, aims to provide practical tools and strategies that are often locked away in clinical or theoretical textbooks, and to make psychology accessible so there are no hierarchies between those who know and those who don’t.
Emphasis on accessibility and reducing gatekeeping in psychology to improve real-life quality of life.
Encouragement to engage with the material over time: it’s normal for new information to take several exposures to sink in; consider watching videos multiple times or teaching the concepts to others to reinforce learning.
Message of self-compassion and patience during the learning process.

Stress and anxiety are best understood through a biopsychosocial lens, considering:
- Biological processes (body and brain)
- Psychological processes (thoughts, feelings, mental patterns)
- Social context (environment and relationships)
The modern environment exposes us to unprecedented access to information and heightened stressors, including:
- The volume of information about pain, distress, and global events
- A political climate that feels more stressful than in the past
- Constant connectivity and notifications from technology
The cumulative effect of information overload and social stressors taxes both physiology and psychology.
The role of technology: frequent phone use and alerts influence neuromodulators in the brain that govern attention and arousal, contributing to a sense of being overwhelmed.
These factors can lead to a physical sense of being “keyed up” or activated, which can be present even if the person isn’t consciously aware of the trigger.

The brain is wired primarily to survive and protect us from harm.
It often detects threats before it detects safety, which can shape memory storage and responses to future environments.
Environmental cues can trigger the body to respond with anxiety, even if the current environment is neutral; this is the brain’s attempt to stay safe by recalling past dangers.
Sometimes anxiety responses are not consciously recognized, but the body responds to keep us safe.
This perspective helps explain why anxiety can arise in situations that aren’t immediately dangerous.

Stress:
- A normal physiological response to overload or overwhelming circumstances.
- It carries a felt sense of being overwhelmed in the moment, with too much to handle.
- It is a response to environmental or situational demands.
Anxiety:
- Not simply a feeling; it is a nervous system response to agitation in the present or reminders of past agitation.
- Often involves racing thoughts and a focus on future events that may be out of one’s control or not currently relevant.
- Can be triggered by anticipation of danger or threat, even if that threat isn’t present.
The course will delve deeper into these distinctions in the next chapter, but you can start noticing:
- Your baseline stress levels vs. episodes of anxiety
- How different activities (like phone use) influence your stress or anxiety levels
- The impact of social media or news consumption on your well-being

Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to observe:
- What stressors are ongoing in your life?
- How did your body respond when you were stressed in the past?
- How can you tell the difference between anxiety and stress in your own experience?
- How do certain activities affect you (e.g., phone usage, social media, news consumption)?
Personal anecdotes from Hillary:
- She notices anxiety and stress through behaviors before conscious awareness, such as:
- “The whole bag of chips is gone” indicating unconscious coping behavior
- Spending more time on her phone as a signal of managing stress, even if not conscious yet
- In some life circumstances, anxiety was so overwhelming that being outside or engaging socially felt impossible.
The goal is to learn to notice these responses and to respond in ways that increase freedom and vitality, rather than being controlled by automatic stress/anxiety reactions.

Main aim: help you understand stress and anxiety from a biopsychosocial perspective and provide practical strategies to manage them.
The course will combine information with skills you can apply in real life to:
- Observe your stress/anxiety responses
- Challenge anxious patterns in manageable ways
- Increase your sense of agency and livability
Practical philosophy: making psychology accessible, to empower everyday people to use psychological insights to improve their lives.
Encouragement to stay with the material and practice, acknowledging it may take time for new concepts to integrate.

The instructor emphasizes teaching and applying psychology outside traditional hierarchies (i.e., making psychology a shared resource).
Real-world relevance includes:
- Understanding how technology and information environments shape stress and anxiety
- Using a compassionate approach to learning and self-observation
- Applying biopsychosocial insights to everyday situations (devices, routines, social interactions)
Ethical and practical implications:
- Reducing stigma and gatekeeping in psychology
- Encouraging self-compassion and patience in personal growth
- Recognizing the limits of control and focusing on practical coping strategies

What are my ongoing stressors right now?
How does my body respond when I feel stressed or anxious?
What is the difference I notice between stress and anxiety in my own experience?
Do my phone use, social media, or news consumption increase or decrease my stress/anxiety?
What small, practical steps can I take to feel more in control of my responses?

The course will expand on:
- Deeper explanations of what stress and anxiety are, from the biopsychosocial perspective
- Concrete strategies to manage and reduce stress and anxiety
Stay tuned for the next episode to build on these concepts and learn actionable skills to feel more calm and connected