Don't underestimate the impact of trauma10/31/2021 As a therapist, I often hear people trying to dilute the importance of trauma. They say things like 'It is in the past, so it can't touch me now', or 'What didn't kill me made me stronger'. I want people to recognize the wide reach of trauma. Left unchecked, trauma can cause toxic stress, an over-production of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. This can lead to a greater likelihood of arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and lung cancer. But there is help out there. With a little help, you can survive and thrive, despite the toxicity of trauma. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, writer, educator, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook
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The male labeled are less likely to access mental healthcare, and yet they suffer from higher rates of suicide and trauma. Add to this structural obstacles to mental healthcare (in the form of racism, transphobia, and homophobia), and a pandemic, and we are left with a pretty bleak picture. Beyond the Blue offers survival tools for the male labeled but this will benefit society as a whole, including these two precious beings (in the picture below)! Untreated depression, anxiety, and trauma poses a threat to all of us, and yet sometimes the survival tools that can help are simple and accessible. We just need a little guidance. To celebrate the release of Beyond the Blue, you can get your hands on a special (hardback) edition. Check out the video to find out more. Please pass this on so we can all achieve a healthier, safer society for all. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, writer, educator, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook
Help Beyond the Labels10/30/2021 If you think you may be struggling with depression, anxiety, or trauma, you need help that goes beyond your Male Label. You are unique, and so you need to understand what works for you. Beyond the Blue helps you to use survival tools you have been carrying your whole life; tools that will help you to survive and thrive in the wilderness that is life’s journey. Beyond the Blue is available now. To be the first to know about further developments, sign up for updates here - http://eepurl.com/gD41jr Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, writer, educator, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook  Beyond relationship conflict and anger10/28/2021 "I’m going to have a Sophia from The Golden Girls moment, but instead of picturing "Sicily, 1922…," picture this: Your kid’s school has only just contacted you to say that everyone needs to wear orange the next day. You have nothing orange for your kids because it makes their complexion look like their kidneys are failing. You quickly buy the last orange t-shirt at your local Target, and just as you start to hate yourself for adding to the consumerism that will result in an even bigger landfill from your family home, your tire blows, and you have to wait for the tow truck. This sets you behind on a project, which leads to a hellish week at work, and every time you come home to the pressures at home, you just want to turn around and walk back out of the door. You can’t walk out on your family, so you grab your kid and try to comfort them, but they smack you in the face with a toy, and then your significant other tells you not to wind the kid up, and then you start to question the significance of your other, and anger builds as relationship conflict gathers momentum like an impending hurricane. Sound a bit like your own life? Life throws the occasional spanner in the works, but when you add in the pressure of kids, finances, or even a pandemic, life with your significant other, or your friends, or your work colleagues, or family, becomes so much harder. And then you turn on each other, picking at the smallest of faults as if they will make or break you, for example: • You don’t answer their text messages quickly enough (or at all). • They forget to pick up your kid from practice. • You don’t pursue the promotion you spent a year talking about so you could both climb out of this financial pressure. • They don’t show your family as much kindness as you think they should. We hurt the ones we love because they are the closest to us. Something startles you, angers you, or scares you, and your words fly out as if you cannot control them. At the time, you believe you are helpless to this impulse. But the truth is you are not helpless. In fact, there is a great deal you can do to help yourself and the travel companions in your life. You thought it would be fun to have these travel companions; you saw life's long, winding road ahead of you, and you thought you needed people to talk to, share stories with, and laugh and eat and drink together. But lately your partner, your best friend, your brother, your work colleagues, and even your parents, have made you want to live on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean, or in a castle, with the drawbridge up, and the crocodiles snapping in the surrounding moat." Read more in Beyond the Blue, out now in paperback and ebook. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook  Survival Tools for your Depression10/25/2021 Do you feel irritable, or sluggish, or hopelessly flat and grey? You might be struggling with depression, as are millions of other people. The World Health Organization claims that depression is more serious than some physical health issues, and it can have a significant impact on your career, relationships, or education. In this Survival Guide, you will find tools to help reduce the impact of depression, anxiety, relationship conflict and anger, and trauma. Beyond the Blue is available now. To be the first to know about further developments, sign up for updates here - http://eepurl.com/gD41jr Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, writer, educator, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook  The Fireball of Anxiety10/25/2021 "As you make your way through the wilderness that is your life, you might encounter a Fireball of Anxiety that swirls in shades of
As you feel the heat of this Fireball, your chest becomes heavy, your skin pricks with sweat, your face flushes, and your hands shake. Behold, the Fireball of Anxiety It is okay to live with a little bit of worry, but too much can whirl a Fireball into your heart and mind, leaving you unable to focus on anything. Here are some of the reasons why you might identify anxiety in your own experiences:
Anxiety's flames can hypnotize and trick you into believing you can see the future. You really start to believe that if you keep vigilant and anticipate every aspect of the road ahead, you will never have to suffer negative consequences. You have it all mapped out, you have the equipment, you have even rested for it — you have it covered. This, of course, is an illusion. No matter how hard you prepare, there are bound to be unexpected turns in the road of life — for the good as much as the bad — and this uncertainty fuels your Fireball of Anxiety." Read more in Beyond the Blue, available in paperback and ebook. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook  Beyond the Blue of their Trauma10/21/2021 Do your Male Labeled friends and family members know how to recognize the symptoms of trauma? For example, do they sometimes stare into the distance, as if they have ‘checked out’? Or do they suddenly explode in anger over what may seem to you a ‘small’ thing? 61% of the Male Labeled in the US report at least one traumatic experience, and that number is likely to be much higher if that person has also suffered from racism, transphobia, biphobia, or homophobia. Beyond the Blue is a Survival Guide for the Male Labeled, and it highlights some of the ways that people can identify symptoms of trauma, and get the right kind of professional help. Beyond the Blue is available in paperback and ebook now. To be the first to know about further developments, sign up for updates here - http://eepurl.com/gD41jr Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, writer, educator, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook  Free self-care exercises10/21/2021 Self-care is essential if we are to survive and thrive, despite depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, and trauma. Here are some free mindfulness, relaxation, and visualization exercises for you to try out. If you need any more, get in contact. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook Enter the Beast of Depression10/20/2021 "There is a beast that dwells in the shadows of all of us. If it were to approach, you would not notice until it landed heavily on your shoulders, until it dragged you down with a solid sense of hopelessness. By the time you feel this weight, it is too late to escape. Your energy, your enthusiasm, and your sense of direction are already being devoured from within. Enter the Beast The Beast of Depression is multifaceted and a changeling because it adopts many different forms for different people. For some, the Beast might appear in the form of elongated tears, pining and longing, while others experience short, intense bursts of anger and irritability. Problems arise when people expect the tears but miss the other signs. Can you recognize the multifaceted Beast of Depression in any of these guises? The over-sleeping fatigue of an excessive bed-dweller The stooped head of an over-worker The dead-eyed smile of the dark-hearted laugher The gorging mess of an over-eater The fire and flash of the explosive aggressor The deadpan indifference of the flat, numbed-out non-feeler The disappearing act of the isolator." Read more in Beyond the Blue, out now in paperback and ebook. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook  One step closer to accessible mental health10/16/2021 I am thrilled to announce that the paperback version of Beyond the Blue has arrived. It is my hope that this book can offer essential tools for the male labeled to survive and thrive, despite depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, and trauma. And it is my hope that this will lead to a safer, healthier society for all. Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC www.chriswarrendickins.com Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate #beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook Chris
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