Anxiety is complex, and the best approach is to talk to a trained professional. But we all need a starting point.  So have a look at these top 10 tips for anxiety to start the process -

1. Anxiety is an umbrella term covering a number of different disorders (including Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, phobic anxiety disorders, panic disorders, social anxiety disorder, etc)
2. Anxiety can sometimes tell you that something in your life needs to change.  Perhaps it is an unhealthy relationship, or it might even be something in your work life
3. Anxiety and depression often arise together, with slightly differing perspectives (anxiety tends to concern the future, and depression tends to focus on the past)
4. Anxiety can often arise when we have the mistaken believe that worrying about something is working on that issue, that worrying is somehow going to achieve change
5. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is often offered to help manage anxiety.  This helps you to challenge unhelpful thinking patterns that might increase anxiety
6. Mindfulness can be useful, not least because it helps you to stop thinking about the future, and instead to just focus on the present.  As a starting point, you can attempt to do this by focusing on your breath
7. Set aside time to relax.  Put away electronic devices such as smart phones, and give yourself the space you need to stop worrying about the future
8. Some say that the more choices we have in life (with developments in technology, etc), the more anxious we get
9. Adopt a kinder voice when things don’t necessarily go to plan.  Sometimes there is an important learning opportunity in what you believe to be a ‘failure’
10. Anxiety can often leave us with the belief that we have no control over anything in our lives.  Remind yourself of all the aspects of your life where you are in control

​Get in contact today. You can send an email, telephone, or use the online booking system.
 
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/

Chris Warren-Dickins LPC , Licensed Professional Counselor in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are available in-person, or online

If we feel anxious, we perceive dangers, and we often believe that we are unable to cope with that feared situation.  Often this is a fallacy, and there is little to fear, and we actually have the ability we doubt.
 
The more we avoid a situation, the more anxiety takes whole.  Therapists help people to reduce their anxiety by gradually exposing them to the situations they fear
 
You can read more about managing anxiety by reading one of the following books -

• Jon Kabat Zinn.  Full Catastrophe Living
• ​David Burns.  The Feeling Good Handbook

Get in contact today. You can send an email, telephone, or use the online booking system.
 
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/

Chris Warren-Dickins LPC , Licensed Professional Counselor in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are available in-person, or online
#chriswarrendickins
#ridgewood #depression #anxiety #angermanagement #trauma #relationships #stress #counseling #bergencounty #newjersey #therapy #Support #psychotherapy
#counselor
#mentalhealth
​

Suicide rates are higher amongst men (AFSP:  “in 2017, men died by suicide 3.54x more often than women”), and yet men are less likely to seek help for emotional distress (NIMH).

Studies show that there are no biological reasons why men seek help less often than women, so this must be learned:  Men are taught not to seek help, but instead to remain silent.

The NFL has recognised how deadly this silence can be.  Last year the NFL released a report setting out the results of interviews with players and family members.  A key finding was that there were several barriers in the way of players seeking help for their difficulties with mental health.  These barriers included “fear that seeking help would negatively affect their careers”, “stigma around mental health challenges that keep players from seeking help”. 

Also last year, the Carolina Panthers hired the NFL’s first in-house therapist (Tish Guerin) to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and professional football.  This was hot on the heels of an essay shared by the Panthers’ Steve Smith.  In this essay he opened up about his struggle with depression:  “Despite all of my achievements, I routinely felt trapped, inferior, and alone.”

Guerin has been quoted as hoping that a regular checkup with a mental health professional becomes as commonplace as a woman’s checkup with her Ob-Gyn.  That would definitely be a step in the right direction.

Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/

Chris Warren-Dickins is a Licensed Professional Counselor (Psychotherapist) with an office at 162 E Ridgewood Ave, Ste 4B, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are also available online

We carry around a multitude of coping skills, but sometimes we forget we even have them.  It  can be as simple as smiling at people, laughing with your friends, reading a book, or taking a walk.

What is your favorite coping skill?  Why not try a new one out?  And dust off an old one, to imprint it in your memory, so you know you can use it the next time things get tough
Get in contact today. You can send an email, telephone, or use the online booking system.
 
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/

Chris Warren-Dickins LPC , Licensed Professional Counselor with an office at 162 E Ridgewood Ave, Ste 4B, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are also available online

​Secrecy and shame is a toxic mix. As Ronald Summit pointed out in his book ‘The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome’: "Initiation, intimidation, stigmatization, isolation, helplessness and self-blame depend on a terrifying reality of child sexual abuse. Any attempts by the child to divulge the secret will be countered by an adult conspiracy of silence and disbelief. ‘Don’t worry about things like that; that could never happen in our family.’ ‘How could you ever think of such a terrible thing?’ ‘Don’t let me ever hear you say anything like that again!’ The average child never asks and never tells.”

If you are an adult survivor of abuse, it is time to break the silence and regain control of your life. You are not to blame, the responsibility was on the perpetrator. You also have nothing to fear. And, with the right help, you can regain control of your life
​
Get in contact today
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
​Online booking - via the link below
Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC , Licensed Professional Counselor in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are available in-person, or online

Now, more than ever, we need to stop expecting so much of our boys and men. They need to talk about their emotions as much as anyone else.

Can we ease up on the focus on sports, and balance that with a little (even once a week) on our emotional well-being?

When I was a child, in 1988, my uncle committed suicide. Years later, I became a psychotherapist, and I hoped things had improved since then. Yet still the suicide rates are higher amongst men (compared with women). And still there is the expectation that the man remains silent, just powering on.

Depression, anxiety, and generally any kind of distress, can reveal itself in the most surprising ways. It can show itself in excessive anger, outbursts, or ‘flatlining’ with your emotions so that you appear emotionless (dissociating). 

And the present day does not have to be the root cause. You can have a seeming ‘great’ life, and yet unresolved trauma can still have an impact. This is a vicious cycle, because then the people around you don’t understand. They think there is no ‘valid reason’ for your current behavior.

And ‘trauma’ covers more commonplace experiences than you would think. It is not just a war veteran, car accident survivor, or survivor of sexual assault. Research has shown that ‘adverse childhood experiences’ have a lasting impact (if you do not get the right sort of help). Check out this link with more information about ACEs. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html

If you are in urgent need of care, contact the national helpline on 1 (800) 273-8255

If you think you need help, but it is not an emergency, find a local counselor by checking out https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC
Counseling & Therapy

So you have identified your anger, and you accept that you feel angry now and again.  No shame in that. 

But that is just the beginning. Often we feel a mixture of emotions along with anger.  The trick is to not become distracted by the enormity of the anger.  To do this, we might overlook things like disappointment, hurt, sadness, or even fear. These feelings might be a valuable source of information about what we need to change in our lives.  Don’t squander that information by focusing on just one emotion.

Take your time to allow feelings to drift into awareness.  Just notice them, without judgment.  And then start to identify them.  Feelings are usually identified with one.  If it is more than one word, this is often, instead, a thought.  Thoughts can be twisted all out of shape, and often thoughts are accompanied by a value judgment of right or wrong.  But feelings are never right or wrong, they are just your feelings.  They just exist.

You can use meditation to slowly become aware of your feelings, or you could use soothing music, or even the sound of the crashing sea (if you don't live near the ocean, there are plenty of 'natural soundtracks' available free online).  One further option is to simply focus on your breathing.

​Get in contact today. You can send an email, telephone, or use the online booking system.
 
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/

Chris Warren-Dickins LPC , Licensed Professional Counselor with an office at 162 E Ridgewood Ave, Ste 4B, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are also available online
#chriswarrendickins
#ridgewood #depression #anxiety #angermanagement #trauma #relationships #stress #counseling #bergencounty #newjersey #therapy #Support #psychotherapy
#counselor
#mentalhealth

The World Health Organization predicts that by 2030 depression will be the ‘leading  cause of disease burden’ worldwide (‘The increasing burden of depression’, Jean-Pierre Lépine and Mike Briley). 

Read this, and other fast facts, about depression.  You can send an email, telephone, or use the online booking system.
 
Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/

Chris Warren-Dickins LPC , Licensed Professional Counselor in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are also available online
#chriswarrendickins
#ridgewood #depression #anxiety #angermanagement #trauma #relationships #stress #counseling #bergencounty #newjersey #therapy #Support #psychotherapy
#counselor
#mentalhealth

Two of the many skills of assertiveness are: 

1.  The ability to ask for something, and
2.  The ability to say no

Consider to what extent you use these skills when you interact with other people.  What is it like to ask for something, and to say no?  Are there certain assumptions that stop you from being more assertive? If so, how helpful are these assumptions? And how realistic?  For example, is it causing you problems to assume that you are someone who cannot say no, for fear of seeming unreasonable?  Is it realistic to expect that you will never say no to anyone, no matter how unacceptable their behaviour becomes?

We all have our limitations, we all need to erect boundaries at times.  The only person who knows where those limitations are, and the only person who can enforce those boundaries, is you

To find out more, get in contact today.  You can send an email, telephone, or use the online booking system.

Email - chris@exploretransform.com
Telephone - (201) 779-6917
https://www.exploretransform.com/
 
Chris Warren-Dickins is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Sessions are available in-person at his downtown Ridgewood, or online 

I know how hard it can be to take that first step. 
​
I offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation to help you decide how we might work together.  Call me today on (201) 779-6917, or email me at chris@exploretransform.com  or book online  via the link below