Hey Warrior: A Book for Kids About Anxiety

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Hey Warrior is a fantastic book for kids about anxiety. Kids can do amazing things with the right information. Understanding why anxiety feels the way it does, and where the physical symptoms come from, is a powerful step in turning anxiety around. Anxiety explained, kids empowered by the incredible Karen Young of Hey Sigmund Blog. For ages 5-10 (and up!).

A sleeping buddy. Put your plushie close to you as you are falling asleep. As you feel it against you, pay attention to your breathing – let it be slow and relaxed. Then, imagine that your plushie is trying to fall asleep – try to be as still and as gentle as you can so as not to wake it up. This is a way to practise mindfulness and strengthen an anxious brain. The cutoff for same-day dispatch on weekdays is usually 4pm, but if we’re busy, it could be earlier. 3:45pm is pretty safe. We also usually dispatch on Saturdays, and the cutoff is around noon. Obviously, for bank holidays, we will dispatch the next business day.What’s important making sure they don’t feel alone in their distress. We can do this with validation, which shows our emotional availability. The book goes on to talk about how anxiety forms itself in a part of the brain called the amygdala. The story continues with the amygdala becoming a protective friend, ‘a super hero’. Giving it a name, immediately makes it friendly allowing the reader to feel comfortable. The book takes you on a journey about what to expect when going through an anxious period. Seeing, through clever descriptive text and wonderfully imaginative illustrations, the way in which anxiety can form itself makes the reader feel in control and at ease with their feelings. As much as school can nurture, nourish and build children and adolescents, the very nature of school means that it can also be abundant with anxiety triggers that can significantly compromise their growth and development. Anxiety can be fuelled by anything unfamiliar or any situation that comes with the potential for embarrassment, failure, humiliation, shame, or separation – and school is ripe with all of them. School presents many children with some of the greatest challenges to their mental health, but it also presents some of the greatest opportunities to strengthen against anxiety. I love how this storybook helps kids learn about their anxiety in a manner that helps them understand its role in our lives while also learning how to not let it take over our lives. Learning about one’s own internal experiences and how to manage them is the ultimate cognitive behavioral teaching. Young readers will not only learn about their own brains, but understand how they can learn to manage their internal reactions. This is not ‘rewarding bad behaviour’. To think this assumes that they want to behave badly. They don’t. What they want is to feel calm and safe again, but in that moment they don’t have the skills to do that themselves, so they need us to help them.

This is because the strengthening against anxiety happens only with experience. When the experience is in front of you, it can feel like bloodshed. I know that. I really do. But this is when we fight for them and with them - to show them they can do this.Books such as Hey Warrior can be a useful tool for parents, teachers and carers to broach otherwise difficult topics. A great starting point to help young people when a conversation might otherwise appear awkward. This book is a real gem and would be a great book to keep in the school library or classroom to show those children who are struggling within a school environment that there is hope.

The plushie amygdala is your very own warrior, there to protect you. Measuring 40cm tall, it has super-soft fur, a way-too-cute head, and a heart of pure courage. It hates asparagus, loves blueberries, and isn’t too keen on footwear. It’s brilliant to have around, and not just because it will never steal your shoes. I thought I was well educated about anxiety but I learned a lot from this book … and my 5 yo loves talking to his amygdala now!” -R.R. on Facebook Empower children to manage their anxiety by learning that it comes from a place of protective strength within their brains—the amygdala—a tiny but fierce personal “warrior” that prepares us to fight or flee danger, even when we don’t need or want its protection! Wonderful illustrations and keen insights gently teach children how to be the boss of their brains and let their warriors know when to stand down and relax through positive thinking and breathing exercises. By understanding the physical science of anxiety and why their brains produce it, children can then learn to master it as a positive, friendly superpower.

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The amygdala only learns from experience - for better or worse. So the more they avoid, the more the amygdala learns that the thing they are avoiding is ‘unsafe’, and it will continue to drive a big fight (anger, distress) or flight (avoidance) response. Of course we love them, no matter what - but they need to feel us loving them, no matter what. Especially when they are acting in unlovable ways, or saying unlovable things. Especially then. A breathing buddy. Lie down, put your plushie on your belly and take strong, steady breaths. If your plushie moves up and down as your breathe, your breathing is perfect – strong, steady, and from your belly – exactly the type that will calm anxiety. Anxiety is the most common child and adolescent mental health concern. Anxiety is a very normal human response, but for as many as 1 in 5 young people in New Zealand the symptoms become so intrusive so as to interfere with day to day living. The effects can ripple from children, to their families, to the classroom, and into friendships. Anxiety can potentially undermine the way children see themselves, the world and their important place in it – but it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right support, children can be empowered with the skills and knowledge to manage anxiety and move forward with courage and resilience. Designed specifically for early childhood settings, this workshop explores the recent developments in neuroscience that have given usremarkable insightintothe conditions and experiences that can dramatically influence the growth and development of all young children in positive and enduring ways. Early childhood is a particularly critical time for the developing brain, and the early childhood environment is rich with the necessary experiences and relationships tosupport children in their development, behaviour, learning, and social and emotional well-being. The relationships and experiences children are exposed to in their earliest years, will influence the neural foundations upon which their growth and development is built.This dynamic workshop will explore these conditions, and ways early childhood professionals can translate this knowledge into practice to nurture the holistic development of all children.

On the other hand, when they stay with the discomfort of anxiety - and they only need to stay with it for a little longer each time (tiny steps count as big steps with anxiety) - the amygdala learns that it’s okay to move forward. It’s safe enough.A bravery buddy. Anxiety happens when your amygdala (that fierce warrior) gets a little overprotective and a little too active. Your amygdala wants you to be brave, and it knows you can be, but sometimes you’ll need to believe it enough for both of you. What are the words your amygdala needs to hear? Perhaps, ‘We can do this,’ or ‘Whatever happens, we’ll be okay,’ or ‘We can do hard things.’ Find the words with your plushie, then use those words for yourself when you need to feel brave. Karen can often be heard on Australian radio. She is a sought-after speaker and consultant and works with schools, government bodies, and child and adolescent focused organisations, both in Australia and overseas to build resources, implement procedures, and support the professional development of staff. She recently worked with Plan International Australia to create resources for parents in response to the recent Australian bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.