A Children’s Book on Mental Health Fundamentals

Stress has reached an unprecedented peak. Increasingly, both the general public and the healthcare system are recognizing ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and the detrimental impacts that early-life traumas have on health.

Regrettably, children’s exposure to ACEs is exacerbated by unavoidable universal traumas. The adverse effects of such universal traumas as the pandemic, war, climate change, and school/community shootings transcend all boundaries. None of us is immune to trauma.

Now, more than ever, it is essential to teach children how to build their mental immunity to help shield them from their stressful environment.

The solution is multi-faceted. It begins with prioritizing professional resources for children that educate them about feelings, internal and external resources, body signals, thoughts, and how to feel empowered even in the most challenging social and personal circumstances. The solution also lies with adults to join children and heal the gaps in their own mental health foundation.

Mind-Body Balance: The Importance of Healthy Outlets

Human beings require outlets to eliminate toxic stress and maintain the equilibrium between the mind and the body. When stress levels surpass our means of releasing stress, our bodies send us indications that we are out of balance.

These indications often manifest as mood alterations such as feelings of anxiety, being overwhelmed, or depression – accompanied by physical symptoms ranging from intermittent headaches and nausea to chronic diseases.

When children spend excessive time in front of screens, as a consequence, they spend less time pausing, reflecting, and processing information in their own language. Children need to move their bodies and utilize their imaginations through play in order to learn, handle conflicts, and make sense of their feelings and environment.

These natural methods by which children relieve stress and find comfort are crucial for their long-term growth, yet over time, these resources have been given lower priority. We must shift our focus towards providing children with playful resources along with guided treatment frameworks to assist them in gaining confidence and feeling in control of a world that often seems beyond their control.

A Therapist’s Discovery and Intervention

As a mental health therapist, I immerse myself in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. However, as an adult, I find myself overwhelmed in our stressful world and often neglect my own mental health self-care and fundamental foundation.

When I sat down to pen my mental health-focused children’s book, I Am Pawso, about a cat that teaches children ways to reverse difficult situations, I promptly realized that I wasn’t merely writing a book for kids.

I had much to learn from Pawso, the cat. I needed refreshments and more practice on my own resources to help me shake off negative feelings and situations and transform them into something positive and manageable. Like numerous adults, I was trapped in a cycle of stress, illness (Crohn’s disease), and disconnection.

I had forgotten how to play, discover, and imagine! Immersing myself back into the world of kids reminded me of the fundamentals that we all need. Without targeted interventions, adults will continue to consume a diet of stress, which feeds a cycle of inflammation. Meanwhile, adults unintentionally continue setting an example to kids that there are no healthy alternatives to this vicious cycle.

Early interventions are key to teaching children coping skills and building resilience. However, it is not sufficient to focus solely on children. We should not assume that adults already know how to identify and regulate their feelings.

Many adults did not receive healthy models during their childhood for how to express feelings, notice thoughts, advocate for themselves, and prioritize self-care. Instead, like many other adults, I learned how to overreact, stress out, and hide my pain and low self-esteem in my work and other avoidance strategies.

It wasn’t until I had a severe disease process, complicated by my childhood trauma, that I began to understand the significance of laying a foundation early in childhood. Now, in middle age, I focus on how to nurture that child within me who missed crucial social emotional learning. I have a lot to gain from mental health resources that break down concepts into child-friendly basics. After all, adults and children have very similar needs in order to thrive.

Play: Our Natural Re-Calibrator

Adults, similar to children, need means to escape from their daily lives and recharge their overworked bodies and nervous systems. Play kindles our imaginations and curiosities – and naturally reconnects us to ourselves and others.

Guided by this significant information, I focused on how Pawso, the cat, identifies numerous outlets that assist him in building resilience, thereby opening the door to helping adults play and interact with their kids through discussion, imagination, exploration, and discovery of their own “shake and turn” tools!

When was the last time you played an instrument, listened to music, danced, used art for creation, climbed a tree? When was the last time you sat down and read a story to a child and attempted something new together?

An Introduction to Feelings and Thoughts

It is common to feel at the mercy of our feelings rather than being in control of them. When children and adults lack the resources to recognize their feelings or body cues, they are unable to access healthy ways to express themselves.

Instead, they find ways to avoid or “stuff” their feelings inside and/or express their feelings through behaviors that are often undesirable at home and at school. Adults, likewise, find themselves exhausted and yelling at others who challenge their viewpoints. We all suffer when we don’t know where our feelings originate and what to do with this normal emotional explosion.

The crucial role our brain plays in our whole-body processes is at the forefront of wellness. Our thoughts and perceptions have a direct impact on our feelings and behaviors. How we perceive situations and others’ intentions and the meaning we attach to our own experiences significantly affects our thoughts, feelings, reactions, and behaviors.

All too often, these brain-body mental health essentials are absent in our children’s education. All too often, adults, responsible for setting an example for kids, also lack an understanding of their own self-talk, triggers, or how to calm down.  

How a Children’s Book Is for Adults, Too

When I wrote I Am Pawso, numerous incidents flashed through my mind of times when I felt worthless or upset because of something someone said to me or because I thought someone was intentionally being mean to me. Some of my interpretations were accurate, but often I overreacted and didn’t realize that I was in charge of how things made me feel.

Our feelings and thoughts belong to us! That makes us in charge!

If I react so intensely, then children must experience the same to a greater extent. Daily, children face bullying, conflict, confusion, and peer pressure. Similarly, when Pawso goes to school, he deals with situations that anger him and cause him to question his self-worth.

Through lessons and activities, he realizes he can react with anger and extend his claws, or he can take control of his thoughts and shift his perspective. I contemplated the profound effect this child-friendly I Am Pawso philosophy could have on children throughout their lives.

For many years, I didn’t realize that my thoughts influenced my mood and symptoms. I focused on trying to “will” myself to think positively without using my body to assist me. As I Am Pawso culminated in an integrative treatment approach, I cast aside my old mantras and began using a new holistic I Am Pawso mantra.

This mantra emerged from my realization that in order to affect my thoughts, I need to move my body. To influence my body symptoms, I need an awareness of my thoughts. My health improved when I identified my inner powers that could help me shake off and reverse situations to make me feel better.

But for a moment my mind starts to churn.

I can change my thoughts with a shake and a turn!

Today, I and Pawso are on a mission to teach children and their adults how to identify and utilize their own “shake and turn” tools. It requires learning, but when we commit to developing new habits through practice, we build healthy brain pathways for coping. There is nothing more empowering than being able to calm down and feel better from the inside out!

Casey Hersch, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker, animal rescuer, and health journalist. She uses holistic and resilience-based models to assist children and families in coping with trauma, stress, and illness. Her mental health children’s book, I Am Pawso: A Cat Teaches Kids Ways to Turn Around Difficult Situations is available on Amazon (2023) and has received 5-star reviews. She developed a comprehensive I Am Pawso companion treatment guide for parents, teachers, and clinicians, available for free download with the purchase of the book.

For more information visit: www.caseyhersch.com

At DrAxe.com, Casey has also written about the high costs of healthcare, integrative healing, and using integrative approaches for living with chronic illness.