Rates of anxiety among children and adolescents are on the rise. One out of every five children aged 12-17 report feelings of anxiety over the past two weeks. Jennifer Licate wrote the book My Anxiety is Messing Things Up to help children learn how anxiety presents and strategies they can use to feel better during anxious times through an engaging and relatable story.
The main character, Oscar, displays symptoms of anxiety and is encouraged to join a small counseling group in school that supports anxious and stressed students. Through the group, the school counselor teaches Oscar and the other group members coping skills to deal with their anxiety. The school counselor explains children should practice these skills every day, even on days they don’t feel anxious, to reduce their level of anxiety and to train their body to respond to the coping strategies.
There are many skills young readers learn through the story including breathing exercises, journaling, and using music and exercise in a number of ways to combat anxiety.
With all these skills shared throughout the story, Licate was asked if there were additional coping skills she would recommend to children,. She noted, “Yes, I wanted to share many skills so children understood there is not one correct choice. There are numerous coping skills available, and not every skill will work well for every child, or work in every situation. I also would like children to try progressive muscle relaxation which involves tensing their muscles for a few seconds, then relaxing these same muscles, and to try grounding techniques.” Licate further explained, “The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique brings your mind to the present instead of focusing on fearful thoughts. Children use their five senses to focus on their environment by looking for 5 things in their environment they can see, 4 things they can feel, 3 things they can hear, 2 things they can smell and 1 thing they can taste.” Licate also shared the importance of practicing positive self-talk and asking for help from trusted adults.
With almost every child dealing with situations that trigger anxiety at some point during childhood, Licate’s My Anxiety is Messing Things Up is a great resource for schools and parents. This book shows young readers they are not alone in dealing with anxiety, and prepares them with the necessary skills to work through anxiety in a healthy way.
Jennifer Licate is the author of the award-winning “Navigating Friendships” book series, including titles such as “My Anxiety is Messing Things Up,” “I Lost my BFF,” and “Why is Drama Always Following Me?”. Her award-winning books focus on growing-up topics children struggle with, from friendship struggles to anxiety to study skills. The books are geared toward children ages 9 through 14. Young readers learn strategies to work through their challenge and give them the comfort of knowing they're not alone in their struggle.
She received her Master's Degree in Elementary and Secondary School Counseling and has worked as a school counselor for over a decade. Through working with children of all ages, she has seen the benefits of social emotional learning books firsthand. Children lose themselves as they're immersed within the stories. They're able to understand complex issues from so many different perspectives by seeing the story through the eyes of the characters.
For more information, please visit https://www.storiesbyjennifer.com/ or connect with her on Facebook (Stories By Jennifer) and Instagram (@storiesbyjenniferlicate).