How I Help Young People with Anxiety in my Book: Vanishings

By Catharina Steel

Children struggle with anxiety the same as adults, and it’s beneficial if they are taught how to manage this, possibly working with a specialist to figure out what tools work best for them, and in which scenarios.

Young people aren’t necessarily equipped to manage stressful events when they happen, and this can result in anxiety. Sadly, bullying is a common cause, as is starting a new school or losing a loved one (for example, their best friend moves away, or their grandma passes away).

I didn’t know that I was struggling with anxiety as a child, the result of being bullied for being an outsider (a gross summary as a child of foreigners). Back in the 1980’s, not much was known about mental health disorders in children, so I wasn’t diagnosed until much later. Looking back, I can see the coping mechanisms I was developing, and two of my pastimes have since been studied and proven to be beneficial.

There are two main things I did as a child which helped reduce stress and provided a mental break. The first was reading. I read to escape, allowing my young mind to forget my troubles and relax. It also gave me a way to process how I was feeling. Two tools great for helping to either prevent or manage anxiety (2009 study by the University of Sussex).

The second thing I did was spend time in the great outdoors. Fortunately, many of the places we lived in when I was young, backed onto a forest reserve within an urban environment, were in a small town with farmlands surrounding it, or was a small farm. My parents also took my sister and me hiking from a young age, so I developed a love for exploring at a young age (a real-life adventure to my imaginative mind). It turns out, spending time in nature, away from urban environments, can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression (Barton & Pretty, 2010).

I set out to write a book that would give young readers a break from the stress within their life, because I understand how much this helped me at this age. I also wanted to encourage spending time in the great outdoors, and so I set the adventure within a magical forest, showing how the children experience the magic of this environment, and the improvement to their fitness by the end of the book—with fitness being another tool which can help manage stress.

As I was “getting to know” my main characters, it became evident to me that Jess, Zach’s twin and Tilly’s cousin in the story, was being bullied and this caused her to struggle with anxiety—even in the great outdoors because she can’t see what might be hiding nearby and she feels exposed. However, her anxiety seeps away the more time she spends in this environment (despite the stress of being in a dangerous forest with an evil witch who is after them).

As I developed Jess’s background and her anxiety, I drew from many aspects of my own experience and used this to guide me with how she would react, and what she may say, in the events that take place in the story. I sensed this was an important characteristic to include and believed I understood it enough to portray this with sensitivity. I know how important it is to show these characteristics so that readers who are struggling with this themselves know they aren’t alone. I hope to encourage them to seek adventures (with an adult present) in the great outdoors because I know how much this helps, as does reading super fun adventure’s set in fantasy worlds!

References:

• www.anxietycentre.com, article: Reading Reduces Stress by 68 Percent, June 23, 2021, quotes Dr. David Lewis, a cognitive neuropsychologist who conducted the study at the University of Sussex, researching the impact of reading on mental health.
• Barton, J., & Pretty, J. (2010). What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving mental health? Environmental Science & Technology, 44(10), 3947–3955. https://doi.org/10.1021/es903183r

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Catharina Steel has an adventurous spirit and enjoys traveling and exploring. The forests in The Wythic Wood Mysteries series stems from her love for hiking, the outdoors, and the enchanting essence found in these settings.

Vanishings: The Wythic Wood Mysteries Series, Book One

For fans of Amanda Foody and Debbie Watson comes a magical adventure story about an twelve-year-old girl who will do anything to help a friend—but could use a lesson or two in looking before she leaps.

Tilly’s friend Michael disappeared from Wythic Wood a year ago, and he’s still missing. Convinced that no one’s searching for him, Tilly convinces her gran to allow her to spend the summer with Opa, their family’s magical teacher and wizard, at his home in Clayton Forest—which just so happens to be right next to Wythic Wood.

In Clayton Forest, alongside her twin cousins, Jess and Zach, Tilly meets magical beings like fairies and gnomes, gets lessons in potion-making and a goblin style of martial arts called Gobight fighting, and starts to understand her own magic better. But none of this excitement distracts her from her real goal, and with Jess and Zach at her side, she soon embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth about Michael’s vanishing. But as usual, impulsive Tilly doesn’t exactly think ahead—and she and her cousins soon find themselves hunted by the Witch of Wythic Wood and the creatures under her command.

An enchanting escapade perfect for fans of Percy Jackson and The Wingfeather Saga, Vanishings is a tale of friendship and teamwork in a realm where magic can be wielded for both good and evil purposes.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing