Please Explain Anxiety to Me! Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents, 2nd Edition

by Laurie E. Zelinger, Jordan Zelinger, Elisa Sabella (Illustrator)

Overview

What's happening to me?
This book translates anxiety from the jargon of psychology into concrete experiences that children can relate to. Children and their parents will understand the biological and emotional components of anxiety responsible for the upsetting symptoms they experience. Please Explain Anxiety to Me, 2nd Edition gives accurate physiological information in child friendly language. A colorful dinosaur story explains the link between brain and body functioning, followed by practical therapeutic techniques that children can use to help themselves. Children will:

• learn that they can handle most issues if they are explained at their developmental level
• understand the brain/body connection underlying anxiety
• identify with the examples given
• find comfort and reassurance in knowing that others have the same experience
• be provided with strategies and ideas to help them change their anxiety responses
• be able to enjoy childhood and to give up unnecessary worrying

Therapists and Educators Praise "Please Explain Anxiety To Me, Second Edition"
"On any given day, around thirty percent of my patients have anxiety related symptoms. The simplicity and completeness of the explanations and treatment of anxiety given in this book is remarkable. Defining the cause, treating the core symptoms, and most importantly bringing it to a child's level accompanied by wonderful illustrations, is an incredible feat. I will definitely use this book in my practice."
Zev Ash, M.D. F.A.A.P., Pediatrician

"Anxiety is, of course, a complicated neuro-physiological process but it has been reduced to understandable terms in this brilliantly illustrated book for children. I would go even further and say that there are adults who could benefit from the straightforward approach."
Rick Ritter, MSW, author of "Coping with Physical Loss and Disability"

"This excellent book is perfect for parents to read and discuss with their children. It's also perfect for school professionals to use in the school setting."
Herb R. Brown, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Oceanside Public Schools, New York

"...A charming--and calming--explanation of anxiety that will help both children and their parents turn their internal worry switches to the OFF position."
Ellen Singer, New York Times-acclaimed bestselling author

Learn more at www.DrZelinger.com
From the "Growing With Love" Series at Loving Healing Press www.LHPress.com

SEL036000, Self-Help : Anxieties & Phobias
PSY006000 Psychology : Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent
JNF053050 Juvenile Nonfiction : Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615992171
Publisher:	Loving Healing Press
Publication date:	02/14/2014
Series:	Growing with Love
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	44
Sales rank:	1,139,756
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Dr. Laurie Zelinger is a Board Certified Psychologist who has held an elected position at the national level on the prestigious American Academy of School Psychology. She earned a Doctoral degree in psychology from Hofstra University on Long Island, New York and then went on to earn her credentials as a Registered Play Therapist/Supervisor from the Association for Play Therapy. Dr. Zelinger is also a Fellow in the American Academy of School Psychology, a media specialist for the American Psychological Association, and a recognized expert in child development and parenting, where she is frequently consulted by national and international media venues regarding child related issues. She and her psychologist husband, Dr. Fred Zelinger, have raised four sons. As a certified school psychologist, private practice licensed psychologist, and registered play therapist/supervisor, Dr. Laurie is treating increasing numbers of children with anxiety. She believes that honest and correct information, given at a child's developmental level in "kid-friendly" language, will help a youngster understand the link between body and feelings, the first step in symptom relief. Learn more about Dr. Laurie and her other books at www.DrZelinger.com.

Dr. Jordan Zelinger completed his doctoral degree in School-Clinical Child Psychology at Pace University in New York City. As a licensed psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychology, Jordan enjoys working with typically developing children and adolescents as well as those who have special needs. Dr. Jordan is applying his skills working at a Long Island public high school and a large Manhattan based neuropsychological center while he develops his budding private practice. He collaborated with his mother on this, his first book, drawing upon his extensive background in neuroscience.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Once upon a time, before there were people, dinosaurs roamed the earth. Big ones, small ones, fast ones, slow ones, young ones, and old ones.

There wasn't much else around except grass, trees, plants, dirt, rocks, and water.

Sometimes food was hard to find. That's because supermarkets and restaurants weren't invented yet. Of course, this was before farmers too!

Dinosaurs had to work really hard to fill their tummies so they wouldn't go to bed hungry.

Plant eating dinosaurs, called herbivores, found things to eat that grew from the ground, like flowers, grass, and leaves. But meat-eating dinosaurs didn't want plants. They were called carnivores and they only liked to eat other dinosaurs since dinosaurs are made of dinosaur meat. Some dinosaurs even liked to eat both kinds of food.

Smaller species of dinosaurs were scared that meat-eating dinosaurs would eat them. They probably worried a lot because there was danger all around them. They had a really good reason to be afraid!

Whenever a meat-eating dinosaur showed up, a small dinosaur realized he had to do something fast. He probably said to himself, "Hmmm. I have three choices. I can either freeze and stay perfectly still while I stop, look, and listen. Maybe the other dinosaur won't see me.

Or I can try to run away just as fast as my legs will take me. If those ideas don't work, then I can stay and fight. That's called "freeze, flight, or fight."

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Please Explain "Anxiety" To Me!"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Laurie Zelinger, PhD and Jordan Zelinger.
Excerpted by permission of Loving Healing Press, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"As a Play Therapist, mother and foster parent of children with anxiety issues, this book is exactly what I needed. This family-friendly story not only explains but also normalizes anxiety symptoms. Once this is achieved, children can begin to practice different and hopefully more successful self-care strategies to deal with this sometimes overwhelming experience. Well done!"

-- Theresa Fraser, M.A., Canadian Child and Play Psychotherapist, author of Billy had to Move: a Foster Care story.

"I just read a wonderful picture book about anxiety in children! If only my sisters had been able to read Please Explain Anxiety to Me! by Laurie Zelinger, PhD and Jordan Zelinger when they were growing up. Both my sisters, and, as a consequence, my parents, and the other four siblings struggled and suffered for years because of their overwhelming anxiety. As soon as I had read a few sentences of Dr. Laurie Zelinger’s Introduction, I knew this book is the answer to many parents’ prayers. It is a resource to help adults describe anxiety in a way that children can understand. I thank and congratulate the authors for doing an excellent job of writing a book that helps children to understand and process fear, worry, and anxiety. Please Explain Anxiety to Me! is a family-friendly story complete with colourful, realistic illustrations by Elisa Sabella that support the text on each page. It has advice for parents to help them help their child. Best of all it has self-care strategies that children can rely on to help them turn their internal worry switches to the OFF position.

-- Lorna d’Entremont, Special Needs Book Review

“Please Explain „Anxiety to Me! Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents by Laurie Zelinger, PhD, and Jordan Zelinger is a book that explains what anxiety is and why it exists. The second part of the book gives ideas and suggestions for getting rid of anxiety. I would recommend this book to kids who have too much anxiety and need to learn how to control it. Please Explain Anxiety to Me! would also help the friends of kids who have anxiety problems to understand what is going on.

-- Evan Weldon (age 8) for Reader Views

"In story book fashion, Laurie Zelinger , PhD breaks down the whys of anxiety in easy to understand ways. There are real psychological terminology used as well, but the words are explained in a concise and appropriate ways, and the word is also given phonetically to make the pronunciation easier to get. The large pictures make the dinosaur story feel like a regular picture story book. The story is worded so that it is easy to ask the questions like - 'have you ever felt like that' several times which does make the comparison with the dinosaurs more realistic. The helpful suggestions for reducing anxiety and relieving some of the symptoms are easy to understand and feels more like a game than a calming tool, but if it works, even better. The closing rhymes are fun to say and fun to practice. All this information, so much of which was common since, the story was good but not great and the pictures were at times distracting from the "anxiety" topic of the book. Great concept to help children learn to cope with anxiety.

-- Debbie Onyx for ReviewTheBook.com

From the Publisher