Some of the best advice I ever received to help relieve my anxiety was to bring my worry to life. Counterintuitive, right? Here’s the thing: most kids know when they feel anxious because things are not quite right (funny tummy, sweaty palms, muddled thoughts, etc.). But with all these feelings going on, sometimes it’s hard to know what it means to be truly anxious and how to fight it.
This is where bringing worry to life comes in. Many therapists recommend taking the abstract idea of anxiety and making it palpable by using a stuffed toy for role-playing. The toy becomes a personification of worry, and then kids teach the toy how to calm down.
This technique has tremendous benefits: it helps kids externalize worry, helps distinguish rational from worried thoughts, and helps make the relief process more playful. Overall, personifying worry is an excellent anxiety management tool.
That’s why we’re so excited to announce the release of our first plush toy, Widdle the Worrier. Widdle comes straight out the GoZen! program. He’s a twelve-inch custom-designed plush toy that your kids will LOVE. Widdle comes equipped with ten tips that he shares out loud when you squeeze his tummy.
Here are some ways your child can use Widdle the Worrier:
• Be playful and gently poke fun at Widdle the Worrier when he overreacts.
• Assign responsibility to Widdle for worries (“It’s not me, it’s Widdle acting a little out of control.”).
• Role-play with Widdle. Your child can be the logical thinker and Widdle the worried thinker.
• Squeeze his tummy for an anxiety relief tip.
By the way, Widdle ships all over the world, in case you were wondering. He actually loves to travel. 🙂
Get your own Widdle the Worrier here.
why not make a female doll?