Storytelling Matters: The power of a story to help anxious children feel seen, safe and strong
Aneena and the Elephant in a post-pandemic world
By Dina Subasciaki, Children’s author and emotional wellbeing advocate
Over the past 30 years, I’ve supported children and young people through a wide range of emotional challenges, from everyday worries to deep, lasting anxieties, helping them through the most vulnerable moments, fears and personal triumphs.
As a mother, mindfulness teacher, and professional who’s spent decades supporting families, I’ve learned something powerful: stories can reach children in ways nothing else can.
I’ve witnessed firsthand the quiet power of stories to connect, comfort, and heal, and it’s this understanding, combined with my training in Social Sciences and my journey as a mother, that led me to write Aneena and the Elephant – a story that’s as much about understanding anxiety as it is about helping children believe in their own strength.
With Paulina Zawiska’s beautiful illustrations bringing the story to life, Aneena’s Tale gently follows a young girl overwhelmed by anxiety about going to school. Her fears feel enormous, but so is the kindness of the elephant who guides her toward calm and confidence. Through grounding, breathing, and thought-reframing techniques, they weave emotional tools into a comforting narrative that children can relate to and learn from.
At the heart of this book is a message I wish every child could carry: You are not alone in your feelings, and there are ways through them.
To make the story a truly practical resource, I’ve also created a downloadable companion workbook designed for parents, caregivers, teachers, therapists, and support staff who are supporting children’s emotional wellbeing.
Why this story, and why now?
The past few years have reshaped what it means to grow up.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted critical emotional, social and developmental milestones. For many children, especially those of primary school age, returning to the classroom didn’t feel like a step forward, but a storm. Some had thrived in the slower, safer rhythm of home learning, while others felt overwhelmed by the sudden pressure of academic and social expectations.
Children don’t experience the world the way adults do.
Even now, years later, I work with children who live in a state of heightened anxiety. Though physically safe, their nervous system remains on edge, adapted to a world that often feels uncertain and unpredictable. Unlike adults, they didn’t have a “before times” to return to, no reference point for what stability once felt like. For many of them, unpredictability became the norm.
I wrote Aneena and the Elephant for these children.
For the ones who feel a lump in their throat as they approach the school gate. For those whose bodies whisper “something’s wrong,” even when everything looks fine. For the children who need someone, fictional or otherwise, to say: It’s okay to feel this way, and this is how we will get through it.
With Aneena and the Elephant, I wanted to gently personify anxiety and guide it toward resolution within a safe, supportive story, one that offers both comfort and practical tools children can hold onto.
Aneena’s journey mirrors so many children I have worked with, like those who want to be brave but feel stuck. Children like the one who told me going to school felt like “walking into the sun without sunglasses,” or the girl who said her inside-weather was “foggy” because she missed her gran. These poetic, poignant expressions were only possible through metaphor and storytelling.
Through breathwork, reframing thoughts, and connecting with trusted support, Aneena learns practical skills children can try for themselves. These techniques are not presented as prescriptive advice but are naturally woven into the story, making them memorable and accessible.
When a child hears Aneena’s journey, the hope is that they might whisper, “I felt like that too.” That moment of recognition is powerful. It’s where healing begins.
The Therapeutic Power of Story
I have never met a child who doesn’t love a good story. Storytelling is one of the oldest and most effective ways for humans to make sense of their emotions. For children, who often lack the vocabulary to express complex feelings, storybooks offer a mirror and a roadmap. Through fictional characters, big feelings become visible…And, this is key – manageable.
Storytelling is one of humanity’s most ancient forms of healing. For children, whose brains are still learning how to process big emotions, stories are more than entertainment. They are language, validation, and reflection. Children live in a world where imagination and reality often blend. That’s not a limitation, it’s an opportunity.
Therapeutic stories give children a way to see themselves without pressure or judgment.
When Aneena learns it’s okay to feel scared, it opens a door for young readers to accept their own feelings. When she discovers that breathing slowly or shifting her thoughts helps her feel more in control, children are introduced to real-world emotional strategies in the gentlest of ways, embedded in the safety of a story.
I’ve watched this play out in real time. I remember one child, after reading a story about worries, telling me: “I think I carry a bag like that too.” That moment of recognition wasn’t just emotional – it was transformational. It gave her a voice, a metaphor, and a starting point.
Aneena and the Elephant is already being embraced by educators and therapists as a valuable resource from classrooms to therapy rooms and even bedside tables. Early feedback highlights its gentle, age-appropriate approach to anxiety, offering children practical tools like grounding, cognitive restructuring, and positive self-talk through a relatable story and rich illustrations.
I’m both humbled and proud of this. If I can help even one child along the way, I will have done the job I set out to do.
What’s next for Aneena?
I’m just getting started. My dream is to take Aneena on more journeys through the ups and downs of school life, with sequels and activity workbooks that help embed emotional literacy into classrooms because every child deserves to see themselves in a story and know there’s always a way forward (sometimes with the help of a wise elephant).
For more information about the book, please visit: Aneena and the Elephant
