Attack my anxiety

Amornrat Sachdev is currently a secondary school counsellor at Bangkok Prep,  working with students from Year 7-13.  In her years  and experiences working with students and parents to help guide  children and adolescents through anxiety, she realised that she wanted to spread what worked for her as far as she could  – hence  the birth  of her book  ‘Attack My Anxiety!’. (Funnily and coincidentally enough, the official publication process lasted approximately 9 months). The characters of Sam and Pete help her help children (and adults) with anxiety. They bring to life the counselling techniques she has adapted with her clients.

Why did you decide on this topic? How did you come up with this idea?

Anxiety and stress are, by far, the most common issues I have had to help my clients with. This includes my work in counselling sessions with them as well as informal and formal side conversations I have with teachers and parents. Parent workshops on helping their children cope with anxiety were also very popular. The idea of using Pete and Sam as companions on a journey to make sense of and then control Sam’s anxiety came naturally to me. That is usually how I feel in my counselling sessions – that I am on a journey with my clients – and I do want them to understand and be able to manage their anxiety at the end of it.

How did you get interested in writing for children?

I was mostly working with primary students at a certain point and, that too, regarding anxiety. I adapted and then combined a few techniques that I thought worked well for my clients and appealed to my counselling style. When they seemed to help my clients and address many of the aspects that come with experiencing anxiety, I wanted to share it with other educators, parents and of course, children.

How long did it take to complete the book?

I wrote the story over a weekend at home. However, like I have mentioned, once I had the thought that I wanted to share the set of strategies I use with many people as I could, the storyline was dying to come out. However, the time between getting the story on paper to it being an official published piece is about 1.5 years.

What was one of the most surprising things you learnt while creating this book?

I was very surprised by the amount of support and well wishes I received during the process of publishing this book and after. People in my life and community wholly supported my desire to get a child and parent friendly tool about anxiety out into the world, and I could not be more thankful. My publishers, Tosca and Jeff from Ed-ucation Publishing, were also extremely easy to work with. I always had questions – and I mean always – because I was new to the process, and they were very accommodating.

What are your future plans?

I hope to continue to share information that I find worth sharing, that I think can possibly make a difference to someone’s life, or even light up a moment in someone’s day. I hope to continue to write for my peace of mind. Maybe what I write for myself will transform into more published and unpublished articles, poems I write for myself, or another children’s story book- who knows?

What do you think are the topics that bother children the most these days?

I think all children have and always will struggle when learning how to control and maintain their feelings and relationships.

What kind of research did you do before writing on this?

I did not do any research for my book, per se. I did research when trying to find strategies that worked for my clients in our sessions and appealed to my counselling approach. I adjusted various strategies and through trial and error found what suited my clients and myself. The improvement and success I found within my sessions were the main ‘research’ that went into writing the book.

Can you give an example of how you adjusted a technique to suit you and your clients?

For example, therapists often employ psycho-education as an intervention – which is just educating your client about their condition so that they feel empowered. I felt it was very important for my clients to know how biology was responsible for their anxiety, and that knowing this would allow them to recognise, predict, and then be able to manage what they were feeling. You see, our bodies are designed to survive, and there is a reason our bodies respond the way they do to stressful events. It was just about creating a child friendly story that addressed all these elements.

What are you working on now?

I am currently focused on promoting ‘Attack My Anxiety!’ as I do want parents and children to know that this tool is available should they want it. I have only received positive reviews about its usefulness, which has motivated me to get the story out there even more!

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Just write. Write for yourself, and write the way you want and about what you want. I started with writing poetry for myself and shared this new venture with two colleagues of mine. One asked if I was 13 years old. The other told me to keep exercising that muscle, and understood the need to create something (even if it was just for myself). Write for yourself.

How can we purchase this book? Where is ‘Attack my Anxiety!’ available?

‘Attack My Anxiety!’ is currently available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and Book Depository.

Kiran Khanijowa is a Thai Indian and has lived in Bangkok all her life. A freelance writer who regularly contributes to Missmalini – a Bollywood blog based in India and Masala – an Indian community magazine in Thailand. She loves writing and feels that she can express all her thoughts through it. Used to teach English in a Thai school and found the experience to be interesting as she herself studied in an international school.