Little Froggie lived near a small pond with his mommy, daddy, and big brother Freddy. The pond where he lived was full of green plants and fresh grass growing around it. There were fish and turtles living in the cool water of the pond. A family of very friendly and gentle ducks lived on the bank. There was a burrow on one side of the pond where a big old snake lived. The Little Froggie lived in a friendly and happy neighbourhood.
Little Froggie would often play with his brother Freddy and a few more friends when his mommy and daddy were away catching snails and slugs for dinner. They would keep hopping and jumping around, laughing, enjoying, and playing with each other till it was dinner time.
One day mommy noticed that Little Froggie was no longer enjoying going out to play with his friends. He would often spend time alone at home while his brother played with friends. Little Froggie also looked very sad and quiet. Mommy was worried to see this so she asked Little Froggie “What’s the matter Froggie, you look so quiet? Are you upset about something?” Froggie looked at his mother with his big round bulging eyes which were now filled with tears. Froggie’s voice shivered as he tried to talk to his mommy. Looking at this, mommy gave him a warm hug and asked “What’s the matter, dear?” Little Froggie took a deep breath and finally shared, “I am afraid to go out. I feel scared that if I go out I might hurt myself….. the little duckling might push me, the big old snake might slither across as I hop and I might slip and hurt myself, the turtle from the pond might tease me and hurt my feelings.”
Mommy put her arm around Little Froggie’s shoulder and said, “ O my Little Froggie, now I understand why you seemed so disturbed. I can now see there are so many things you are afraid of. I appreciate that you shared your feelings with me.” She also asked Little Froggie if any of these things had ever happened to him. He took a deep breath and said “ they did not really happen but they are just there in my mind.” That’s what it is exactly- they are just in your mind said, Mommy. You have been imagining them to happen in real and are getting disturbed by all these thoughts.
So what can I do about it asked Little Froggie “I just can’t take it out of my head.” Mommy put her arm around Little Froggie and reassured him. She said you need to replace these thoughts with positive thoughts like “I am safe” and “I am strong.” She also said you could imagine yourself being inside a green-colored bubble that is keeping you safe from everything. And little Froggie did just that. Whenever his thoughts started to turn negative, he would remind himself of what Mommy had said. He would also imagine himself being inside a green bubble that was keeping him safe. This continued for a few weeks till Little Froggie started feeling safe again and did not need the positive reminders or the green bubble anymore!
He was back to his usual self, the Little Froggie who loved playing with his brother and his friends and was not afraid of anything.