Andy was a little boy who lived with people who were supposed to keep him safe. But sometimes, Andy did not feel safe...

Sometimes people said hurtful things.

 Sometimes they were rough.

 And sometimes Andy felt scared in his own home.

Andy didn’t understand it.

 He just knew he tried really hard to be “good,” but he still felt afraid a lot.

At night, Andy sometimes had bad dreams.

 During the day, loud voices or sudden movements made him jump.

Even when nothing bad was happening, his body still felt like danger could come back at any time.

One day, Andy moved to a safer home with his mom.

He would look around a lot.

He would get worried for no reason.

 He would sometimes cry and not know why.

His mom sat with him and said gently,
 

Andy asked, 

What happened to you was not okay. And it can take time for your feelings to understand that you are safe now.”

 “Why do I still feel scared if I’m safe?”

Andy learned a big word:PTSD

Your brain is remembering the hard times. It learned to stay on alert to protect you. But now it needs time to learn that the danger is gone.

PTSD?

It means your brain still acts like danger is happening, even when it isn’t anymore.

Andy and his mom made a plan to help him feel safer.

When the scared feelings came, Andy could:

Slowly, over time, something changed.

The bad memories didn’t go away, but they didn’t feel so loud in his body anymore.
The scary feelings didn’t come as often.

 And when they did, Andy knew what to do.

Im finally starting to feel safe!

One day at school, Andy felt his heart start to race during quiet time.

He almost panicked.

But then he remembered.

He looked around the room.

 He named things he could see.

 He felt his feet on the ground.

And he whispered, “I’m safe right now.”

I am safe right now....