A Norwich man who has had his own fights with depression has penned a new book to help children cope with their emotions.
After struggling during lockdown, 34-year-old Chris Dixon sought help and found that therapy made a huge difference to his overall outlook on life.
That's Okay! by Chris Dixon (Image: Archant)
And it is this experience that inspired him to search for a way of helping children learn more about their own emotions.
Being a keen illustrator, the digital marketer decided to put his hobby to use and write a book for children.
Chris Dixon, who has written a children's book about emotions (Image: Archant)
The end result is 'That's Okay!' a collection of his own drawings illustrating a range of emotions with explanations of how they feel.
Mr Dixon said: "The idea for the book stems back to my therapy which helped me to realise that I didn't really fully understand my emotions.
'Angry' by Chris Dixon (Image: Chris Dixon)
"It has always felt to me that when we are younger we are almost taught to suppress our emotions, rather than express them and that is often what leads to problems - so I wanted to find a way to help.
The book is available both as an e-book and in physical form and Mr Dixon has held online readings of it.
One of Chris Dixon's illustrations - Bored (Image: Chris Dixon)
He added: "I've always had a real passion for illustration so I thought this would be an ideal way of using that.
"The book is all about teaching children that it is okay to have different feelings - it's okay to be happy and excited, but it's also okay to be angry or upset.
"I found getting to understand that myself did wonders for my own mental health issues."
Chris Dixon, with a copy of his book That's Okay! (Image: Archant)
Mr Dixon said that lockdown, in particular, led to a great deal of anxiety for him, but that seeking help was the turning point the book stemmed from.
He said: "I really hope the children that read the book learn how to react to their different emotions and get more confident and comfortable with their feelings.
"I never really did that to begin with and it led to a lot of anxiety and depression. I used to feel ashamed to talk about my emotions."
For more information, visit thatsokay.co.uk
'Happy' from That's Okay! by Chris Dixon (Image: Chris Dixon)
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