My Inside Helpers
A helpful story for children and their grownups
Early Access PDF Edition
Thank you for being here.
Before the illustrated hardcover version is ready, I wanted to make this early-access PDF available so children, families, caregivers, and helping professionals can begin using the story and its language now.
My Inside Helpers is a story created to support children—and the adults who love them—in understanding the different ways our bodies respond to the world.
It offers a gentle, playful doorway into nervous system awareness, emotional literacy, and co-regulation.
The Helpers + Our Nervous System
Inside the story, each “Helper” represents a natural nervous system state:
Owl
The grounded, connected energy of ventral vagal safety—the state where we feel steady enough to explore, try new things, and reach for support.
Tiger
The fiery rush of sympathetic activation—the protective energy that moves through us when something feels big, fast, uncertain, or overwhelming.
Turtle
The small, slow, pulling-in energy of dorsal shutdown—the state that emerges when things feel “too much” and our system tries to conserve energy.
These aren’t misbehaviours or problems to fix.
They are wise, adaptive patterns—creative ways our bodies learned to keep us safe in earlier seasons of life.
The story gives children language for noticing these states inside themselves.
And it invites grownups to respond with steadiness, curiosity, and connection so children don’t have to move through big moments alone.
What This Early-Access PDF Offers
Alongside the story, you’ll also find:
• A gentle nervous-system framework that children can actually understand
• A shared language for moments of activation, shutdown, or overwhelm
• A co-regulation roadmap for grownups wanting to respond with steadiness rather than urgency
• Supportive pages at the back with reflection prompts and simple practices
• An approach that aligns with trauma-informed, attachment-rooted, somatic, and parts-sensitive care
A Note About This Version
This PDF is a temporary offering while the fully illustrated hardcover book is being created in collaboration with Winnipeg-based artist Melodie Devlin-Joyal.
When the hardcover edition arrives, it will include full-colour illustrations and additional resources—but I didn’t want families to wait to begin using this.
My hope is that this version brings small moments of safety, attunement, warmth, and curiosity into your home or practice.
Thank you for supporting this work and for choosing to nurture emotional attunement—in the children you care for, and in the child still alive within you.
If you’d like to stay connected about the illustrated release or future resources, please feel welcome to reach out:
michelle.ham.wellness@outlook.com
Warmly,
Michelle Ham, C.C.C.
Owner + Psychotherapist
Michelle Ham Wellness | Winnipeg, MB
Copyright + Use
This early-access PDF is shared for your personal use only.
Please keep the link private and avoid uploading, copying, or sharing the file without permission.
Your care in holding this resource supports its continued development and helps bring the fully illustrated hardcover edition to life.
© 2024 Michelle Ham Wellness
All rights reserved.