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Look what this mum created to help thousands of kids with anxiety

I make magic little pixies to help anxious children
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Dainy Sawatzky, 51, Inverloch, Vic.

Pushing the plate away, I felt the familiar tightening in my chest.

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“I don’t want dinner,” I whispered.

My palms were sweating and I struggled to breathe.

My mum Bette, 32, got up from the table and walked around to where I was sitting.

“You’re going to be ok, just breathe,” she said.

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I was eight years old and having a panic attack.

Aged 8, I started experiencing panic attacks

(Image: Supplied).

Ever since I was four and vomited in my bed one night, I’d developed emetophobia – a fear of being sick.

My dad, Volker, suffered from it, too.

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Eating was a challenge, as I worried I’d vomit afterwards.

To help take my mind off it, Mum got me into drawing and sewing.

I also had a beloved ragdoll called Polly, who gave me comfort.

But my condition was debilitating.

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My beloved ragdoll called Polly gave me comfort

(Image: Supplied).

I never went to play dates or sleepovers, too afraid of having an attack.

It wasn’t until I was older and started doing cognitive behaviour therapy, I learnt strategies to cope.

In time, I got married and had two kids, Scout, 17, and Rhyder, 15.

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I worried they’d suffer from anxiety too, and sadly, they did.

In 2011, I made a ragdoll for Scout, for Christmas, just like the one I’d had growing up, hoping it would help her.

My kids Scout, 17, and Rhyder, 15, also suffer from anxiety

(Image: Supplied).

She loved it, and I enjoyed making it so much, I started designing more.

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Then in 2017, I turned my dolls into a business, called The Wish Pixies, aimed at helping anxious children.

I designed 12 pixie ragdolls, small enough to fit in a child’s pocket or under their pillow.

I gave each of the pixies a special trait like self-respect, gratitude or positivity, and wrote a story explaining the meaning of that word.

Then, in a pocket placed on the back of the pixie, I included a magic spell, to help the child achieve that particular trait.

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I created The Wish Pixies to help other anxious kids

(Image: Supplied).

I created an Instagram account and a website and the pixies, literally, flew off the shelves.

I sold 6000 last year alone.

I’ve had so many messages from parents, telling me how my pixies have helped their children, which have made me cry.

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Creating them has been the best thing I’ve ever done.

Do you have a heart-warming story? If so, get in touch. We pay cash! Contact: [email protected]

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