Once Upon an Upset

“When unpleasant things happened to me when I was younger, my younger self diligently recorded the details of the event so that if I ever found myself in a situation even remotely similar, she could warn me that something toxic was near.”
— from 'Messages From Our Younger Selves'
(Suitable for teens and adults.)
Messages From Our Younger Selves was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.
New episodes every Wednesday!
For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

A Friend Named Bob is a very short story about a little boy in quarantine who builds himself a friend.
(Suitable for all ages.)
New episodes every Wednesday!
A Friend Named Bob was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.
New episodes every Wednesday!
For illustrations, episode transcripts, children’s books and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“To me, an intrusive thought is any thought that interrupts what you want to be doing with reasons why you shouldn’t be doing it, reasons that make you feel bad about yourself. Throughout my life, I’ve dealt with a lot of intrusive thoughts, but because of this, I’ve been able to come up with some techniques to reframe them, diffuse their intensity, understand them in new ways, and even turn them into insights. So though I don’t expect what worked for me will work for everyone, I thought I’d share, just in case it’s useful.”

— from 'What To Do With An Intrusive Thought'

A piece about intrusive thoughts and some ideas for how to reframe them, diffuse their intensity, understand them in new ways, and even turn them into insights.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)
What To Do With An Intrusive Thought was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.
New episodes every Wednesday!
For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

“To me, one of the hardest things about being a person is figuring out how to get along with other people. It seems like there’s always some problem, some conflict, some battle. It makes sense, though—we’re all walking around at the very same time with our private thoughts and our private wants and needs, our private circumstances and private memories of past circumstances.”

— From 'How To Get Along With Other People By Seeing Them Through A Different Perspective'

A conversation about shifting one’s perspective so that when other people behave in ways that are toxic to us, we don’t have to internalize the toxicity and have our days be ruined. Instead we can see the situation differently, and through doing so, find empathy for ourselves and maybe even for those most difficult people in our lives.

(Suitable for tweens, teens and adults.)

How To Get Along With Other People By Seeing Them Through A Different Perspective was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.
New episodes every Wednesday!
For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.

A story about the burden of carrying around your upsets.

(Suitable for all ages.)

The Boy With The Heavy Suitcase was written by Jessica Laurel Kane; music by Jerome Rossen at Freshmade Music.
New episodes every Wednesday!
For illustrations, episode transcripts, merchandise and more, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.