Nigel Sat in a Box

I wrote a little something right after the election back in November to process my feelings and fears for the incoming administration. Around that time, I started making some art in order to showcase my words in a more visceral way. I managed to make these 5 slides, even though I originally wrote a lot more. Eventually, the heaviness of the content got a little too much for me to focus on consistently, so I decided not to finish it.

It’s been a couple months since I’ve so much as looked at this project and I’m not ready to pick it up again. But, I figured the art I did make deserved to see the light of day. Especially as the inauguration looms and these feelings return.

Overall, I am doing ok. I have been wildly disassociating the last few months so that I wouldn’t spiral into a deep despair. Creatively, I am doing better than I ever have. I have a few creative projects in the works. Some deep. Some silly. Some downright absurd. I’m working on a Sunstack which I will announce officially and link once I have added a little bit more content. After what feels like a lifetime of struggle, I am finally finding the urge to write. I desperately hope that I will maintain that urge as 2025 and all its terrifying possibilities unfold.

I’m struggling. But I’m here. I’m afraid. But I don’t plan on going anywhere. I’m exhausted. But I’m me.

I know I’ve been gone for a minute. I needed to take a step back and reevaluate how I want to release my art. I’m sure many of you have noticed the name change on this account. Nigel is and will always be a part of my art, and will definitely be available to purchase again soon (hopefully by the end of the year at the latest), but I’m working to figure out the best way to represent myself as an author and a creative as a whole.

Currently, I’m focusing on making a personal website where I can continue to sell “Nigel Sat in a Box,” (some things happened with the publisher and I now have the remaining stock on hand—figuring our distribution on my own is a tricky bit ultimately good business), as well as post my own art and further writing projects.

I don’t have a set timeframe to announce. I am trying to practice being kind to myself while also taking the time and space I need to work on this project without having a full mental breakdown (oh the joys of being AuDHD). It’s slow (often slower than I would like), but I think it’s necessary to produce something I’m truly proud of. I need to sit inside the box until I am willing and able to come out.

I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with this page in particular. That not very good for the demands of the Almighty Algorithm but it is good for me. I will try to post little updates here and there as well as bits of art or writing I might think up. Thank you for continuing to follow along!

Anyway, here’s a little sneak peak of the art for the website! All done by yours truly.

Hello everyone!

I am making a few changes with the sales and distribution of “Nigel Sat in a Box.” In the coming weeks, I will be having the remaining inventory shipped to my personal address. Meaning that all orders and sales will have to go through me and will no longer be available through distributors like Amazon or sites like Mascot.

I will keep you all updated on how to order copies once I have received them. In the meantime, “Nigel” will not be available to order via the links on my linktree.

I believe this will be better in the long run and will enable me to connect more directly with those of you who wish to buy a copy! Check back here for updates on when “Nigel” will be available again! I will update my linktree at that time so y’all can know how best to order!

Thank you all for your interest in this little book about mental health! I am excited for the future and where we will go from here!

Anyone else struggle with anxiety? 🖐️

Sometimes anxious thoughts, fears, or the stresses of life can keep us inside a box we don’t want to be in. We tell ourselves we should be able to leave. It’s easy, right? Just lift up the flap and climb out! But, for some reason, we stay inside. The discomfort we know being more preferable to all the possibilities we don’t.

Anxiety is difficult enough for adults to work through. It takes conscious time learning to regulate our emotions and understand our responses and reactions.

Anxiety is even more difficult for children to work through. They are new human beings, experiencing debilitating thoughts and feelings for the first time. They need help navigating their emotions from the adults on their life.

This can be a tough conversation to have with your child. Thankfully, “Nigel Sat in a Box” is here to help! “Nigel” presents the experience of mental health in a way that both parents and children can understand and enjoy while also providing a template for them to talk about it together.

Click the link in my bio to purchase your copy of “Nigel Sat in a Box” 📦 💕

My father, David Petrizzi, wore braces just like these.

Polio is something that many people today haven’t even heard of, thanks to the vaccine which became readily available in 1955. Unfortunately for my father, it came 3 years too late. He lived with polio his entire life, and it brought him a lot of physical pain, hardship, and struggles with his mental health.

When was sketching the illustrations of Nigel’s father, I thought it was important to add my father’s braces. Why? The main reason is because I think representation is important. Having the image of legs in braces next to the words “his father’s strong legs,” shows that there is strength in disability.

I also wanted to convey that empathy doesn’t have to come from a place of stable mental or physical health. In fact, quite the opposite. Nigel’s father, like my own, has clearly been through his fair share of difficulties. He is trapped in his own boxes and fighting through his own pain. It is because of this experience of hardship that he is able to sit with his son. Because he understands. He knows what it is like to feel the way Nigel does. A parent doesn’t have to be in a totally good place in order to empathize with their child. They don’t have to have their mental health entirely figured out in order to be a good parent. What matters is that they try.

My father passed away in 2020. Though he had many faults as a father, I will always remember his strong legs and the few times he managed to sit with me.

Start sitting with your child today, visit the link in my bio to order a copy of “Nigel Sat in a Box” 📦💕

Anyone else suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? I know I do! ✋ I’ve been absent for a bit while dealing with some of my own mental health and life changes.

When the weather grows cold and the nights grow long, it can become easy to feel down, depressed, or low energy. We can feel trapped inside our homes or inside our minds, longing for the sun to return.

What we all need is a little community, comfort, and companionship to warm our hearts and minds. We need others to show us patience and empathy to help us out of the cold, dark, lonely box of winter.

If you have a child in your life that suffers from the winter time blues or feels trapped in a box of any kind, click the link in my bio to purchase a copy of “Nigel Sat in a Box.” 📦 💕

My schedule is pretty packed this month on account of , so I’ll be resharing some old favorites! Hope you enjoy!

(Swipe to see original photo)

Sometimes, all it takes is small edits to help improve your mental health. Little things like finding the right diagnoses, going to therapy, giving yourself compassion, and learning to understand your feelings.

These edits may be big or small, but, when put together, they radically change the big picture for the better.

When we’re adults, we have the ability, time, and opportunities to be able to do this. For children, it can be a lot more difficult.

They are new human beings, struggling to understand themselves and what they are feeling. They need the adults in their lives to help the make the right edits. To sit by their side, show them empathy, provide a safe place, and guide them through the tangled weeds that mental health can be.

They need patience, empathy, understanding, and love to help them sort through it until they are able to make these edits on their own and fully enjoy the big picture that is their mental health.

“Nigel Sat in a Box” is here to help both parents and children know where to begin. To start the mental health conversation with your child, visit the link in our bio 📦💕

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My schedule is pretty packed this month on account of ! But I want to keep posting about Nigel (gotta keep that algorithm fed), so I’ll be resharing some old favorites! Hope you enjoy!

As a child, I sat in many boxes. Boxes I didn’t choose for myself:

Good Kid Box ✔️
Neurotypical Box ✔️
Girl/Woman Box ✔️
Faith Box ✔️

As I grew, I discovered that I didn’t quite fit into all of the boxes in which I was placed. Yet I was expected to remain inside, so I did my best.

I used them to hide away from the world. In my mind, it was easier just to accept the boxes I was placed into, then it was to step outside.

Outside was unknown. Unpredictable. Terrifying. I knew what to expect inside those boxes. They were safe discomfort.

Soon, however, I wasn’t alone. Depression. Anxiety. Fear. All joined me inside as the weight of expectation became too much to bare.

The truth was, I didn’t know how to leave. Didn’t know if I even could. So they sat with me. My dad started the process, seeing and affirming little pieces of me that didn’t fit into the boxes. But it was my husband, Josh, who sat with me the longest. He stayed by my side. Caring for me. Listening to me. Supporting me. Eventually, (thanks to therapy, time, and the right medications) I reached a place where I was able to slowly come out.

I wrote Nigel Sat in a Box with the hope to foster communication between parents and their children about mental health. About the boxes they don’t feel like they belong in, and the unknown despair that can follow. My hope for this book is that it can help kids understand their mental health. And help parents to know how to respond to their children with empathy, understanding, patience, and love.

No one should be placed inside a box in which they do not belong.

Link in bio 📦💕

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A few more behind the scenes images from the development of “Nigel Sat in a Box”!

My brilliant illustrator did a ton of work figuring out how each character would look, from the initial sketches to the right colors. She put in so much time and love into this project which can be clearly seen throughout the pages of the final product!

It’s a wonderful experience, as an author, to find an illustrator who is as passionate about your story as you are. In fact, she was one of the first people I ever showed the story to, and was instrumental in convincing me to actually make it happen.

Follow her Instagram account if you don’t already and pick up a copy of our passion project, “Nigel Sat in a Box” via the link in my bio! 📦💕

Mental health is such an important part of being human. Help the children in your life navigate this difficult topic with patience, empathy, and love (and with a little help from “Nigel” of course!)