Healing Your Inner Child: A Path to Awareness Rachel Devine
Inner child dynamics can be confusing and complicated. It’s important to break it down to size in order to start the inner child healing process. Our inner child represents the part of us that holds childhood memories, emotional needs, trauma, and subconscious beliefs formed in our early years. Most of us carry over our childhood dysfunctions into adulthood. This dysfunction can range from addictions, to anger issues, insecurities, low self-esteem and other social issues. Healing the inner child leads to greater wellbeing and happiness.
Inner child healing
Defining the Inner Child
The inner child is our feelings, energies, needs, vulnerabilities, experiences, our neurological imprint. Simply put, the inner child is part of your personality that still feels and acts like a child.
According to psychology expert John Bradshaw, “The inner child dwells within all adults. It’s the part that feels emotions and carries our intuitions, creativity, spontaneity, and playfulness.”
The inner child develops in childhood as a means to adapt to our environment. But if traumatic, it creates core wounds, driving dysfunction.
Bradshaw stated, “The healthy inner child brings forth wonder, joy, playfulness, and creativity.” However, the unhealthy inner child brings out the worst in us. Exploring the inner child can feel like opening up a Pandora’s box, but it is crucial to find healing.
What is the Inner Child in adulthood?
The following are signs of the inner child coming out in adulthood.
Hypersensitivity to perceived rejection or exclusion
Reacting defensively or impulsively when criticized
Craving nourishment, affection, or praise from others
Struggling with boundaries or priorities
Fearing abandonment or loss in relationships
Defaulting to shame or inadequacy when struggling
Intense anger issues
These are just some issues that indicate an inner child issue has reared its ugly head in your adult life.
Ways to Heal Your Inner Child
Open a caring dialogue with your inner child by connecting to your feelings. Give your inner child permission to freely communicate its buried feelings and needs.
Validate inner emotions and pains with empathy. Offer the unconditional love you craved but didn’t receive growing up.
Set healthy boundaries if your behaviors are destructive. For example, provide comfort when sad, but limit tantrums or acting out with anger.
Reassure your inner child’s worthiness and intrinsic goodness. Replace old negative self-beliefs with positive truths. Always use positive affirmations towards yourself.
Healing your inner child meditation. Go back to a time when your inner child was in pain in a meditation and reparent your inner child with love and safety.
Inner child healing therapy is a great way to find healing. Find a good therapist that is right for you.
Speak encouragingly and affirm their strengths. Foster their self-confidence. And use self-loving words to your inner child.
Comfort your inner child when you’re feeling upset using visualizations, stuffed animal hugs, or consoling letters.
Indulge in play, creativity, and joy through art and other creative ways; this nourishes the inner child’s spirit.
Get a picture of yourself as a child and say often to the picture, “I love you.” It will make a difference.
Enlist a good life-coach to help.
With consistent loving care, your inner child transforms from a hindrance in your adult life into a source of vitality, wisdom, and strength. The more you embrace this part of yourself, the more healthy your relationships will be at home, at work and with friends. Feeding your inner child with love and compassion is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Rachel Devine is the author of a new inner child book, Discovering the Power of the Secret Within - Healing your Inner Child to Manifest your Dreams.
Devine Intervention - Inner Healing Center.