Inner Child Work 101
The inner child exists within us all.
The inner child exists within us all, and it is a part of us that is still alive within us. It is the aspect of our being that is connected to our childhood and represents the part of us that was alive at that time in our lives. As you start to work with your inner child, you may even find that there are several within you (younger ages, pre-teens, teens, etc.)
The inner child can also be defined as an emotional state or trauma relating to a specific point in time during which you experienced some form of overwhelm. This trauma may have been caused by your parents, peers, teachers or other adults whom you trusted at the time — but even if no specific incident can be remembered today (or ever), it’s likely that many such incidents occurred along with painful emotions that arose from them — anger, fear, sadness and so on.
The more we tune into the inner child, the more she can heal.
When you tune into your inner child, she can be a source of joy, creativity and love. She can also be a source of pain and sadness. The more we tune into the inner child, the more she can heal. Our inner child needs to know she is safe and free to be her age. That she can release the responsibility of whatever she's been holding on to, and that your current, wise adult self will handle it.
We have to do our part.
As you embark on your inner child healing journey, it is important to be patient with yourself It is important to be kind and gentle with yourself without beating yourself up for being less than perfect in this process. Some of the most important gifts you can give yourself and your inner child are compassion, understanding and consistency. As it goes with most self-work, our work with our inner child is likely never fully done. You owe it to yourself to be willing to continue to rediscover what parts of you need empathy and kindess, over and over again.
It's easy to get started.
First, you can start with identifying a time in your life that you feel really stuck with you. This is important because it will help you begin the process of identifying what age you are working with and what your inner child needs. You can ask yourself "Who is this little kid inside me? What does she look like? How is she feeling?" or think about when you were a child and try to remember what their favorite things were back then (this may be easy or difficult depending on how old they are).
Next, write a letter to them! Tell them how much you love them and why they are so special to you now that they're an adult too. You can write to them about how much you've overcome, how things get better, etc. Read it out loud to yourself at least once per day until the letter seems like second nature—then read it whenever necessary throughout the day!
Conclusion
It's important to remember that the inner child is a very real part of who we are today. She may feel young, but in many ways she's still experiencing those same emotions and memories from childhood. We need to reach out and embrace her in order for healing to take place. If you're interested in learning more about how this process works, send us an email and we'd love to share resources!
