Embracing your inner child

Hold the hand of the child that lives in your soul. For this child, nothing is impossible

Paulo Coelho

What is your ‘inner child’?. This is defined by the Collins English Dictionary as ‘the part of the psyche believed to retain feelings as they were experienced during childhood’. This would mean that our feelings before puberty, although we may not recall them – are kept in our minds. Psychologists define the inner child as, ‘an individual’s childlike aspect. It includes what a person learned before puberty. Taking these definitions into account, let us find out more about why it is beneficial to reconnect to your inner child.

There are a multitude of benefits associated with identifying your inner child and reconnecting to the person you were in the past. Yes, the past is indeed the past – but it has valuable information that we can all use to our advantage in adulthood.

Why believe in this concept and use it to fulfill your life further? Well, reader, that answer is up to you. If this concept sounds new and interesting to you and you would like to find out more information before doing your own research (which I always encourage) then read on!

Being in touch with your inner child has the ability to let you reminisce on playful, lighter times. It enables us to think back to what we used to enjoy as children and this can help in stressful situations. As Dr. Diana Raab (author and psychologist) states, ‘being in touch with the joys of childhood can be an excellent way of dealing with challenging times.

However, if you experienced trauma in childhood then this can also resurface in adulthood. Thus when you reconnect to your younger self – you are able to heal those wounds/ look back to the happy days of childhood to give you the will to get through difficult situations now.

A great way to connect with your youthful side is to have a conversation with your younger self or to write a letter. Additionally, journaling from your inner child’s thoughts/ voice can help you reconnect and discover more about who you truly are. Question what your inner child needs from you at this moment and if they need protection then give yourself that. This practice actually makes you understand yourself better and make some advantageous changes in your life.

In nurturing your inner child – you are able to heal past wounds and overall, you get a better understanding of who you are. To an extent, this inner child work can make you have a more self-caring relationship and you are able to ‘parent’ yourself (nurture and take care of). The suppressed emotions you may have from your childhood could hold you back and lead to self-sabotaging behavior in adulthood.

Why use the term ‘inner child’ when your adult self and your childhood self are the same people? Well, that’s because as adults we are prone to be more hard on ourselves and less forgiving. Imagining an inner child can ease our judgments on events or situations that have previously occurred.

Getting in touch with your younger self is like seeing and understanding more of your subconscious mind. You begin to understand why you behave the way you do and where your patterns stem from. When you embrace your inner child – you embrace yourself as a whole. When you heal your inner child – you heal your adult self.

To add to this, embracing the activities that gave you joy as a child can bring more joy and vitality into your life now. Whether those activities were painting, drawing, or playing with lego – they brightened up your world in the past and surely can now. Life as an adult does not have to be dull and monotonous.

Practice the things that brought you joy in childhood and don’t listen to those that say you are too old to do certain things – they are most likely dealing with their own insecurities and reflecting them back on you.

Viewing life through childlike wonder can really make you live more fully and engage with your environment and the present moment more. When you let your inner child come out to play – you will find yourself trying new things, learning more, and being open to the possibilities in the world that adulthood has tried to scare you away from.

I hope you will try to do at least one thing you loved as a child today and take note of how it makes you feel like an adult. Reconnecting to that part of your conscious mind that seems too far back to have an impact in the now will do nothing more than bring a multitude of new life experiences.

Live life through your childlike state of mind, with wonder and possibility.