How’s your inner child?

About 15 years ago, I was introduced to the concept of the inner child.  This internal part of your psyche that for whatever reason didn’t grow up with the rest of you. The idea of inner child is from well known psychologist Carl Jung.  The inner child expresses itself through emotions, cravings and habitual patterns of behavior.  Have you ever witnessed a grown person have a temper tantrum?  This is the unhealed inner child.  The inner child also has many positive traits such as creativity, playfulness and joy.  Tapping into your inner child reveals areas that need healing and areas where you just need to let loose and have some fun.

My first encounter with my inner child was when I was working with a massage therapist who was also an intuitive healer.  A well of emotion came to the surface during a massage, a sobbing, hyperventilating situation occurred. I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of emotion that was inside of me.  The healer started talking to my inner child, asking her what she needed.  Words came out of my mouth as if another person were speaking.  My inner child felt sad and alone, she wanted my attention.  She had needs that hadn’t been met. The healer spoke to my inner child in a soothing, loving way and paved a path for adult me to communicate with my inner child.  I agreed to give the child what she needed, although in retrospect, I realize how naive I was, thinking once I give my inner child what it needs, I will be done and will no longer be paralyzed by embarrassing, hyperventilating emotion again. 

I left my massage, feeling lighter than I had in many years.   Holding in all of that suppressed emotion took up so much energy and space inside me.  For the next several weeks, I took the healer’s advice, checking in with my inner child asking her what she needed and wanted.  This lead to many pb&j sandwiches, chips and dip, and burgers with fries.  I thought if I attended to her needs, gave her what she wanted, she would soon be satisfied and I would be forever healed. 

Little did I know there was much more to healing and attending to the inner child than eating favorite childhood foods.  Over the last 8 weeks, I have been studying Childhood Regressions in my hypnotherapy training.  The theory is that negative childhood events cause emotions and beliefs about our selves, these emotions and beliefs get suppressed and play out in our adult lives leading to dysfunctional behaviors and symptoms.  Going back to the memory (Initial Sensitizing Event or ISE) through hypnotic regression , people can process those unhealed emotions, reframe the beliefs, and basically be free from the dysfunctions, behaviors and symptoms they caused.  The transformations that happen through this work are nothing short of miraculous.

Even if you had the healthiest childhood, growing up with loving, attentive parents, there is often unresolved hurt, fear and anger from unprocessed childhood feelings. There is also untapped joy, creativity, and freedom you can experience when connecting to your inner child. Getting to know your inner child is extremely beneficial to our overall mental health and happiness.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a therapist was “the most important relationship you have is with yourself.”  Part of being in relationship is getting to know everything about a person, the same holds true for yourself.  Getting to know yourself includes connecting with your inner child, learning what it needs and wants and most importantly listening to it, like you would a friend.  Our inner child has a lot to teach us.

Feel the need to lighten up or tap into free spirited joy? 

Come play with your inner child during Yoga Nidra tonight 7 pm MDT!

Register at www.calmwavewellness.com or email me at kirstengoliver@gmail.com.