Have you ever wondered what that little voice in your head is? Have you ever tried to figure out what it is – that voice that has been speaking to you ever since you became conscious of your existence?
That is your inner child talking to you. Your inner child has been part of you from the day you were born and will stay with you forever.
However, as we grow older, we experience many things that harm our inner child and suppress it.
This article is for those of us who, along the way, have had our inner child harmed but are seeking ways to heal our inner child.
I will provide a few comprehensive tips on how to heal your inner child. So let’s get into it.
What Is The Inner Child Theory?
Psychologist Carl Jung purportedly coined the Inner Child Theory in the twentieth century. Carl Jung did not believe humans come into this world as a “clean slate.”
Some of his contemporaries and philosophers before him theorized that when we are born, we come to this world with nothing — no thoughts, no mind of our own, and so on.
They believed that we only begin to develop our own minds when we contact the material world.
However, Carl Jung rejected this theory and proposed that humans already had “something” within their subconscious minds before coming into this world.
This “something” gradually grows into the conscious mind in the physical world. According to him, that is the main driving force that shapes our behavior and character.
In more precise terms, the inner child theory is that human beings were not born into this world unconscious of their existence. Instead, they were born with an inner child.
This inner child first exists in the subconscious mind. Still, as the individual interacts with the physical world, the inner child switches to the conscious mind, staying with the individual forever.
15 Ways To Heal Your Inner Child
When some people grow older, they tend to put their past behind them. However, it is often difficult for most of these people to do so because of the unpleasant experiences they had while growing up.
These unpleasant experiences often hurt the inner child, making it difficult to forget their past. Understanding how to heal your inner child can take quite a while, but the process is rewarding.
Below are fifteen ways to heal your inner child:
1. Acknowledge That There’s An Inner Child
Whether you fancy the inner child theory or not, you have to acknowledge that the little voice you have been hearing in your head all your life could mean much more than you imagined.
Have you ever remembered a particular childhood experience, and you felt the same way as when you first had the experience as a child?
Have you ever wondered why this happens? This is because a part of you never leaves — no matter how old you become.
So something has to be responsible for making you feel that way, and that thing is most likely your inner child.
Hence in understanding how to heal your inner child, you must first acknowledge that you have one. You have to accept that your inner child is the reason why you cannot let go of an unpleasant experience you had as a child.
And you are not alone. Many people have tried to heal from the past, but they first acknowledged their inner child.
2. Listen To Your Inner Child
When you acknowledge that your inner child is still present within you, you will feel less hurt about your childhood experiences. However, it does not end there.
The next step you must take is to listen to your inner child. Most often than not, our inner child has an important message to pass to us, but because we fail to acknowledge its presence, we may never get this message.
Children are known as the most adorable creatures who are highly compassionate, kind, loving, and caring.
On the other hand, children who become unkind, cruel, and violent adults are probably that way because of the society or environment they grew up in.
Hence, this is the primary reason we often feel bad or guilty when we do something against our moral values. When you think that way, your inner child is trying to speak to you.
If you listen, you will most likely make efforts to correct the wrong things you have done.
3. Open A Dialogue With Your Inner Child
To heal your inner child, you have to have a conversation with it. Let me give you an example. Imagine you had a fallout with a very close friend. For years, you did not see or speak to each other.
Before the fallout, everything had been great. You went out together, shared your goals and aspirations, and were best buddies. However, things changed after the misunderstanding.
Years later, you both felt the need to reconcile and decided to do so. However, for a reconciliation to happen — mainly because you two were very close pals — you must meet in person and have a heartfelt conversation.
This is what needs to happen when you learn to heal your inner child. It would be best to have an open dialogue with that little voice that has not changed within you.
You must be ready to pay keen attention to what your inner child wants. On the other hand, as an adult, you should make efforts to balance your past childhood experiences and your current reality.
Once that is successfully achieved, you are on your way to healing your inner child.
4. Try Meditative Practices
Meditation can help you achieve many things in life, especially improving your mental health. One of the ways to heal your inner child is by engaging in meditative practices.
When you meditate, you try to put yourself in a position where you can create a mental balance while checking your emotions.
For example, you can deeply think of your unpleasant childhood experiences during a meditative session.
At that point where your mind is elevated, you can quickly try to heal those memories without being overly emotional.
5. Replicate Your Happy Childhood Memories
Remembering your happy childhood memories does not only help to heal your inner child, but it also provides an opportunity to replicate them.
When you reenact those happy moments you had as a child, it can act as a reminder that despite everything, your childhood wasn’t all bleak.
That way, you could come to an understanding that the painful, unpleasant, and traumatic experiences of your childhood were a part of life.
6. Be At Peace With Yourself
Being at peace with yourself teaches you how to heal your inner child. No matter the stage you are in right now in life, you need to find peace.
When you are at peace with yourself, you feel less hurt about what had happened in the past and become more open to healing your inner child.
You can do a lot of things to find peace. Some of these include:
- Sharing your burdens with someone you trust
- Trying out meditation
- Loving yourself more than ever
- Having a positive outlook on life
- Reading good, uplifting books or articles
- Showing kindness and compassion to others
You will live a less troubled life and connect with your healing inner child when you do things that bring you peace.
7. Be Open To Letting The Wound Heal
Have you ever heard about hypnosis? If you haven’t, it is a therapeutic way of healing sick people by making them extraordinarily calm and more willing to be healed.
One of the most famous examples of how hypnosis induces healing occurred in twentieth-century Russia. Russian monk Rasputin purportedly healed Alexei Romanov — son of Tsar Nicholas II — from hemophilia through hypnosis.
It was reported that Alexei had been bleeding profusely until Rasputin intervened. After he was hypnotized, the bleeding stopped completely, and the boy who looked like he was going to die was back on his feet.
I shared this story to make a point about Alexei’s willingness to let himself get hypnotized and subsequently healed.
When you are willing to let your inner child heal, there is a high possibility that the process will be fast and effective.
The truth is, the unpleasant experiences you had as a child will somehow create an emotional wound within you. Such damage could last for years and even a lifetime.
Since you cannot nurse the wound through any physical means, the only way to do so is to open your mind to let the wound heal.
8. Seek Therapy If Needed
Some people find it extremely difficult to allow their inner child to heal. While many reasons could cause this, the trauma they suffered during childhood is often the primary cause.
Therefore, when you are learning how to heal your inner child, and nothing seems to work, the most suitable option is to see a therapist.
Therapists are professionals who have probably been in the field for years and know how to help you get past such trauma. So don’t be afraid to do it when it is perhaps the only option you have; seek therapy.
Note that while not all therapists can help, there are excellent ones out there. Ask for recommendations from people around you. If you feel uncomfortable with the doctor, you can always change therapists.
9. Be Less Reactive To Situations
Learning how to heal your inner child requires you to show a high level of self-discipline.
It would be best to know how to react less to certain situations — especially those that trigger the unpleasant experiences you had during childhood.
In this case, being calm and patient plays a key role. For example, suppose you experienced bullying in school and were at the receiving end. Years later, as an adult, you regret not fighting back while being bullied.
However, the anger and frustration remain in your mind for many years. Now, as an employee in a top business organization, you notice that some of your colleagues display the tendency of being corporate bullies.
As a result, you may act overly aggressive and perhaps punch one of your colleagues in the face. This could lead to disciplinary action. Of course, I am not saying it is not a great idea to fight back.
Still, there are other ways to retaliate without being overly aggressive. When you are less reactive to situations, you will find different ways to settle problems without doing more damage to your inner child.
Being less reactive is a sign that you acknowledge your traumatic past but are willing to let yourself heal.
10. Avoid Destructive Coping Mechanisms
Thus far, this article has shown several ways to heal your inner child. However, there are many more ways to attempt to do so that are not included.
Some of those ways are destructive and would only cause further damage. People who have healed or are healing follow the suitable methods.
For some others, to avoid being haunted by their traumatic pasts, they resort to destructive coping mechanisms that harm them further. Some of these harmful methods include:
- Heavy consumption of alcohol to forget about their pains
- Intake of hard drugs and other mind-altering substances to escape reality
- Becoming involved in crime and violence as a form of retaliation
- Becoming the bullies they once despised
While these acts would make the individual feel great about themselves, the feelings are short-lived and destructive. They may have drastic impacts on their health or lead them to their early graves.
11. Let Your Inner Critic Become Your Motivator
In learning how to heal your inner child, you must be willing to make that tiny voice in your head an ally.
One of the reasons people experience emotional trauma is because they continue to let the voice in their head blame them for what happened.
For example, a child who was sexually assaulted would blame themselves for such an experience. This could make them live in trauma all their lives.
Also, they may begin to think that the tiny voice is there to make them feel less confident and depressed. Well, you must now realize that you can turn that inner critic into one of your biggest motivators.
So rather than letting it flood your mind with negative thoughts, make it motivate you with positive words and affirmations each day.
Remember, you are your inner child, and your inner child is you — you can control the voice within.
12. Roll Back The Years With Childhood Friends
One of the best ways to heal your inner child is to roll back the years with friends you grew up with.
Those people you shared beautiful memories with as a child play a key role in shaping your life as an adult.
So, when you realize that you are still hurt from past childhood experiences, do the best you can to reenact the beautiful moments.
You can take a step today and call your childhood friends to propose a get-together at the beach or go to a concert together.
Seeing them again would make you feel great and remember the beautiful memories you all had as kids.
13. Pen A Heartwarming Letter To Your Inner Child
Learning how to heal your inner child is a challenging but gratifying process. One of the ways to do so is to start seeing your inner child as a part of you.
However, because you are trying to come to terms with it, it means it is a part of you that has been “away” from you for a long time, probably due to “a misunderstanding.”
Therefore, as a sign that you are willing to reconcile with your inner child, you can write a heartfelt letter to it.
This letter must be written by you and must be read, assuming that you are your inner child. You will most likely find peace in your heart when you do this.
14. Let Go Of The Unpleasant Past
Stop clinging to the past, especially the sad moments you had. Stop holding on to the traumatic experiences and stop letting them define you.
If you want help with letting go of the past, you can refer to this article here for pointers and tips to make it easier.
Start hoping, start living, start choosing your narrative. This is the way to heal your inner child to have a better life in the future. When you stick to the painful memories of your past, you tend to hurt your inner child.
There is no way it can heal when it is constantly injured. Forgetting about the unpleasant past can make you find peace and look for ways to heal your inner child.
15. Be Grateful For Being Able To Consider Healing Your Inner Child
Not everyone acknowledges their inner child. Some who have experienced childhood trauma do not realize they still have unpleasant flashbacks because they haven’t recognized their inner child.
Except you are lucky, it is almost impossible to heal your inner child without first acknowledging it.
Hence, you must be grateful that you have recognized your inner child and more thankful that you are now learning to heal your inner child.
Your inner child is a nonphysical entity that lives with you forever. It is responsible for evoking the same feelings from thirty years ago when you perceive a distinct smell.
When you visit a location you had been to before, or when you have great times with your childhood friends as an adult.
Your inner child is also responsible for the hurt you may feel after remembering the painful experiences you had as a child.
When you have unpleasant flashbacks that feel haunting and make you feel very uncomfortable, it is mainly because your inner child has been hurt.
Conclusion
Luckily, there are specific steps to take to heal your inner child. Although the process may not be easy, it is worthwhile. Hence, the main reason why I have written this article.
I have provided comprehensive tips that can assist you in healing your inner child and help you find lasting peace. I truly hope that for all your past struggles and pain, your inner child truly heals. Best of luck!
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