by Marina McLaughlin
Are you stuck in an exhausting cycle of trauma and hurt? It can be challenging to heal and move on to a new chapter, especially if you haven’t addressed an important aspect of your past: your inner child. Liberation Healing Seattle therapist Canh Tran specializes in inner child work, and has highlighted the importance of assessing the crucial care you didn’t receive or experience growing up. Tran states that doing so allows you to heal the wounds and pain you may have experienced in your childhood.
It may be overwhelming to revisit old wounds, but healing your inner child can help you fully move forward from a painful past. So if you want to recover mentally, here’s how you can heal from your childhood experiences:
Acknowledge your own emotions
It’s much easier to set aside negative emotions from the past. However, the first step in inner child work is accepting the feelings you have neglected since childhood.
It’s no surprise that our article on Simple, Effective Ways to Boost Your Mood highlights that being aware of your own emotions can improve your well-being and your relationships. Your awareness of your feelings will serve as your key to controlling your own emotions. Thus, it’s recommended that you build your self-awareness by defining what you’re feeling or even just spotting the physical signs of extreme emotions. Instead of distracting yourself from these feelings, try to give your inner child a chance to express these emotions so that you can properly regulate them afterwards.
Pursue hobbies that you like
Aside from acknowledging the emotions of your inner child, you also have to give yourself the chance to pursue activities that you loved or even wanted to try as a child.
Very well Mind suggests stress-relieving activities for your inner child, like singing your favorite songs from childhood. You can also go back to your artistic roots and draw your favorite experiences and emotions. If you had to set aside your hobbies when you were a child, this is the perfect time to honor your inner child’s desires and do the activities you’ve always wanted to do.
Seek help from professionals
More adults are trying to build better relationships with themselves and their loved ones through inner child therapy and other forms of treatment.
As a result, there’s a high demand for remote nurse practitioners in New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and other states who can help people get accessible behavioral health treatment. These nurse practitioners can remotely guide patients through healing their inner child with behavioral health services, like therapy and family counseling. You can work with your NP to revisit experiences from your past in your preferred safe space, and they can then provide tried and tested techniques that can help you address your mental health concerns.
Find new caregivers for your inner child
Parents are considered the primary caregivers of children. But now that you’re an adult, you can find a new caregiver that can provide safety and love for your inner child.
These new caregivers could be anyone, including a beloved grandparent or even yourself. Stop Abuse Campaign suggests learning to self-parent your inner child by doing regular self-care activities and celebrating your little wins. If your boundaries were violated when you were young, you could protect your inner child by avoiding people and actions that can harm you. The key here is to find someone who can care for you in a way your parents couldn’t do.
Though you cannot change your childhood, you can heal from your past by addressing your inner child. Try to acknowledge your past emotions and desires so that you can start a better chapter moving forward.
