How to connect with your inner child during times of stress
We all get tired of the suits and ties, 401ks and mortgages. Every now and again, we desperately need to reconnect with our inner child.
Sometimes, this is easy. Adult color books are proof of a cultural shift towards valuing your inner child rather than ignoring them. During good times, it can be easy to be creative, laugh a lot, and be surrounded by your loved ones.
But when you’re stressed, it’s harder to connect with that side of you that never grew up. It’s hard to be a child when adult pressures are pushing in, but it’s still healthy (and fun!) to get in touch with your younger self.
Why?
Life is hard, and oftentimes the person that gets hurt the most is our inner child. We all carry some wounds from our childhood. They don’t have to be serious or traumatic to make an impact on our adulthood (although some certainly are).
When we take care of our inner child, we’re taking care of our adult selves by forgiving who we were in the past and appreciating them fully. We’re able to move on from the childish desires and impulses that still control us today.
Plus, there’s so much good that can come from getting in touch with your inner child. Creativity, joy, love, excitement, and many other emotions were at our purest as a child.
How?
- Write to your younger self
- Get creative
- Give lots and lots of hugs
- Pet an animal
- Face what might have hurt you. Write about your pain, fear, or anxieties from the perspective of your inner child (your most true, unfiltered self). Let all the emotions and words come as they are and accept them with love.
You cannot change the past but you can work to honor your inner child today.
