With the holidays just past, there can be many mixed emotions that arose or are arising in us. If we went back to spend the holidays with our families and feelings of anxiety and irritability arose, it could be memories of feeling wounded by them in our childhood. Here are some strategies to heal our wounded inner child.
Journaling. First it is helpful to write down all painful memories you have from your childhood. It is okay to write down pleasant ones as well. Think of it as a free write and you are dumping as many memories as you can down on the page. Once you have it written down, read it back over to find common themes. This is where you can draw parallels and identify how they relate to current hurts.
Write letter to childhood self. What do you wish someone had told you when you were really struggling as a child? What advice would have been helpful? What would you childhood self be so pleasantly surprised to know about you present self? Writing a typed or handwritten letter can be so therapeutic. Keep it safe to reference whenever your inner child is hurting.
Inner child meditation videos. I use many inner child meditation videos in my sessions with clients to help them get into the reflective zone. Here is my current favorite one. Warning: the music is really cheesy but it works wonders!
Therapy. Therapy can be very beneficial to identify inner child wounds and how to heal them. Find a therapist that specializes in inner child healing.
Inner child play activities. When our inner child is wounded, we need to check in on them every once in a while. The best way to do this is through activities that brought us joy as a child. This could be playing with Legos, going to get your favorite ice cream at Rite Aid, doodling/art, watching childhood favorite movie, the list could go on! Think back on your go-to childhood play activity and try and see how it feels to engage in it! I will be writing a full post on this next week, so check back if you’re feeling stuck on this!
Helpful Healer 