Ep 23: Healing Your Inner Child: My recent (cougaring) Dating Lesson!

Send us Fan MailThat voice inside your head telling you something feels off? It might be your inner child trying to protect you from making painful mistakes. In this deeply personal episode, I share how a seemingly perfect romantic connection triggered a surprising healing journey that saved me from potential heartbreak.After 20 years of marriage followed by dating in my 40s, I found myself experiencing an electric connection with a younger man. Despite our incredible chemistry, aligned worldviews, and mutual respect, my body kept sending intense anxiety signals whenever we weren't together. During one sleepless night beside him, my inner child spoke with startling clarity: "I feel like you're going to hurt me. I feel like you're going to abandon me."What unfolded was an unexpectedly perfect example of how inner child healing work can protect us when we listen to those internal warnings. Though brief, this dating experience revealed how childhood abandonment wounds still influenced my adult relationships - and how acknowledging them allowed me to make choices aligned with my true needs rather than temporary desires.The beauty in this story isn't just about avoiding heartbreak. It reveals how far I've come in my healing journey, having moved from someone who once told her inner child to "shut up" before making life-altering mistakes, to someone who can hear, honor, and protect that vulnerable part of myself. For Black women especially, this inner child work creates sacred space for self-compassion in a world that often denies us gentleness.Whether you're dating, healing from past trauma, or simply trying to understand why certain situations trigger intense emotions, this episode offers practical journal prompts and visualization techniques to help you connect with your inner child. Because sometimes the wisest guide for your future is the part of you that still remembers what it felt like to be small and unprotected.📚MY BOOK📚Grace, Actually: Faith, Love, Loss & Black Womanhood🔗 https://amzn.to/2I2uqBE💌SIGN UP FOR MY SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER! 💌https://outheretrynasurvive.substack.com/📧 BUSINESS INQUIRIES📧[email protected]💻MY WEBSITE💻🔗 https://outheretrynasurvive.com⚡️CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL⚡️📲INSTAGRAM -https://www.instagram.com/grace_sandra_📲TIK-TOK - https://www.tiktok.com/@OutHereTrynaSurvive📲FACEBOOK -https://www.facebook.com/gracesandrawrites📲TWITTER - https://mobile.twitter.com/Grace_Sandra_🖇AFFILIATE INFO🖇Affiliate Links included. I only recommend products & services I use myself & love. Using affiliate links helps me & is no extra cost to you.🎗SUPPORT🎗💐Support here: https://www.patreon.com/GraceSandra🎶MUSIC🎶All music & permissions provided by: Epidemic Sound.🔗 https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/vm2l9Support the show