Reparenting the Inner Child

So many adults have suffered from childhood trauma. Being a child did not feel safe, and they had to grow up quickly. As adults, they remain distant from their inner child. Still, the inner child is always looking out through the peephole of your heart, the window of your survivor's eyes, and the crack in your pain. Just because you can’t see in doesn’t mean they can’t see out. The inner child sees what you are committed to, feels what you use as a distraction, and hears every thought. Time is always ticking. The field of research called “adverse childhood experiences” indicates ten common childhood experiences that, combined, negatively affect the adult experience. Those experiences include non-contact experiences of the child, such as single parenting, mental disturbances, imprisonment, domestic violence, and direct physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. The more adverse experiences an adult endures during childhood, the more likely they are to have heavy mental and physical health burdens. Adults exposed to four or more adverse childhood experiences have considerably more difficulties than those with less than four. Those with four or more are far more likely to have severe health conditions, higher than average mental health visits each year, and an increase in broken relationships. The inner child has a place in our adult lives. Becoming childlike (not childish) is the most adult thing we can do on the healing journey. People who are childlike laugh more, are more active, risk more, and are more carefree. They are more at ease with uncertainty. Think about a skill or talent you developed in childhood. That talent is connected to your inner child. Maybe it’s time to pick it back up. It may help you become conscious of your inner child.