Healing your Inner Child

This week’s blog post is by Ridhwaana, 2nd year rep.

My drawing was inspired by someone I found on Instagram who made a rather interesting Tiktok on signs for Inner Child Healing and I decided to look into it. In fancy terms, your inner child is a semi-independent subpersonality subordinate to the conscious waking mind. In simple terms, it is the child YOU, the YOU that makes you want to still have cuddles from your parents or still likes to play with Lego ( I mean what's wrong with that). Your inner child is just a part of you and it is definitely supposed to be there! That's how all those happy memories from your childhood have impacted on you and moulded you the way it does now. You can either detach from your inner child as you grow more mature or feel completely immersed in that personality. Being in touch with your inner child is not always bad but when you've faced some trauma or was raised in very difficult environments as a child, it may mean that your inner child is wounded.

Here are some signs that your inner child needs healing:

People pleasing Perfectionism Fear of isolation/abandonment Not feeling good enough Self critical Staying in toxic relationships Feeling responsible for other people's emotions Comparison Avoiding conflict Feeling you need to be 'fixed'

Remember that even if you relate to some or more of these points, does not mean you are mentally ill or that your inner child needs to be necessarily healed. These are just some of the factors found in many people who feel they are often 'childish' or 'immature' or have been told by their family or friends that they have those personality tropes. Healing your inner child is a process but is definitely doable. Don't ignore your child self and the way they felt at the time. Acknowledge those emotions and memories whether they are good or bad and look forward knowing that you are amazing and resilient the way you are because of your child-self!

Check out @itskellyspino on insta for more.

Ridhwaana