Discover 8 powerful self-healing techniques to nurture your inner child, release past wounds, and embrace emotional well-being. Start healing today!
Understanding Inner Self-Healing & the Inner Child
You must’ve heard your friends say things like ‘I’m on a journey to heal inner child’ or ‘I’m nurturing the inner child in me.’ And you must’ve wondered what exactly an inner child is. It is nothing but the part of your mind that holds all the childhood memories and experiences, including the trauma. This aspect of your psyche can be a source of creativity, curiosity, and joy, but it can also hold unresolved trauma, pain, and fear. To truly begin healing inner self, you must heal inner child. The building blocks of inner self-healing are working with your inner child to acknowledge and validate childhood experiences and emotions, release unresolved trauma and pain, reparent and nurture your inner child, integrate fragmented aspects of yourself and cultivate self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-love. Beginning the self-healing process has many benefits, which we will discuss below.
Unlock this guide to heal from emotional trauma with Shubhra Chaturvedi on SoulSensei.
Why Healing Your Inner Child Is Essential for Emotional Well-Being
It is quintessential to heal inner child for emotional well-being because nothing will make you feel better than that. When you work with your inner child, you resolve unresolved trauma. When childhood wounds are left unaddressed, they can continue to affect your emotional well-being, relationships, and overall quality of life. This process also helps you to break free from negative patterns like self-sabotage, low self-esteem, and unhealthy attachment styles. By healing your inner child, you develop self-awareness and self-compassion, helping you better understand your emotions, needs, and desires, giving way to a healthier relationship with yourself. Healing your inner child doesn’t just improve your relationship with yourself but also with those around you. You’ll become more aware of your emotional triggers and needs, leading to more fulfilling and healthy interpersonal relationships. Inner child healing also increases emotional resilience, helping you develop coping strategies to better navigate life’s challenges. If you want to enhance creativity and inspiration, healing your inner child can unlock your creative potential. Lastly, you’ll be able to cultivate self-love and self-acceptance by healing your inner child. You’ll develop a deeper sense of self-love, self-acceptance, and self-worth. With so many benefits, the only question remains: How to start self-healing? Below are eight powerful ways for healing inner self.
- Acknowledge and Validate Your Emotions
The first step in your journey to learning how to self-heal is to acknowledge the presence of your inner child. You must come to terms with all the feelings and emotions that caused you pain in your childhood. Bringing these wounds out to light can help you understand your current behaviours and change them if needed. You must also try to validate your feelings, no matter how difficult.
Navigate your emotions using the RAIN technique in this short session with Dinesh Manchanda.
- Reconnect with Childhood Joys and Creativity
Growing up can be traumatic in itself. All of us need rest and playfulness to be in a good mental headspace. If your childhood lacked positive experiences, make up for it by getting in touch with your playful side. Intentionally make time for fun to help heal the pain of missing out on a happy childhood. It’s important to enjoy small pleasures, like dessert after working out, being silly with your partner or children, and laughing your lungs out with friends. The key is to regularly schedule time for joy to rekindle the positive emotions of youth.
- Practice Self-Compassion and Inner Dialogue
Healing your inner child takes time and effort. Be patient with yourself, and speak to yourself kindly. Acknowledge and validate your difficult emotions instead of suppressing them. Use physical touch like a butterfly hug to show yourself love and compassion. Pay attention to your inner child’s thoughts, feelings and needs and then respond with kindness. Reframe critical inner voices by using kind and compassionate language with yourself.
- Inner Child Meditation and Visualization
Meditation can be a great practice to open yourself up. While meditation in itself is a deeply effective practice, it can help you dig deep within to search for the answers you’ve been looking for all your life. It can help you pay more attention to unwanted emotions and resolve them. Meditation helps you acknowledge any negative feelings that come up in your life. When you get used to accepting emotions as they come, you’ll find it easier to express them in healthy ways. Some great meditation practices for inner child healing are visualisation meditation and loving-kindness meditation. These can prove to be useful tools for picturing your inner child and even “visiting” them as your adult self.
- Journaling for Emotional Release and Reflection
Journaling can be a great way to release your emotional blockages. Write down your feelings from the perspective of your inner child. This will help you recognise unhealthy patterns that began in childhood. You can start by setting your present self aside and channelling your younger self. Keep a photo of you as a child in front of you while journaling to tap into your little self. This will help recall how you felt at the specific age you intend to explore.
- Setting Healthy Boundaries and Practicing Self-Care
Learn to say ‘no’ to people and experiences that drain your energy. Protect yourself by setting limits on relationships and situations that make you uncomfortable. Be vocal about your needs and wants. Prioritise yourself by exercising regularly, consuming nutritious food, learning new skills, pursuing hobbies and spending time in nature.
- Healing Affirmations and Positive Self-Talk
The words you say to yourself every day make a lot of difference. Every word carries a certain vibration. When you use positive words and sentences, you elevate the frequency around you, attracting abundance and positivity. Repeating positive affirmations to yourself like, “I am worthy of love, care, and respect,” and “I release all emotional pain and trauma from my childhood” can improve your self-talk and boost your confidence.
Explore this guide to create powerful affirmations with Prachi Mehta.
- Seeking Support: Therapy, Healing Circles, and Guidance
Sometimes, childhood trauma is deep-seated, and it’s challenging to heal it all by yourself. That’s where professionals and community support can help. They can create a safe space for you to begin navigating this emotional turmoil and learn helpful strategies for healing your inner child.
Conclusion
Unresolved childhood trauma can have a significant impact on your adult life. This makes healing your inner child essential for emotional well-being. You can heal inner child by trying meditations, journaling, acknowledging emotions, improving self-talk, chanting affirmations and seeking support. Learn more about inner healing from experts on SoulSensei.
Sources
Healthline – 8 ways to start healing your inner child. By Crystal Raypole.
