 Have you heard of the concept of inner child? The inner child concept was created by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist who described your inner child as a part of your subconscious that recalls all of your past experiences and what you felt when that event happened. The good and the traumatizing. When your inner child is wounded, the negative emotions they cause you to feel can seep into present day and impact your daily activities and relationships. A great example is Rapunzel. Having a narcissistic parent like mother Gothel taught Rapunzel and her inner child that she is an intelligent, she can't do anything without her mother and she can't do anything right. Had Rapunzel not escaped the tower and experienced the world her way, she would have grown to be a woman with that wounded inner child who still believed those awful things about herself and stayed locked in that tower. This is exactly what can happen when your wounded inner child isn't cared for. Have you been noticing your mental health dragging lately? This could be your inner child trying to tell you that they're wounded and it's time to let some of the crap go. So let's talk about five ways you can begin to care for your wounded inner child. Be sure to watch until the end for a little disclaimer on this topic. Number one, re-parenting. When there's a child, there's typically someone in a parenting role to teach and nurture them. In her YouTube video, How to Heal the Inner Child, Dr. Nicole Lepera explains how learning to be that strong, wise parent you wish you had can help care for your wounded inner child. Let's say you're really anxious about a medical procedure coming up and you can't seem to think about anything else. You feel the anxiety and fear consuming you. But what do you do? You can practice re-parenting your wounded inner child. How? Well, imagine a younger version of you standing in front of you and say what you would have wanted to hear from your caregiver. Maybe it goes like, hey kiddo, I know you're pretty scared about your procedure today. It's absolutely valid to be afraid since you're not sure what to expect, but you have to be brave. This will help you to be healthy and live a long life. The holistic psychologist suggests acknowledging the emotion being felt rather than dismissing or criticizing it. At first it might seem weird, but with practice, parenting your inner child will become easier and the wound may begin to heal too. Number two, earning trust when your inner child is wounded. Chances are it's because you've been taught bad lessons or told lies throughout your actual childhood. As Carl Jung details in his book, Healing the Inner Child. The inner child is a piece of our conscious mind. Whether it's to look both ways before crossing the road or not speak when dad is in the room, our conscious mind uses these lessons to help us shape our outlooks as adults. Think back to our friend, Ms. Rapunzel and mother Gothel. Mother of the Year over here basically told her kid she needs to be locked up for life to be safe because she's so weak, stupid and gullible. After all of the negativity, Rapunzel's inner child believed that she was better off locked away. In reality, Rapunzel knows her way around a frying pan and can take care of herself. When you approach the inner child as that wise inner parent, you need to show them it's okay to trust you by providing healthy advice for Rapunzel that might sound like, you are smart, strong and brave. You have plenty to share with this world. It sounds a lot better than being locked away in a tower, am I right? Number three, explore the past. If your inner child is wounded enough to be giving you some mental grief, you can assume that they've been through a lot of trauma in the past. In the book, Recovery of Your Inner Child by Lucia Cappuccioni, they suggest calling on your inner child to help uncover all types of memories and even some to help explain your trauma or triggers. One method Cappuccioni suggests is calling on your inner child. Grab a piece of paper and something to write with, that can even be a crayon and put it in your non-dominant hand and draw a time your inner child was truly happy or truly upset. This can be a full-blown picture or symbols that remind you of that time and why you may have held on to certain emotions. Another option can be writing a letter of forgiveness to your parent, caregiver, for any trauma you experienced. This can help recover lost memories or create closure in a situation where there may not be any. The step is best done with a mental health professional to help navigate this exercise safely and to help unpack anything that comes up. Number four, confront childhood trauma lies. Sometimes trauma can come from things you were told from your caregiver. These can be lies about you, your thoughts and opinions or even your actions. They may not necessarily be true, but you were taught that they are fact licensed clinical social worker and YouTuber, Patrick T. Han, breaks down some of these lines in his video, Six Lies from Childhood Trauma 2022. Some examples are, the real you isn't acceptable or people don't wanna get to know you. In adulthood, these lies can cause you to be a people pleaser and to downplay your likes and opinions or feel ashamed of yourself. Anyone remember the movie Black Swan? You have a 20-something young adult Nina living with mom in New York City. With those rent prices, okay, I get it, but mother keeps telling her that she's basically incapable of doing anything without her. Not cool and not true. When these lies come up, Patrick tells us it's best to identify the source of the words. Is this something you say and believe or is this something you've been conditioned to believe from a caregiver? And number five, be mindful. It can be really easy to get wrapped up in old habits, especially when you're trying to create new ones. Believe me. Say you have a parent with very narcissistic tendencies. It may be a daily uphill battle to not act like them when in a parenting or authoritative role. However, it may be a bit easier when they're being mindful of their actions, thoughts and words. Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen master and author explains that the first function of mindfulness is for us to open our awareness enough to recognize those unhealthy thoughts, words, actions and patterns. Through this way of thinking, you can also become aware of your inner child and what they need to continue healing. How do you do this? Just think before you speak and act. When you make a point to ask yourself if this is a healthy act, it becomes easier to identify and stop unhealthy behaviors. This one is kind of tricky because it can be really discouraging when you realize you're falling into the same patterns, but be patient and kind with yourself. It's just like any other skill. You have to work at it to be good at it. And it's okay to ask for help along the way from loved ones, a trusted teacher or a mental health professional. Unfortunately, it's true what they say. History does repeat itself and a wounded inner child can be the root cause of this cycle. It's time to break it. This is something that may never be totally cured, but it will help to heal both your trauma and your wounded inner child. How else can you care for a wounded inner child to promote healing? Let us know down below. As always, keep an eye on site for more Psych2Go content. Until next time.