Inner Child
Many adult children have said they feel like a child in a grown-up body. This is the clue to the Inner Child, but there is much more.
Some adult children experience more than one Inner Child, for example, a five-year-old, a 10-year-old, and an Inner Teenager.
As adults, when we encounter situations that can resemble our childhood experiences, we can lash out at ourselves or others, seemingly for no reason without knowing why. Alternatively, we can withdraw in order to protect ourselves when there is no obvious need to do so.
In recovery we learn to reach out to that wounded child within who will listen if we take the time to build trust and intimacy.
We can learn to experience our Inner Child as joyful and playful. There is a feeling of lightness and great optimism when the Inner Child is active in one’s life. There is trust, spontaneity, and warmth.
Tools for connecting with one’s Inner Child and more about the process can be found in our fellowship text, pp 302-329.
Related information can also be found in “The Loving Parent Guidebook”