Reconnecting With One’s Inner Child Through Therapy

Thrive • Oct 23, 2023

The concept of the inner child maintains that everyone has an element of their personality associated with their childhood self. If a person has unresolved trauma that occurred in their youth, their inner child is likely wounded which can negatively affect their well-being. By reintegrating with one’s inner child in a healing, therapeutic way, an individual can renew their most positive childlike characteristics. As a result, they can fully embrace their senses of creativity, enthusiasm, and authenticity, enhancing their overall quality of life as an adult.

WHAT IS THE INNER CHILD?

An idea that can be traced back to ancient history, the inner child phenomenon was notably explored by 19th- and 20th-century psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. The inner child refers to the manifestations of a person’s youthful experiences in adulthood. The term describes a person’s childhood selves at various ages and the ways those selves may be continuing to affect their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

WHAT IS A WOUNDED INNER CHILD?

John Bradshaw , a counselor who helped popularize the idea of the inner child, proposed that childhood, in its most natural state, is characterized by specific traits, including:

Wonderment
Optimism
Resilience
Playfulness
Authenticity

According to Bradshaw, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) , or potentially traumatic events occurring in one’s early years, can emotionally injure the inner child and interfere with these traits. When an individual’s inner child is harmed, the natural traits of youth can be curtailed, affecting psychological development. Bradshaw suggests that a wounded inner child can contribute to:

Co-dependency: Characterized by a loss of identity and a disconnect with one’s internal cues, a person struggling with codependency may have an inner child traumatized by unmet needs in their developmental years.
Violent behavior: Often resulting from unresolved abuse, an individual may assert power over others that they did not have as a child.
Narcissism: Typically occurring in adults who were denied love as a child, those struggling with narcissism generally have an insatiable desire for love.
Trust difficulties: Possibly stemming from untrustworthy parenting, individuals with difficulties trusting others may feel the need to control as many aspects as possible of their lives.
Difficulty managing emotions : A person with unresolved childhood trauma may have difficulty regulating their emotions when triggered by something that reminds them of their trauma.

THERAPEUTIC HEALING FOR AN INJURED INNER CHILD

Experts believe that the inner child is one element of an individual’s personality. The therapeutic process can help clients understand different aspects of their personality and discover ways to consciously integrate them in healthy ways. Through therapy, a person can reconnect their inner child and overcome any of its destructive expressions.

This reintegration with one’s inner child can involve reforming damaging thought patterns that originated in one’s youth. In their early years, individuals develop core beliefs about the world around them, often in response to stressors. The ways of thinking become so ingrained that they filter a person’s entire external experience. By analyzing a client’s inner conversation in therapy, the clinician and client can begin to reshape the automatic thoughts which can, in turn, alter how the individual processes their emotions and participates in the world around them.

Additionally, therapy can help a person renew their relationship with their inner child by guiding them in grieving unresolved traumatic experiences. Through therapeutic guidance, an individual can process painful memories from their youth and care for their inner child. In doing so, they can revitalize natural childhood qualities such as imagination, inspiration, and spontaneity as an adult.

NURTURING THE INNER CHILD AT THRIVE WELLNESS

Thrive Wellness clinicians are practiced in therapeutic modalities that guide clients in processing past trauma and healing their inner child, including:

By helping individuals explore the ways childhood experiences manifest in adulthood, our clinicians support clients in tending to their inner child and reconnecting with their youthful traits by encouraging increased curiosity, creativity, and authenticity. Reach out to learn more about our mental and behavioral health services.

The post Reconnecting With One’s Inner Child Through Therapy first appeared on Thrive Wellness.

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Clean House, Healthy Mind: Spring Cleaning Benefits for Mental Health

By Sage Tippie • 23 Apr, 2024

Spring Cleaning Benefits for Mental Health Spring is a time of new beginnings, change, and transitions, including in our homes. With the warmer weather kicking motivation into high gear, Spring can be a prime time to do a deep clean. Not only is a clean space aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it can also help to improve your mental health. Learn about how tidying up your space can also tidy up your thoughts below along with tips for cleaning when you’re struggling with your mental health. 4 Reasons Why Cleaning is Beneficial to Mental health 1.Decreased Stress Not only does an uncluttered space provide a sense of calm, but the physical act of cleaning can release feel-good endorphins, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. As you cross tasks off your checklist, your body also releases Dopamine. Also known as the “happy hormone”, Dopamine provides a sense of accomplishment and pride that can promote motivation in other areas of our lives. 2. Improved Focus Studies have shown that an uncluttered space can also lead to an uncluttered mind. Your focus can be drawn away from important tasks by a chaotic, messy space. Research has also shown a connection between procrastination and clutter, as an unwillingness to tackle larger chores like cleaning can translate over into various areas of our lives. By keeping your space tidy, it can inspire you to stay on top of other major tasks like work and school assignments. 3. Regulated Emotions According to this 2015 study , cleaning can function as a practice in mindfulness, providing an increased sense of calm and inspiration. Slowing down while cleaning gives you room to relax and free your mind of burdens, stressors, and irritants that can affect your mental health. Cleaning can even be considered a practice of self-care as the action helps you to connect with yourself and the outcome allows you to better enjoy your own space. 4. Sense of Order and Control When experiencing mental health struggles, people may feel a lack of control over their lives and emotions. Cleaning even small areas of the home can provide an increased sense of order and control as you cross tasks off your to-do list. Through realizing your own power by simply completing minor tasks like cleaning, it can reaffirm your ability to do more. 10 Tips for Cleaning When Struggling with Mental Health Mental health struggles and disorders commonly create barriers to one’s ability to clean and properly practice personal hygiene. Although these behaviors are normal side effects of mental health disorders, we want to work to aid our clients in cleaning to the best of their ability even in difficult times. Below, Thrive Wellness occupational therapist Meadow Deason shares some helpful tips she gives to clients when they struggle with cleaning due to mental health conditions: 1.Ask For Help Having support to clean can make a huge difference. Do the cleaning with the person helping you and have them hold you accountable. 2. Don't Wait for Motivation Motivation might not come before action, but it can build as you begin to see the results of your efforts. 3. Start Small Start with one area or one task and go from there. For example, concentrate on your bedroom first and then move on to the living room and bathroom. 4. Do Something Daily Even if you do only one small cleaning task a day, doing that one task creates momentum and prevents small tasks from building up and becoming overwhelming. 5. Use Sensory Modulation Change your environment by playing music, adjusting the lighting, or using aromatherapy. This can help to put you in a new headspace for cleaning. 6. Start with "High Impact" Tasks Start with more intensive or all-over cleaning tasks such as picking up clutter or doing the dishes. The visual "noise" of some tasks makes a large impact on the entire space, building motivation to continue cleaning. 7. Make a To-Do List Write a detailed to-do list of tasks and cross them off as you go. Physically marking down what you’ve accomplished can promote increased motivation. 8. Reward Yourself Set up a reward system where you reward yourself with a favorite activity or item when you complete a task as an incentive to clean. 9. Use the Rocket Method Don't think about it, just choose a task, countdown from five or ten and then start. This can help you to avoid potential anxiety and dread that can prevent you from cleaning. 10. Gamify Tasks Make up a game for your tasks or time yourself to promote increased engagement in cleaning. Your ability to complete tasks can be affected by a multitude of different factors and conditions including OCD , anxiety, depression , ADHD , and more. If you are struggling with motivation due to your mental health, help is here at Thrive Wellness.

child getting bandaid from doctor while mother smiles

The Importance of Whole Family Primary Care: A Q&A with Dr. Stephanie Wright

26 Mar, 2024

By serving the whole family, physicians are able to have a better understanding of family dynamics, family health care goals, and history of disease in the family.