The Clingy Child Of The Past
As an adult, whenever someone assigns the term ‘childish’ to you, more often than not, it is an insult. A child has no space in the complex adult world. A child is not equipped to effectively meet the requirements of an adult word. But what happens when a grown-up person is controlled by the child version of themselves?
Characteristics that we usually attribute to ignorant children will be attached to them. When a person is controlled by their inner child, we see them behaving badly in a manner that is unacceptable in the grown-up world. These individuals do not have the tools to deal with and process their own emotions in a healthy manner and they come off as immature. This grown children are constantly overwhelmed by the adult world and often makes the wrong decisions in their life. They dig a deeper grave that they are in no way equipped to escape from. We all have an inner child that sometimes takes control of us. It’s okay to slip up. But when your life becomes the inner child’s playground, you will notice more and more parts of your life falling apart and feel helpless.
The inner child refers to the side of us that was wounded in our childhood and never got a chance to heal. The injuries of our inner children are all different. For some, it could be a deeply traumatic event like sexual abuse and for some, it could be growing up with a distant parent. Whatever the reasons are, there was something in our younger years that affected our inner child deeply and we never actually recovered from that. The inner child grows sulkier and sulkier as you continue to ignore them and will keep trying to get your attention by messing up the different aspects of your life.
Your inner child is not someone you should hate, they are you but from a more painful, vulnerable and innocent time. In order for them to move on and grow up, they need to feel seen and comforted. You can acknowledge them by any means you think is right. Inner child therapy sessions will help you to connect with the lost child within you, talking to them, bringing in harmony with them and coming back to being an adult as a better person.