Why Am I Suppressing my Inner Child?

Most of us don’t realize this but we are afraid of our Inner Child-self.

Much of our identities and current “likes” and “dislikes” arose from how our child-self survived its childhood environment.

Nowadays we say things like “I don’t like confrontation” or “I prefer to be a leader rather than a follower” or “I don’t like to be the center of attention” etc…  And we think that we were born with these preferences.

Well, we weren’t.  They arose as survival strategies that our children developed to navigate their childhoods.

So, what exactly is an “Inner Child?”

An “Inner Child” is a child-like sensation that arises with a “triggered” memory or sensation.

Why is this an issue?  Well, memories include a lot of details like smells, tastes, sounds, images, sensations, and even emotional states.  Often these emotional states are brought up in a “mid-state” or “unresolved” state and take us over. 

If this state is fear, this person is usually told they have an “anxiety disorder.”

If this state is anger, well then the person has “anger issues.”

If it is sadness, well that’s called “depression.”

Etc.

Now, mind you, the years of repeated conditioned responses to old memories and sensation now also have correlating brain mechanics that are over-fed and out of balance as well.  But that’s another issue, which is also often solved long term by healing the “Inner-Child” as well as, applied non-judgmental awareness…

So how can I find out if I’m afraid of my Inner-Child?

Well, begin with some questions which should be answered in earnest (no bravado!!):

"How would I being perceived as a child threaten me?"

"How would my child’s powerlessness (absence of social influence) be a threat to me?"

"How would my child’s small physical stature be a threat to me?"

"How would my child’s helplessness (inability to provide for themselves) be a threat to me?"

“How would my child’s family responsibilities be a burden to me?”

“How are my child’s unresolved emotional states a threat to my ability to function in my daily life?”

The answers to these questions should give us an indication as to why we spend so much time, energy, and emotional stress suppressing our Inner-Child when it begins to arise.

When we take the time to heal that Inner-Child (as opposed to continually suppressing it) the “threat” goes away and the child returns to wholeness and integrates with the Self.

And when that child returns to wholeness it brings many gifts – wonder, connectedness, the ability to love without conditions, etc.

So it’s well worth the time.

And hasn’t your Inner-Child self suffered in darkness alone long enough?