Anyone doing inner child meditation? I always feel like I cant love myself an I tried this meditation and maybe that will be easier. To love my inner child. I kind of heard people talk about it before and never really understood what they meant. It seems kinda odd lol. But it made me cry envisioning myself as a child an it is easier to love a child. I cant hate her the same way as I do myself. That part of me is the damaged part. Well many other parts are damaged too. I just always heard my whole life by people get over it. You have to get over the past blabla. Look foward dont be stuck in the past. Ive tried. I dont know why I am stuck there I dont want to be. The ACA meetings do help because everybody there is talking about their past the way I feel about mine. Not just saying oh get over it. Maybe loving ourself as that child will help get us over it. Thats what im hoping. Meditation is odd to me too but I did it again. It is getting easier. I am liking it.
A way to help before starting to send love to yourself (because yea, it’s hard) is to start by someone you love, then move to someone neutral to you, then someone who you not hate but you don’t necessarily like either, if you know what I mean. If it gets to hard you get back to the person before. Eventually you get to you. I think the child is a good progression to you either.
Thanks for sharing I’ll give it a try.
That sounds good too thanks
Often what we dislike about ourselves is something we learn when we’re young. It’s not usually intentional - it’s usually just family patterns that have been around for years - but we learn “who we are” from our parents / family / childhood environment. That may be a balanced and even respect for ourselves, or it may be a story of shame and not being good enough.
We live in the present now, and we can learn to love ourselves in healthy ways. Often part of it is unpacking that childhood shame or pain or loss. As we dig back we discover where we learned we were “not good enough” - and we can start writing a new story for ourselves.
Take care & keep checking in. Never forget that you’re a good person. You are. You’re a good person, and you deserve a safe, sober life where you can be your full self.
Working with my inner child is a major part of the group schema therapy I’m participating in these days. Jeffrey Young, The psychologist who developed schema therapy, did so at first just for people diagnosed with BDP (which is part of my diagnosis). But the book “Reinventing your life” by him and Janet Klosko is a self help book based on the same principles as the therapy which can be very helpful for anybody who has problems with low self esteem, anxiety, fear of rejection, etc. Just a tip. I’m not even a quarter of the way in therapy but I’m beginning to see some very positive effects on how I function already. Trying to get in to meditating too.
We all deserve love and to be loved. I have been in chains for many years because of my past. I still am to a certain extent. The difference today is that I’m trying to let it go. I will never forget but I don’t want it to define me any longer. Today I am lonely and miss being part of someone else’s life but I truly know that if I can’t love myself I won’t be able to be loved by anyone else. I hope you can fix the parts of you that are damaged but also go easy on yourself. It took me years of pain to be damaged. It will take a while for it to be fixed. You are worth it!