Playtime: Can your inner child come out & play with my inner child?

I don't know about you, but I for one have spent a colossal amount time stressing out, worrying, planning, and taking myself way too seriously almost to the point of pushing myself to the edge of the perpetual revolving door of what seemed like the endless abyss. This person you could be as an adult if you lightened up, let go of your seriousness, overcome your fears and accepted flexibility and change in your life. We get so wrapped up in our daily mundane routines, that we soon lose touch of our inner child in us who didn't care what others thought or if what you were doing was okay we might even forget her/him altogether yet it still resides in you, dwelling in your subconscious.

I know what you are asking yourself. Who is this inner child? My simple reply to such an intriguing question is, the "inner child" is the little child you were who desired to be nurtured, cared for and loved. This child still resides deep within you as an adult who is in every sense of the word a free spirit, pixie or elf you have tamed and controlled, yet who resides within you. In most cases, she/he represents the emotional and sensitive you, whom you have channeled, controlled and maybe even silenced. Could also, be the creative, imaginative and artistic you who has been molded, structured and organized who desperately needs to set free every once in awhile  This side represents the fun loving, happy, frivolous, joyful, humorous you when you were young and unsophisticated; that person you have replaced with a sophisticated, mature, serious, task-oriented demeanor.

Yet for some she/he signifies the wounded you, pained, neglected, frustrated, abused and ignored you whom you have masked, hidden from view and more than likely have even denied the existence of. This child is always just lingering below the surface, causing you to be anxious, worried and fearful of mistreatment.This person within you who needs healing, support and reinforcement through a variety of mechanism for coping activities through this you can be given new life, health and a chance for personal growth. 

How does the "inner child" come into being?  The "inner child" comes into being by one denying your  true feelings, from holding back our childlike responses, while we provide adult like responses to stress,  insecurity in the midst of chaos, confusion or the vacuum of repressed feelings, a lack of encouragement to broaden our scope of vision about the "potentials" in life,  the stress of staying vigilantly in the ``here and now'' so that we stay in control and the "walls didn't come tumbling down" around us,  maybe continuing even now to follow our compulsive role(s) rather than choosing to change and be free from the restraints this compulsion creates for us, silencing our "inner child'' and guarding ourselves, retreating behind "masked" barriers.

What are the signs of activity of the "inner child"? We know our "inner child" is active when we lose ourselves in frolic and fun, cry at a sentimental movie, over-indulge our own children,  enjoy playing with children's toys, love visiting Walt Disney World or other theme parks designed for children, seek out adult toys to play with, cry or grieve as adults for the losses we experienced in our past, still seek to please the senior members of our families of origin and our extended families, get sentimental looking at old photo albums, home movies or scrapbooks about our childhood. experience the same intensity of feeling we had as children as we role play or act out experiences from our past. 

I’m sure many of you have stories similar – growing up and taking part of the enjoyment of play. Somewhere down the line we forgot the importance of play.  We felt allowing ourselves to act freely wasn't “cool”.  Or simply we thought to ourselves, “I’m too old for that.”

Stop taking yourself too seriously.  Don’t be paranoid about what others may be thinking about you.  You will be wasting energy on the wrong things.  Be honest with yourself and just be you.  It’s all about being authentic and happy.

When the "inner child" climbed inside you it probably was hoping to hear I love you, I care about you and I accept you just the way you are, I am so proud of you and all that you are, I am so happy you are my child, you are so beautiful a attractive and  you are so bright and talented, you  are so artistic and creative, you are such a good worker, I am sorry I hurt you, I am sorry I neglected you, I am sorry I forgot you, I am sorry I ignored you, I am sorry I took you for granted, I am sorry I made you grow up so fast, I am sorry I had to rely on you so much. You can trust me to take care of you, you can trust me to be there for you, you can trust me to protect you from any hurt or pain, I will get help for myself and for the family.

Lost’s Challenge:Be courageous and make time to play. Play as if you were a kid again.  I know we all have our favorite games we used to play growing up. Or take your dog to the park and just run crazy. Allow people to think you are weird. Take your kids to the park and act just as goofy. When one suppresses emotions, there are obvious the negative consequences of suppressing the "inner child. When as adults we choose to suppress the memory, needs and desires of the "inner child" we run the risk of never learning how to feel normally, never learning how to play and have fun, never learning how to relax and manage stress, never learning how to appreciate life. We would rather work at living, taking ourselves too seriously, feeling guilty over not being good enough, driving ourselves to work harder to be good enough, you risk of becoming workaholics, even not enjoying our family life with our children, being suspicious of people who enjoy life, have fun and know how to play, social isolation, afraid to get involved with other people for fear we will be found out to be inadequate, not normal or a misfit. 

You can tell your "inner child" that it is OK to have the freedom to make choices for itself, be "selfish" and do the things you want to do, take the time to do the things you want to do, associate only with the people you want to associate with, accept some people and to reject others, give and accept love from others. allow someone else to care for you, enjoy the fruits of your labor with no guilt feelings, take time to play and have fun each day, not to be so serious, intense and inflexible about life, not always "serve" others, accept others "serving" you, be in charge of your life and not let others dictate to you, be honest with others about your thoughts and feelings, take risks and to suffer the positive or negative consequences of such risks.* Make mistakes, laugh at them and carry on. Let your imagination and creativity be set free and to soar with the eagles. cry, hurt and to be in pain as long as you share your feelings; do not repress or suppress them, be a problem solver and come up with solutions with which everyone may not agree. feel happiness, joy, excitement, pleasure and excitement about living. Feel down, blue, sad, anxious, upset and worried, as long as you share your feelings, be your "inner child" and to let it grow up, accept love, share feelings and enjoy pleasure and play.