Inner child | Personal Growth
When Guilt Speaks (Understanding and Healing Childhood Wounds)
By connecting with our inner child
“I feel guilty…” they say.
“What does the guilt want to say?” I ask
“That I don’t actually deserve a break. That I am lazy,” they respond.
“When did you receive the message that you were lazy when you were growing up?”
“Oh. I dunno. All the time I guess. Like anytime I went to pick up a book to read, or sat down to draw.”
This is not just a one-off conversation with a client.
It is a common tale I hear daily where an emotion experienced in the now is linked to messaging from the past.
“How old were you when you first received this message?” I ask.
“I was 8 or 9, something like that. I was supposed to be out mowing the lawn, but I had an idea for a drawing — so I started putting it on paper… And then I got yelled at... Then the mower drowned my tears.”
And there it is.
We stuff a part of our authentic desire for an adaptive way of being
