Often when we are triggered or neglecting ourselves in some way, our inner child comes to surface. We may hear thoughts like “I am not good enough”, “nobody loves me” and/or “it’s all my fault”. It’s especially important in these times to take extra care of ourselves and treat ourselves the same way we would a child. A lot of us struggle with this, but we find it easier to comfort others we care about. 

Imagine this person speaking inside your head is not you, but a child – YOUR child. What would you say to your child if they said these things to you? The likelihood is you would reassure them, comfort them, show them kindness, love and compassion. Why? Because that is what they deserve; you want them to know just how special and important they are, you want to protect them, support them and take care of them, because you love them… Well guess what? The very same applies to you. You may not have been shown this when you were younger. You may have endured such pain, punishment and conditional ‘love’ from those who are supposed to love you unconditionally. All you may know is to treat yourself the exact same way you have been wrongly treated, and that may well have been as though you meant absolutely nothing. 

Equally you may have never been told these things directly. You may have just told yourself these things as a child because it was too hard for you to contemplate the idea that your caregiver wasn’t always capable of giving you what you needed. Just so you know, this is a common occurrence because it is just the way our brains are wired. Often times our parents put us in situations that made us feel unsafe: either unknowingly, or in order to help us grow.

But anyway, all this negative shit we tell ourselves is not true, and it is not okay either. Sometimes you may think it’s helpful, but I assure you it is not. We deserve the exact same loving treatment a child deserves; we too are worthy of that. You deserve to be LOVED exactly as you are – regardless of your mistakes, differences, the choices you make, how you look, and regardless of what others say or think of you – no strings attached! We love babies, animals and nature unconditionally, for literally no logical reason; we just do. Why shouldn’t we love ourselves exactly the same way?