inner child
Playful self within
Inner child is a psychological concept referring to the childlike aspect of one's personality that persists into adulthood—the part that retains early emotional needs, vulnerabilities, and capacity for wonder.
Therapy or self-help may focus on healing one's inner child from past trauma: Learning to nurture my inner child helped me understand why I react so strongly to criticism.
The term can also appear more casually: My inner child still gets excited about snow days.
Recreation or staged drama
- gigglesShort, silly laughs
- whimsyPlayful, capricious quality
- joyIntense positive emotion
- sillinessFrivolous, absurd behavior
lighthearted · spontaneity · fun · games · laughter · creativity · imagination · mischief
Curative mental treatment
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- reparentingProviding oneself missed care
- self-careMaintaining personal wellbeing
- traumaLasting psychological wound
resilience · emotional health · integration · compassion · forgiveness · self-love · wholeness · psychotherapy
Stored past experiences
- childhoodLife's earliest phase
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- wistfulSadly longing for something
longing · past · fondness · remembrance · bittersweet · photographs · keepsakes · lullabies
Amazement or curiosity
- curiosityDesire to learn
- purityUncontaminated quality
- trustConfidence in another
- opennessQuality of being accessible
guileless · wholesome · awe · sincerity · simplicity · unspoiled · childlike · tenderness
Progress toward maturity
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
authenticity · awakening · transformation · individuation · integration · self-awareness · identity · journey
play
Recreation or staged drama
silliness · lighthearted · spontaneity · fun · games · laughter · creativity · imagination · mischief · delight
therapy
Curative mental treatment
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- reparentingProviding oneself missed care
- self-careMaintaining personal wellbeing
trauma · resilience · emotional health · integration · compassion · forgiveness · self-love · wholeness · psychotherapy · counseling
memories
Stored past experiences
- childhoodLife's earliest phase
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
wistful · longing · past · fondness · remembrance · bittersweet · photographs · keepsakes · lullabies · bedtime stories
wonder
Amazement or curiosity
openness · guileless · wholesome · awe · sincerity · simplicity · unspoiled · childlike · tenderness · gentleness
development
Progress toward maturity
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
awareness · authenticity · awakening · transformation · individuation · integration · self-awareness · identity · journey · reflection
- childhoodchildhood, baby, kid, toys, play
- inner lifeidentity, feelings, memory, thoughts, self-discovery
- psychobabbletriggered, gaslighting, toxic, trauma bond, narcissist
- psychological phrasesdefense mechanism, cognitive dissonance, id, ego, superego
- Unconsciousid, ego, superego, repression, dreams
- inner selfself, soul, psyche, true self, real self
inner childinner critic
Harsh internal self-judgment
social mask · false self · superego · public self · rational mind
inner childemotional armor
Psychological self-protection mechanism