Healing Through Play: Why Your Inner Child Needs Joy, Not Just Shadow Work
When we talk about inner child work, the focus often goes straight to the hard stuff: childhood wounds, unmet needs, emotional trauma. And yes—that work matters. But sometimes, healing doesn’t look like crying on the floor or reliving every painful memory.
Sometimes, healing looks like laughing again.
Like coloring outside the lines.
Like turning the music up and dancing terribly in your kitchen.
Because your inner child isn’t just wounded—she’s also wonderfully alive. And she’s craving joy, creativity, and room to play.
🌈 Why We Forget to Play (and Why It Matters)
As adults, we’re taught that play is frivolous, immature, or something you have to "earn" after the work is done. But the truth is, play is a nervous system healer. It’s a pathway back to presence, regulation, and connection.
If your childhood didn’t feel safe, fun, or free, then play might not feel natural now. It might even feel a little scary or awkward. But that’s exactly why it matters—because giving yourself permission to play is a radical act of reparenting.
You’re showing your inner child:
✨ You don’t have to earn joy
✨ You’re allowed to feel free
✨ It’s safe to take up space and be silly again
🖍️ Play Is a Portal (Not a Distraction)
Play isn’t something you do after the healing—it is part of the healing.
When you:
Doodle for no reason
Say something out loud in a silly voice
Jump into the ocean just because
Create something just for the joy of it
…you’re not wasting time—you’re accessing parts of you that have been waiting for that kind of freedom.
Play softens the edges. It loosens the grip of the inner critic. It gives your nervous system a chance to breathe.
💛 Ways to Invite Play Back Into Your Healing Journey
If you’re feeling stuck in the seriousness of self-work (hello perfectionist part), here are a few playful prompts to invite your inner child back into the process:
🎨 Create something with zero intention of it being “good”
🎵 Listen to music you loved as a kid and sing at the top of your lungs
🧃 Make your favorite childhood snack and enjoy it with zero guilt
💃 Try five minutes of “ugly dancing”
📖 Journal from the voice of your inner child—what would she say today?
Let joy be your medicine. Let softness be your structure. Let go of needing your healing to be hard.
🌸 It’s Not Always About Going Deeper—Sometimes It’s About Lifting the Weight
The deeper work will always be there when you’re ready. But this month, I’m inviting you (and the little one inside you) to try something lighter. To remember that laughter, creativity, and silliness are sacred, too.
This isn’t bypassing the hard stuff—it’s balancing it.
Your inner child deserves joy just as much as she deserves safety.
Maybe even more.
💬 Want a Safe, Playful Space to Explore This?
In my 1:1 Mindful Mentorships, we weave mindfulness, creativity, and emotional awareness into sessions that feel like exhale—not effort. Together, we’ll explore the parts of you that are ready to come alive again—not just the ones asking for healing, but the ones asking for play.
👉 Learn more + book your session here
Keep tending to your light — it’s already enough. ✨🌿
With warmth,
Jess 🤍
