The Forgotten Child Within You: Healing the Inner Child

 A deep reflection inspired  of “Shanti Sutra” by Shailesh Dubey

We all grow up.
We learn to behave.
We wear masks to survive.
We suppress tears, shrink our needs, and silence our voice, thinking that’s what maturity means.

But here’s the truth no one tells you:

We grow up physically, but parts of us remain stuck in the past — unheard, unloved, and unseen.

That “part” is your inner child.
And until you acknowledge them, you may feel emotionally stuck, no matter how much you accomplish.

This blog is inspired by Chapter 5 of Shanti Sutra, “Inner Child – Reconnecting with the Lost Self,” a chapter close to my heart, because it doesn’t just talk about healing… it talks about remembering.

 Who Is the Inner Child?

The inner child is not a concept.
It’s the emotional memory of who you once were — sensitive, curious, expressive, scared, open, and deeply vulnerable.

It holds every moment of unmet needs, suppressed emotions, childhood wounds, and lost innocence.

Every time a child hears:

  • “Don’t cry.”

  • “You’re too sensitive.”

  • “That’s nothing, stop overreacting.”

  • “You’re not good enough.”

A part of that child’s real self goes silent.
And over time, this silence becomes an emotional gap we carry into adulthood.

 Signs Your Inner Child Is Still Wounded

You might feel:

  • Unexplainable fear of rejection

  • Constant need for approval

  • Fear of abandonment in relationships

  • Guilt for expressing needs

  • A sense of “not being good enough” even after success

These patterns often don’t make logical sense, but they don’t come from logic.
They come from emotional memory.

They come from the child within you still waiting to be seen.

Why We Disconnect from the Inner Child

As we grow up, we’re conditioned to suppress pain to survive in a world that rewards performance over emotional expression.

We learn to:

  • Smile through sadness

  • Stay “strong” in suffering

  • Push through even when we’re breaking inside

This makes us emotionally efficient… but spiritually hollow.

In Shanti Sutra, I wrote that ignoring the inner child is like ignoring the foundation of your being.
No matter how tall you build the building, it will remain fragile if the base is unattended.

The Cost of Disconnection

When the inner child remains unheard:

  • Emotional needs turn into silent expectations

  • Creativity gets blocked

  • Relationships carry unhealed projections

  • Self-worth depends on external validation

Most importantly, you stop feeling alive.

Because the inner child is also the part of you that feels joy, wonder, playfulness, imagination, and emotional depth.
It’s not just about pain. It’s about reconnection.

Real-Life Example (From Readers & Life)

I remember someone once told me:
"I don't know why I get panic attacks when someone ignores me, even for a short while. I'm not that weak."

But weakness has nothing to do with it.

That person’s inner child perhaps once felt unseen, abandoned, or emotionally neglected — and today, a delayed text triggers a response not from the adult… but from that wounded child.

This is how emotional time-travel works.
The body remembers. The child responds. The adult doesn’t understand.

 What Healing the Inner Child Feels Like

It’s not dramatic. It’s subtle.
It’s moments when you:

  • Acknowledge your feelings without judging them

  • Speak to yourself with kindness, like you would to a child

  • Stop expecting perfection and allow space for mistakes

  • Let go of shame for your emotional needs

  • Cry and feel — without guilt

Healing the inner child is not a one-time activity.
It’s a relationship — gentle, honest, ongoing.

The Deepest Truth

“The inner child doesn’t need you to become someone new.
It needs you to remember who you were — before the world told you to be someone else.”

That child is not lost. Just quiet.
It waits patiently for your attention.

And once it feels seen, the emotional healing begins.

What This Chapter in Shanti Sutra Offers

Chapter 5 is not just a psychological explanation.
It’s a gentle emotional reminder that your healing doesn’t lie in becoming someone better — it lies in reconnecting with someone you left behind.

It includes personal reflections, deep questions, and powerful perspectives to help you meet your inner child with compassion.

Want to explore the full book?

If this blog touched something in you, I invite you to read Shanti Sutra — a book not meant to preach, but to walk beside you in your healing.

Available here on Amazon:
https://amzn.in/d/5zJHAig


“You are not broken.
You’re just carrying a child who thought they were unloved.”

It’s time to go back — not to stay there, but to bring that child forward…
into your arms, your life, your love.

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