Fear and the Inner Child

Fear is something that presents itself frequently in my practice, but more interestingly, fear of something unknown . Clients will mention feeling scared of something that holds no threat for them, just an anxiety that something bad might happen, or a sense of impending doom. If this feeling has no basis in reality, i suspect that something deeper is at play. Could it be the child within?
We all carry the child that we once were, for some of us it is buried deep, for others closer to the surface. I am sure we can all connect with behaviour that is immature, we are not quite the adult that we could be. Within us all  there is a child that is hurt, bold, impish, spoiled ,stubburn,  fearful, perhaps even terrified, and  ah, lets not forget the playful child. These immature states can  remain to a greater or lesser degree  and can have huge impact on how we react as adults to life events.  Fear is one of those states . We may feel afraid when there is nothing to fear,  or rather the child within us is afraid, and needs an adult to take care of us and protect us.  My job as a therapist is to help my clients recognise when the fear they are experiencing is not so much the adult in them but their Inner Child.
Now if we are being chased by a man eating lion or a wild rabid dog then fear is the healthiest reaction, the "Fight or Flight" response kicks in and we run like hell or stand to fight, it is the stress response and has evolved to take care of us. However if we experience that intense fear when there is no apparent threat something different is happening. A raised voice, can sometimes be enough to stir the feeling, a mild confrontation perhaps and the rumblings of fear simmer deep in our bodies.
As adults, awareness is the key.The question is how do we take care of this frightened child within us? I can make it simple. Imagine you had this child by the hand, what would you say to it? Shut up! Be Quiet! Stop being silly! Or could we recognise that we are all grown up, tall, more mature and with huge capacity to take care of this undeveloped side of us, because the work for us is not to keep us separate from the child within but to integrate it, let it weave its way through us . The child within then recognises that another part of them, the adult,  can take care of things and  it doesnt need to be afraid. This of course happens unconsiously when we , as adults ,recognise when we are immature and be mindful of what needs taking care of. The next time you feel afraid without reason, stop ,take a deep breath and remember the wee boy or girl inside you,  in your imagination take their hand ,and come out to play. The Inner Child will love it and may even forget what frightened them in the first place.