A Message from my Inner Child

     Last night I couldn’t sleep and needed to do some inner work to settle down. Did you know that we all have inner child(ren) within us? No, if I cut myself open no little child would be found. But all our experiences, thoughts, and feelings have been recorded within a part of ourselves and the part that holds the memories from long ago is the inner child. Charles Whitfield (Healing the Child Within, Health Communications, 1987) defines inner child as “that part of each of us which is ultimately alive, energetic, creative and fulfilled; it is our real self -- who we truly are.”

     I have been doing inner child work for many, many years—connecting to younger parts of myself at many different ages. In fact, in order to have lost the thirty pounds

My History with Weight and Dieting

I have been battling weight since I was quite young (at age eleven my parents took me to a doctor to lose weight).  As a teen and young adult, my weight fluctuated between 125 and 150. At 150 I felt depressed and had lots of self-judgment and self-hatred. At 125 I felt wonderful, but the pounds easily and quickly came back on.

In addition to dieting, I used exercise in my quest to eliminate excess weight. As a young parent who played racquetball twice a week and constantly battled weight, I remember thinking to myself, I wonder how I’d manage my weight if I weren’t this active? Although heavy for almost my entire life, I have been very health conscious and am very grateful to be in excellent health. I like healthy eating – organic foods, lots of vegetables – yet I continued to carry excess weight.

Actively involved in 12 Step recovery for over twenty years,