i don't understand or know what to think or believe... there seems to be as many ideas about this as ther are people to think them.

It would seem some people believe they have an inner child... a nearly distinct version of themselves as a child... but how old? How does that get determined? is it 5 or is it 10? does it depend on trauma...and what if there was none? i do not understand.

some people talk about their inner child in terms of the age at which they focus their therapy work, and not as a distinct "thing." i can understand describing or thinking about themselves in those terms... but is that true? is it true or real to have a child-self to talk to directly? is it a tool or a fact?

i have heard someone talk about frozen age states... a small bit of oneself frozen in time... so a variation on the first example i suppose... except that there maybe more than one and it is both distinct and dependent on events at that age.

what happens in dissociation? what does that really mean in terms of experience?

what happens when an inner child, assuming one is there, tries to speak? can such a thing happen? do people actually experience "being young" at significant moments in therapy? Can questions bring forth a memory so tangible it forces the adult self aside?

i am trying to understand my experiences.. trying to dissect what i feel when i am there.