More on Childish and acting Child-like

Me and my T do inner child work, where I get in touch with my child self and try to be the loving compassionate parent as well, we also dialogue using the dominant hand for the parent and the non dominant hand for the child, my child self is sometimes 2 sometimes 5. T says its good to be child like... not childish. I do some things that are childish, at one time i reverted to being an adult baby ( i wont get into details but u can google it if u wish) and that part of my life it was like I needed to go thru it again to be able to grow up. I think ive grown up a bit, though sometimes I do suck my thumb. T doesnt know about that part of my life nor do i feel she needs to know how INTO it i needed to get in order for me to grow up. Not something i freely admit to either, yet here I am,,,,anyhow doing the inner child work has helped me emotionally grow up a bit, and I think its fun.
Beth

i do child-like behaviors when i think about my mom and dad hurting me... taking it a step further this has developed into DID where my little alter ("lil kris") comes out and i act like a 7 yr old kiddie

Question, Does peeing the bed consider to be seen as "childish" or "child like" ???

What sort of things does "lil Kris" do when she comes out in therapy??
According to my T I act like a 3yr old a lot but i don't know why, it isn't intentional. She thinks it might be where the emotional developmental delays started but she said that she could be wrong...

he would bring his chair up next to mine and i would hover over to look at the papers and he would read them to me in a nice way like talkin to a kid cause lil kris is a kid and wouldnt understand the grown up stuff. lil kris misses mike (the previous T)...

(((((((PTSD)))))))

T told me once that everyone, especially people with trauma, has parts of themselves that haven't "grown up" and that part of therapy is helping them grow up.

Don't know if that helps, but that's my .02!

A lot of people "stop" developing in some way or another when the trauma starts. It's normal for trauma survivors. I too have parts so it is a little different.

I am 48 and I look like I am in my early 30s. I think sometimes I come across as younger than I am. I think it is because I got stunted in the developmental stage somewhere. I also have PTSD. I think also that being in therapy makes us more vulnerable and childlike, not like we are presenting ourselves in the "real world." I had one therapist tell me in some ways I act like a young child but in other ways I am wiser beyond my years.

I think we are acting our emotional age at that moment. The age where development got stuck or interrupted. And we didn't grow and learn how to be more independent and able to voice our needs directly. I think we act what we don't have words for, yet. A young child can pout because they are hurt/angry/disappointed when they had an expectation that was wasn't met; but they don't have words for the expectation, or the disappointment/anger/hurt.

With therapy, I have seen a change in both my expectations and my having words for experiences that have helped me many times.

Some of my childish behaviors were symptoms or habits and I had to, over time, confront them in therapy and see if I wanted/needed that behavior still or wanted to act more socially acceptable, as an adult. I had one very childish behavior for over 50 years (one of the main reasons I wanted therapy) but it was based on the underlying anxiety and when therapy helped, the behavior finally wasn't needed and ceased being "useful" or what I wanted/needed.

lol if you look at my pic on my profile i am sitting in a ship port hole i am only 4 ft 8 and look very young i am 43 in this pic.i have always looked dressed and acted younger than i am.

I did and you are right! I think that the pic of your avavtar is the epitomy of "child like" but I LOVE it!

did you see the pic of me on my home page?

My T wont work with parts but massage T will (Get to see her in a few hours!!!!!!!) She will hold the little ones hand or let the little one move Ts hands to where little one wants her to work. She will do eye contact and gaze. When little one is upset massage T insists on wiping away her tears rather than just handing her a tissue. Massage T does nurture well! She will tuck her in and wrap her in blankies, bring her a drink... all sorts of stuff! Massage T thinks everyone has at least one little in them. She also always remembers to ask about the little one at least 2 times in a session just to check in.
My little one loves to snuggle, has tons of blankies and is very very quiet. Most people who know her know her by the way she looks at them... all puppy eyed and sad.

ugh. that would make me feel AWFUL. how do you feel about that?