Couch 122 - Doin' what we do!

The teddy bear type of thing works for me, too. I can sort of talk to the bear in my head, whereas I wouldn't be able to talk to "younger me" in my head.

i first started being able to do this when swimming, but it's come more naturally during other times too - instead of "talking" to little me, "feeling" her. If that makes any sense. That's how I realized the thing with the bird feathers. Cuz I was feeling her joy collecting them. Learning to allow myself to feel has been quite the journey!

Can i answer?

Do you have any memories of growly-kitten saying something that was barely if even acknowledged, but that a helicopter mom would have posted on facebook? Thats kinda the mindset, in a nice way. Youre aware its indulgent, but thats old standards, and yeah look at how you (i) turned out. How would you do your do-over? What would it mean? "I coulda been a contender!"

Eventually my lunakitten gave t a toy and wanted him to keep it, or just to play with in an exchange. I KNOW that if i had ever pushed a toy over to a parent, it would have signalled the end of the game. Maybe that IS what i was signalling, but really it just felt like i trusted him with it. He didnt realize until i told him that it was totally coming from my inner child. That i just had this NEED to hand it to him. Later i realized that the toy resembled a toy from my childhood in one of those unacknowledged incidents.

Maybe im too in touch with inner child luna and not in touch enuf with grown up luna.

Interesting how there are such very different ways of interacting with our inner little selves. I think the teddy bear works so well for me, and t knew this, because of my stuffed animal dog that my grandma gave me when I was 2. I introduced him to t during my first year with her. My little Blackie (it's a black daschund) (I was not creative at naming said stuffie when I was two!) I have had for 52 years now and still go through periods where I sleep holding him every night. Like right now.

Thank you Unaluna!!! I always want to hear from you. I was more of a free range child, a barn cat if you will. Don't come back into the house until it's dark. That kind of thing. Of course my neediness is stomped down as best I can but it comes back in force in therapy. I really don't know what to do with the old stuff. Right now I'm questioning every therapy relationship I've ever been in. Did I matter? Is this relationship real or empty and meaningless to them?? Please anyone feel free to keep talking. Having a hard time

I have done something similar to what you did, unaluna. My therapist did not even hesitate to accept. No analyzing or questioning (except on my part).

Also, I guess I will admit this (!) I have a little plastic lizard in my purse right now, that I am planning to sneak onto one of t's sand play shelves this weekend. I had it last time too but lost my nerve. I'm going to do it this time. Just sneak it right on in there while she's closing/locking the door.

I just realized something. Another transition has taken place with my son. At some point very recently, he stopped asking "Mom, can I go to Game Stop?" Now it's "Mom, I'm going to Game Stop." I guess it was bound to happen - he is less than 2 months from 18 after all... I'm assuming it happened when he graduated from hs and started working but I hadn't really noticed. For some reason it just caught my attention right now.

snip, snip go the apron strings....

in honor of SD: ACK!

Someone had to say it I guess

I take my stuffed otter T gave me to every session, and my stuffed wolf ( represents my inner child as wolf is my totem and she is "little wolf" ) stays with my T.

Strangely my T is the one who interacts with them. I snuggle them but my T will make them say things, make up stories about how they feel, and have them tickle attack me.

I don't do that much, maybe because I love when my T does it.

My mother hated my stuffed animals and threw away my special stuffed tiger because I loved it too much. She would never have even for 1 minute interacted with them.

I also make my T kiss them both before I leave.

My T is a special.one

My big cat just ran by the office door his tail all puffed out huge chasing some invisible-to-me thing. And the kitten jumped into the fray. They are so funny. At first the big cat hated the kitten but now they are such buddies!

Awwww. I feel all warm inside. Thank you for sharing that, Bay.

I got the first one to stop using the term "little" or "inner child" and the second one has never tried it that I recall. It is not a concept that resonates with me. One of the pluses when I went to see the two I keep going to, was that they did not have any toys or stuffed animals. I saw one who had a bunch of really creepy stuffed animals all over her office. It was like FAO Schwartz. I don't really have any objects that I use like that now - carrying around etc. I do like playing with slinkys still. The dogs have some stuffed toys, but those are kind of gross.

I ack only about the idea for me. I don't understand it and don't want it and it creeps me out when a therapist tries it at me- but am glad when people find what works for them.

Mind if I share my feather collection thus far? I just spread them out and counted them, and took a pic. There are 43 so far. They make little me so happy. Eta: I have to keep them inside a cabinet, because anywhere that's not behind a closed door, the kitten finds them, and destroys them.

I did shudder a bit when Kashi used the phrase "inner child work". But I wish I could understand it before rejecting it. Trying to be more open. I'm still not fixed after all

I am pretty sure I sent my inner child to bed without supper and told her children were best seen but not heard. Little harsh, maybe.

I told the first one that if there was a little me - I would have killed it or sent it to military school.

Stopdog I would hire your little as an assassin

The very first time my t brought up my inner little me - I said that I hated her and that she was stupid and that I wanted to kill her. I've come a long way from those days.
(eta talking about inner little me, not t.)

I think that's exactly what happened.

heck, i even wrote that fairy tale where i made her a sparkly princess who had so much love in her heart that she could break the curse that her evil-queen grandmother put on her parents!

That may be the nicest thing I have heard all day.
I hope it is what happened.

Couch always makes me smile. If not laugh. thanks.

Well couch it's time for me to go to bed. It feels a lot later than it is. Nighty night!