text: what is the inner child?   people with persistent problems such as addiction, depression, troubled relationships and chronic dissatisfaction can transform their lives with inner child work and find a new joy and energy in living.  the source of their problems can be in past events which get triggered in the present. we’re made up of many parts and inside we still have the little child and adolescent we were with all its experiences and feelings. this can lead to this inner child / adolescent part of us reacting strongly to certain experiences and situations and the feelings we’re having in the present can be the feelings of this little child / adolescent from the past. the process of opening to the world of you inner child and getting to know where these feelings come from can change that and enhance your choices in miraculous ways.  carl jung called it the "divine child" and emmet fox called it the "wonder child." some psychotherapists call it the “true self” and charles whitfield called it the “child within”.  the inner child refers to that part of each of us which is ultimately alive,  the inner child is the emotional self. it is where our feelings live. when we experience joy, sadness, anger, fear, or affection our child within is coming out. when we are being playful, spontaneous, creative, intuitive and surrendering to the spiritual self, our genuine authentic self, who we know deep within us, our real self is being welcomed and encouraged to be present. we all have an inner child and the wounds our inner child received can and do continue to contaminate our adult lives. our parents helped create this inner child part of us, society also helped with the creation. when this child self is not allowed to be heard or even acknowledged as being real, a false or co-dependent self emerges. we begin to live our lives as victims.  then we have situations that arise in our lives which develop into unresolved emotional traumas. the gradual accumulation of unfinished mental and emotional business can lead to and fuel chronic anxiety, fear, confusion, emptiness and unhappiness through all of our life.  besides the inner child / adolescent part, we have many other selves which are trying to be heard and take control, without us really hearing the voices until we make an effort to do so. initially, it is very important to tame the inner critic part of us. that voice from the past often keeps beating up our inner child. this voice invades whatever trauma and pain there was in our childhood. the wise nurturing self part of us can learn to stand as a protector self for the inner child. it’s the job of the nurturer to be loving and self-affirming. this part of us can also teach the inner critic a new job of support instead of beating the child self up, and can love the inner critic so that the inner child self can relax and not have to work so hard.  this is often where the internal battle begins. the inner critic has been keeping the inner child muffled and secluded. often, it is a case of transforming the inner critic to be a good internal parent, beginning to listen to the inner child and to allow it to have fun and be heard.  denial of the inner child and the co-dependent self are particularly common among children and adults who grew up in troubled or dysfunctional families. this is where chronic physical mental illness, rigidity, frigidity or lack of nurturing is common. yet, there is a way out. there is a way to discover and to heal our inner child / adolescent part and to break free of the bondage and suffering of our co-dependent or false self.  through inner child work with elevated therapy, it’s the easiest thing in the world to turn our feelings inwards and connect directly with that part of us that can offer comfort and support.  this is called self-nurturing or re-parenting which allows us to reclaim that wounded child.  we can provide for ourselves all the love and support and positive regard we never had 