Why Your Inner Child May be Keeping You Spinning Your Wheels

I’ve been spending some time with my inner child recently. I felt she needed some attention and frankly, it was long overdue.

The journey to creating a peaceful relationship with food and your body isn’t linear. In fact, it reminds me of a road trip that’s full of amazing sights and sounds, followed by daunting twists and narrow turns that have you gripping the steering wheel with everything you’ve got.

Along the way you might be lulled into a hypnotic trance as the sun sets on a flat prairie horizon that goes on for miles until undulating hills awaken your inner senses, alerting you to what’s coming, just around the bend. Steep mountain climbs and dangerous passes have your full attention. They scare the begeezies out of you, but you keep going because you know in your heart “this too shall pass”.

Along the way you stop to fill up your tank and check the map to make sure you’re going in the right direction. You hope the route you’ve taken is the most direct and takes the least amount of time. After all, you’ve been struggling with food and your body forever and can’t wait to finally reach your destination.  

No matter how well prepared you are for this journey lovely Soul, there are times when you take a turn you didn’t mean to, when you’re stuck in the mud on a road that’s not on the map, when you wonder if you should just turn around, forget the whole thing, and return to where you were before.

One of the recent stops I made on my road trip was to seek the help of a nutritionist who, armed with biofeedback, helped me understand how wheat, dairy and sugar were impacting my body, energy and digestion. She put me on a strict program and because of all the work I’d done to see food as just food, I managed to stay with it for a month.

I avoided taking this path on my road trip because I knew I’d get stuck in the mud and spin my wheels. I didn’t want to go back to the anxiety I felt when I went around the diet rollercoaster over and over. I’d resolved the dislike I had for my body so I could value and respect her no matter her size, shape or weight.

And yet, here I was stuck in the mud, spinning my wheels! Clearly the issue of weight hadn’t completely resolved and I had more work to do!

I began working with an EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping) coach to help me uncover the missing link in this puzzle. It knew it had to be related to my inner child.

During our sessions, a metaphor and vision helped me see why weight literally surrounded me for decades!  

I saw myself at about 6 years old, sitting quietly in a large cardboard box. In an instant, I realized the box was where I lived. It was a safe place.

As I investigated the box more closely, my younger self was in a body that was smaller than the chubby one I carried with me in reality. The image took me by surprise.

I thought about the image over the next few days. It occurred to me that the weight I carried then and now was reflected in the walls of the box. As a child they surrounded me like a warm blanket, keeping me safe and contained. As an adult, they kept me imprisoned.

What would happen if I removed the box? What would my inner child and I do without it?  

I was confused about how to step out of the box – there were no windows or doors and the walls seemed solid and rigid. I’d been trapped for so long I couldn’t see my way out.

In a quiet moment during my next coaching session, the box was lifted over my young head and placed beside me. For the first time, my inner child stood alone, confident, and free. I felt relief for the little girl who believed she needed weight and walls to protect her.

As I witnessed this image, I felt a heavy weight lift from my body.

This amazing metaphor was powerful. It was key to helping me release one more aspect of the story I’ve been unraveling for years. I no longer feel boxed in physically or emotionally.

While I know there’s always more work to be done, this freedom has given me permission to live in a way that supports my health, vitality, and my energy. No more fighting with food or my body. I have choice and agency – to listen to my body, mind and soul, to eat and move in a way that’s in my highest and greatest good.

Whether I release more weight or not, I’m so grateful to have reconnected to a deeper place within me. It’s within these deeper places where we get to make lasting changes and heal the hidden parts of us. The child(ren) within us never goes away and deserves to be given light and love. Pull your inner child close to you - be the adult you’ve longed to be, let her know you see her, and you’ll take care of her from now on.  

I’ve written about my experiences so you can see how it’s possible to stop fighting with food, weight and your body. If you’re fed up and exhausted from the struggle, hungry for a deeper meaning in your life, ready to explore the hidden parts of your relationship with food and your body, I’m excited to chat with you!

Connect with me HERE or email me at coach@joanridsdel.com to schedule a stress-free, no obligation chat where we’ll come up with one or two solid ideas about how you can get started on this incredible journey to creating a peaceful relationship with food and your body.

With Gratitude,

Joan