Have any of you been able to reconnect with your inner child?

On the journey to becoming a productive member of society I had to compartmentalize my inner child.

During my early schoolboy years, he waited patiently for the school day to finish so that he could finally resume his creative and playful pursuits.

As the education became more involved, he had to wait a little longer because of homework.

In university, the complicated assignments, group projects, and late night study sessions meant that he would often not get to let loose until the weekend.

The full-time job, commute, technical projects, work politics, and other adult responsibilities really did the biggest number on him though. Sometimes he would go without playing for weeks, or months at a time.

Today it’s as if my adult mask has adhered permanently to my face and I can no longer access him at all.

TiphaineRupa, (edited )

I never fully disconnected to my inner child, had a brief period of my life where I tried to act all mature and pretentious and suppressed some habits but slowly diverged back to my natural self.

Today I can confidently say that I am a productive and respected member of society while keeping my inner child up and I’m very very happy with it! So in my eyes it’s possible to be both in today’s world

AA5B,

Having kids really helps, but it’s a long term commitment and they grow up. I loved playing with my kids when they were little. It was definitely part of what made parenting so rewarding

Fuck_u_spez_,

Not completely, but then again I am actually an adult now so that’s to be expected I suppose. Three things have helped: humor, games, and dogs. Especially dogs.

Mr_Blott,

Oh yeah, dogs. I think we all had that one special needs kid in our friend group while growing up, a dog just replaces that 😂

Vii,

the fuck

usernamesaredifficul,

I still catch up with him occasionally but we both got older and now we don’t have as much in common as we used to

thisisnotgoingwell,

Mixed feelings here, what is an “inner child?” Feelings of exercising creativity and spontnuity don’t have to be “compartmentalized”… Just work that into your adult life. only thing that is different otherwise is obviously responsibility, that will never go away. You might have to answer to your wife as to why you chose to spend a whole Saturday watching cartoons, but as long as you make your needs known, that shouldn’t be an issue as well.

I’m sensing you have problems communicating your desires(ideas, inspirations, etc) … other than that, you might be feeling nostalgia. But nostalgia is mostly ignorance. It felt like good times at times because I was ignorant to how my parents struggled.

Kazumara,

I don’t know that just sounds like a fake concept. I have no idea what an inner child is supposed to be. Sometimes I’m more serious sometimes more playful but that’s just mood.

Dkarma,

Someone never had a Childhood. Sad.

FeelThePower,

I still drink chocolate milk and watch cartoons and play video games and shit in my free time. honestly the key is just learning not to care.

Anonymouse,

shit in my free time

Life pro tip: shit at work and get paid for it. Unless you work at Amazon, of course.

JTode,

There’s some reckless recommendations to try psychedelics in here; be cautious with things classified under that name, because there are some VERY nasty chemicals getting pumped out by mafia chemists (some of whom work for large pharma corporations) and pushed under the name of relatively benign substances.

So first off, be sure you know what chemical is actually in the specific pill/blotter/tab you are considering eating.

Second, once you know what you’re dealing with, understand the cautions and protocols involved in using that particular one. I won’t start rattling them off, the information is out there.

That being said, a gram of mushrooms is safe for nearly everyone of normal adult physiology, and it’s pretty easy to tell if you’re looking at and gagging on mushrooms.

I was severely depressed at one point a couple decades ago and a chocolate containing a couple grams of mushrooms at a Folk Festival pulled me out of it for a good while and filled my head with thoughts of what was possible rather than what was not.

If you don’t smoke weed, try smoking some weed, if it’s safe to do where you are. It’s more of a momentary thing and if you don’t like it, most folks can handle waiting it out. This video is perfect for that situation, IMO. It can definitely be a heavy thing if you go too far too soon, but you’ll come back fine with a story to tell, or to never tell.

The more general proposition, which is that these chemicals can kinda shake you loose mentally, is true, but whether that is a good or a bad thing depends on who you are, how in control and confident you feel about life and the world, your immediate environment when you are on them (many end up taking these drugs at noisy parties full of drunkards, which are not the best places to be tripping balls), and many other factors.

For instance, your talk of the adult mask vs the child you cannot find might be exactly what’s happening, or it might be words you’ve put on some other mental block or bit of cognitive dissonance which you do not yourself understand yet. If that were the case, it would be quite possible for a dose of psychedelics to cause your mind to completely drop the veil of delusion, and cause you to look at that reality in the flash of a moment, with no time to mentally prepare for it, and that can be a terrifying experience for some, when reality intrudes on something that they didn’t realize was foundational to their understand of the world, and vulnerable in that way.

The long term effects of such an experience can likewise be very good, very bad, or completely neutral. We all have these masses of jelly inside our skulls and actually we are those masses of jelly.

Trollivier, (edited )

After losing my best friend and business partner who died from cancer, and avoiding a burnout by an inch, I started taking medication to even my mood.

A few weeks later, the video game Starfield came out. I remember telling my wife “It’s the first time in many years that I’m actually excited about something, and really looking forward to having fun”.

Starfield was made for my inner child.

sigh,
@sigh@lemmy.world avatar

Having a blast out in the settled systems?

Trollivier,

Lots. I survey planets just because.

HootinNHollerin,
@HootinNHollerin@sh.itjust.works avatar

Check out your closest regional burning man festival

Smokeydope,
@Smokeydope@lemmy.world avatar

Yes, you can take some psychedelics in order to shake your brain out of its decades of set pathways. All children’s minds are open and lack set thought patterns and pick up on reality in full. An adult brain is set in its pathways and doesn’t do much in the way of processing truly new information. Very few things are able to get people out of their set neurological pathways, psychedelics is one of them. You can also practice meditation and Buddhist or daoist excercises like the whole ‘learn to look at a tree without calling it a tree’ thing. Honestly though microdosing on psylocibin mushrooms are easier, quicker, and more gaurenteed to give you the results you want. As an added bonus will blast the depression and anxiety right out of your brain if you are suffering from those particular mental issues.

Sprite,
@Sprite@lemmy.ml avatar

I never had the child phase as my life didn’t allow it, but I have no inner need for conformity. I bought a plushie and sleep with it. It’s comfy to do. I have a tiny dinosaur figurine. My child me wouldn’t want or be able to get them, but my current self can be myself as much as my economical standing allows.

rustyriffs,

I feel that. It’s hard sometimes. You feel like the real you almost doesn’t exist anymore.

Creative outlets help, I think.

FreezerBurn,
@FreezerBurn@lemmy.world avatar

No, but I probably should. I let him enjoy his Saturdays morning cartoons on the floor in my mind with his favorite cereal. I don’t have the heart to tell him that pajamas and Saturday morning cartoons may be the Pinnacle moment in life.

ExLisper,

When I go to the beach I dig deep holes in the sand. Does that count?

PlutoniumAcid,
@PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world avatar

I do too! It’s mandatory for guys of all ages to dig holes at the beach. Bonus points for every dad mom boy girl that joins!

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