Dear Shandrea: I will read and reply Mon morning.

anita

Dear Shandrea:

“How do you reconnect with the inner child by communicating?  If so about what?“- best I can explain it is this: humans are social animals. It is positive communications/ positive interactions with other people (or pets) that make us feel child-like joy. Because we are born social animals, we can’t experience joy in isolation, not for long.

Think of another very social animal: a dog. When do you see a dog wagging its tail joyfully, like a puppy? Not when the dog is alone, isolated, but when the dog sees another dog or a person and gets all excited anticipating a positive interaction, and when actually interacting positively.

I was mostly isolated for a long, long time, as a child, a teenager and onward, and many of the interactions I had with people, starting with my mother, were negative interactions. As a result I was depressed a whole lot. Healing for me happened/ is happening as a result of positively interacting with people.

anita

Dear Shandrea:

I am glad to read that you are in the process of giving yourself everything you wanted as a child.

“Do you think connections can be made through healthy hobbies?“- yes, I do. When people have a common hobby (a hobby they feel positive about), it encourages a beginning of positive interactions and communication.

It takes more than a common hobby though, to continue and deepen a positive communication between people. It takes a developing friendship based on trust and respect. (And trust in others is not easy when we grew up without it).

anita

Dear Shandrea:

Yes, I understand, of course. I guess the only way to build trust in a new person is slowly, gradually, if the person deserves trust. It is difficult to know for sure though, that there will not be a betrayal of trust sometime along the way. It takes courage to try and to persist in getting to know a person.

anita