Letter to your younger self

Introduction

Writing a letter to your younger self can help you restore the inner connection. By writing to mildness Looking back, the ‘little you’ is still seen and acknowledged. You give words to what you have experienced, what you needed and what you can now – as an adult – offer.

This exercise can be quite difficult and trigger many emotions in you. Therefore, proceed step by step and take your time. You can put your pen down at any time and pick it up again. 

This is how you do the exercise

• Find a quiet place where you can be undisturbed for a moment. Prepare a pen and paper. Take a few deep breaths and feel your seat on the chair and your feet on the floor.

• Get a pen and paper now. And write, as the adult you are now, a letter to yourself when you were young. You can start the letter, for example, with ‘Dear I am writing you this letter because...‘

• Then write down what comes to mind and try not to correct it with your head. There is nothing perfect to be done. The only thing that matters is making space for contact with your younger self.

• As you write, look with compassion back at what your younger self experienced. Don’t just try to look at what happened, but also at what the child inside you had to endure.

  Can you see what your younger self needed? Comfort, protection, rest, recognition, closeness? And can you perhaps also see how brave and courageous your younger self was, even in difficult circumstances?

• Close your letter by telling your younger self that you are there for him or her now. That you want to (learn to) care for the little you, but also for the life you live today.

  You can give words to what you wanted to hear as a child. You can give recognition to what was missing in the past. Or you can let the little you feel especially: I can see you now. You're not alone anymore.

Afterwards

Take a few deep breaths and exhale calmly a few times. Move around, stretch, or place your hand on your heart or belly. That can help you feel more present in the here and now.

Then take a moment to relax after what this exercise has done to you. Perhaps you feel fatigue, relief, emotion, or sadness. It could also be that you don’t notice much yet. That’s also normal. Everything that exists is allowed to be there. If writing has helped you to get your thoughts out, it can be helpful to read your letter again later or discuss it with someone you trust.