‘I rediscovered a long forgotten hobby of mine’ – The simplest way to heal your inner child

Niamh Ryan

I recently rediscovered a long forgotten hobby of mine that immediately brought back so much joy, and might just heal my inner child

Over the past few years, I’ve realised how important it is to heal your inner child.

When we don’t address childhood trauma, it can seriously affect us in adult life.

According to Dr. Diana Rabb, even the smallest acts can benefit us.

“Being in touch with the joys of childhood can be an excellent way of dealing with challenging times,” she says.

So, in preparing for the Eras Tour this weekend, I decided to fully commit to the experience by making some friendship bracelets.

If you aren’t aware of the tradition, fans make friendship bracelets to trade at the concert. They typically spell out Taylor’s albums or song names, and the coloured beads correspond with her different eras.

My sister and I had been so preoccupied with work and other things that we’d almost forgotten to prepare the long awaited day.

So, I was surprised to come home from work one day and see a bracelet making kit on the counter – I assumed we wouldn’t have time to make any.

However, I never expected it to such a therapeutic experience.

For some reason, we both got so much joy from simply picking out colour coordinated beads and thinking of creative song titles to incorporate.

While I attempted to tie the impossible elastic, I realised why making the friendship bracelets was so cathartic.

When I was younger, I was always making bracelets and loom bands (does anyone remember those?).

A few weeks ago I even bought one of those adult colouring books with all the intricate designs. They’re recommended for mindfulness, which they definitely help achieve.

Doing different arts and crafts, no matter how unimpressive, has been so enjoyable and healing for me.

Painting and colouring brings back memories of art in primary school, and even the bracelets remind me of trading loom bands at yard time.

Aside from these hobbies, there’s so many other activities we can do to bring us back to childhood.

From baking, rereading your favourite books from primary school, watching old movies, the list is endless.