What Would You Say to Your 8-Year-Old Self?

A gentle invitation to reconnect with the version of you who needed comfort, not critique.

There’s a version of you that still lives deep within your memory. They might be sitting on a bedroom floor with crayons, or standing quietly in the corner of a loud room. They might be laughing too hard at something small, or carrying something way too heavy for their age.

That version of you didn’t have the words, the boundaries, or the permission to process everything they were feeling. But they are still there. And you still remember.

This is the essence of inner child work, not just remembering who you were, but actively tending to your inner self. It’s not about romanticizing the past. It’s about offering your younger self the care, safety, and validation they may have needed but never received. It’s about recognizing that healing doesn’t start from fixing. It starts from seeing.

So today, we invite you to do something quiet and powerful:

Write a letter to your 8-year-old self.

Your letter doesn’t need to be poetic, perfect, or punctual. It’s about being raw and honest. Say what your younger self needed to hear. Tell them what you know now. Let them know they were never too much, or not enough. Let your younger self feel seen.

Need a place to start? Try this:

“You stayed quiet because it felt safer. That wasn’t weakness. That was survival.”

“You kept the peace even when it cost you your own.”

“You stepped in, even when no one stepped up for you.”

If this feels too vulnerable or emotional, good. It’s supposed to. That tenderness and vulnerability are not weaknesses. It’s the beginning of years of missed integration and self-discovery.

And if you feel moved to share your letter, we’d be honored to read it. With your permission, we may anonymously feature a few in our final Mental Health Awareness Week message. Because sometimes your words help someone else remember theirs.

Submit your letter here.

Or simply sit with it. Reflect. Let your inner child know you're listening now.

Because when we feel better, we heal better. And sometimes, healing starts with writing to the child we used to be.

Want more grounding prompts like this? Follow along with our daily check-ins for Mental Health Awareness Week.