Words of inspiration from Dawlish-based psychotherapist and life coach Jody Merelle.

Just before I sat down to write these words I had a really uplifting call with a colleague. She was on her way home following a particularly stressful meeting and had stopped at a coffee shop. She had decided to treat herself to a special hot chocolate as a reward for getting through a difficult morning which she had been worried about for some time. During the conversation she giggled just like a young child would do. This was partly relief that the morning was over and partly just through allowing herself to connect with the childish part of her personality.

We talked about how healthy this was – and also how rarely we allow ourselves to do it. During my training to become a psychotherapist we had to attend a compulsory course called the “inner child”. I’ll be honest – I didn’t enjoy the course at all at the time. It felt forced and awkward for several of us in the room. Being put in a room and told to “laugh” or “play” can feel the opposite of spontaneous or natural. Parts of it left me cringing. At the same time though, the principle is a really important one. Most of us can remember moments in our childhoods where we felt carefree and full of hope for the future so it can be really helpful to connect with these parts of our emotional histories.

As we get older, we get bogged down in all the responsibilities and obligations that being an adult involves. For many of us, the majority of our time is taken up with thinking about the long list of things we have to do at work and the chores to be done at home as well as bills that need paying and all the other things that we “should” be doing. The sad thing is, that with all of this to think about, our carefree and creative sides, that we knew well in childhood, get hidden and pushed away.

It can be so easy to forget how to let go, how to be silly, how to laugh for no real reason and how to simply have fun. Yet when we do those things the positive effect on our sense of wellbeing can be enormous.

We all derived pleasure in different ways as children.

Perhaps you enjoyed running around, throwing leaves into the air, playing with balloons or going to fancy dress parties. You might have enjoyed sitting with lego, cooking with a parent, playing board games or making things from playdoh. Whatever your own particular pleasures were, these activities are likely to be connected to positive feelings and emotions as well. They connect to a time when you were carefree and unconstrained by adult obligations. Although none of us can go back in time, what we can do is make a conscious effort to create little snippets of happy childhood memories. Being playful and enjoying genuine laughter are known to stimulate positive thoughts and feelings. They won’t remove all our present day worries but they will certainly help to provide some healthy balance and provide a sense of perspective.

Whatever your own experience and memories, connecting to your sense of fun and playfulness at least every once in a while can only be a good thing. For my friend Grace this morning it was giggling over a cup of luxury hot chocolate; for me last week it was going to a concert in glittery make-up and a pair of flares. Whatever your own personal memories, see if there is a way you can recreate just a bit of that. Find your own way to let go, be childish, have some fun and to laugh. You might be surprised at how re-energising that can feel!