On today's episode of my podcast Fly to Freedom, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Zelli, a transformational coach who was my own coach after recovery, when I was exploring further healing. Michelle helped me immensely on my journey of healing and self-discovery after recovering from an eating disorder. 

I invited Michelle on to discuss the concept of inner child healing, which was pivotal for me but something I initially dismissed as silly or unnecessary. Michelle eloquently explained that our inner child refers to the younger parts of ourselves that may have experienced lack of protection, nurturing or guidance growing up. This can manifest later in life as perfectionism, people-pleasing, anxiety, OCD and other unhelpful patterns.

As Michelle and I unpacked this topic together, I realised how much my own childhood conditioning of being a "good girl", pleasing others and suppressing anger had disconnected me from my authentic self-expression. I shared how even doing simple things like watching Disney movies or playing felt forbidden until Michelle helped me reconnect with that innocent, joyful part of myself.

Michelle's insights helped me understand my former overwhelming busyness and inability to slow down were trauma responses trying to avoid painful emotions. She encouraged radical self-compassion to start unraveling the layers of harmful beliefs I had adapted just to survive emotionally as a child.

While the process hasn't been easy, facing emotional truths I had been blind to, Michelle's guidance has allowed me to peel back those protective adaptations and rediscover my genuine essence. I continue doing this courageous inner work, committed to self-acceptance over society's norms of what a "normal" woman should be.

I'm so grateful Michelle could join me to share her wisdom on this powerful path of inner child healing. For anyone looking to break through what's holding them back from being fully themselves, I can't recommend exploring this enough.

Connect with Michelle

https://michellezelli.com/

https://www.instagram.com/michellezelli?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== 

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Website Juliatrehane.com

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