How To Heal Your Inner Teenager: 7 Proven Exercises (+Journal Prompts To Do)

You’ve probably heard of the inner child – that tender, younger part of you still holding onto unmet needs and forgotten joys. But what’s often left out of the conversation is that we don’t just have one “inner child.”

We carry a whole internal family of younger selves. And tucked among them is a version of you that many people overlook: your inner teenager.

Most of the self-help world leans toward nurturing the younger inner child – the one who felt scared, abandoned, or neglected. And yes, that work is important. But what about the teenager who slammed her door, blasted angry music, and felt misunderstood by everyone? The one who might’ve rolled her eyes at the world… but was actually just trying to survive it.

That inner teen? She needs your love too.

Underneath the sarcasm, the rebellion, the eye-rolls, and the shutting down… there’s so much tenderness. So much longing to be seen, heard, and not judged for it. She may be prickly, but she’s also raw. And if your teenage years were a whirlwind of confusion, chaos, or just plain survival (and really, whose weren’t?), tending to that part of you can be profoundly healing.

Of course, this kind of inner work isn’t always soft and easy. It can stir things up. You might find yourself revisiting feelings you haven’t touched in years. That’s okay. That’s the point. But it can also be unexpectedly freeing. Even… dare I say, fun. Because you’re not just healing pain, you’re reconnecting with a fierce, creative, unapologetic version of you that still lives inside.

Ready to meet her? 

Here Is How To Heal Your Inner Teenager – Start With These Exercises

#1: Create a Teenage Time Capsule (Then & Now)

This activity helps you reconnect with your younger self and honor her voice.

How to do it:

·        Find a box or journal to serve as your “Inner Teen Time Capsule.”

·        Fill it with things your teenage self would have loved: song lyrics, doodles, favorite scents, fashion photos, pictures of your teen idols, a letter she wrote, or things that felt unfair or confusing back then.

·        Now, add a letter from your current self to her. Share what you now know about her pain, her worth, and how far you’ve come.

What this does: This symbolic ritual builds empathy between your present and past selves, softening shame and cultivating self-compassion.

#2: Build an “Inner Teen” Playlist

Here, you get a chance to express the emotions your teen self had no safe outlet for.
How to do it:

·        Choose songs you loved – or would have loved but weren’t allowed to listen to – when you were a teenager. Let them be raw, dramatic, rebellious, tender, angry, or dreamy.

·        As you listen, allow the music to move you. Sing, cry, dance, write… whatever your teenage self needed but didn’t have permission to do.

What this does: Music accesses buried emotion and opens a path for emotional release and authenticity.

#3: “Dear Teen Me” Journaling Dialogue

This writing exercise encourages healing through reparenting and perspective.
How to do it:

·        Use two different colored pens.

·        In one color, write a letter from your teen self to you now. Let her speak freely about her rage, confusion, and longings.

·        In another color, respond from your adult self with compassion, wisdom, and love.

What this does: This inner dialogue strengthens emotional safety and allows integration between wounded and wise parts of self.

#4: Dress the Part for a Day

Through this activity, you can reclaim self-expression and break free from past shame.
How to do it:

·        Channel your teen’s style, whether it was grunge, glitter, goth, preppy, or punk.

·        Spend a day (or evening) dressed like her. Go out, journal, or take photos.

·        Reflect afterward: How did it feel to be her again? What part of her wants to be reclaimed in your life today?

What this does: Expressive play can dissolve old judgments and reignite parts of your identity that were suppressed or ridiculed.

#5: “What She Needed” Guided Visualization

This simple imaginative exercise offers your inner teen what she didn’t receive in real life.
How to do it:

·        Close your eyes and visualize yourself as a teenager.

·        Picture her in a moment of pain or confusion.

·        Now, imagine your adult self walking into the scene: calm, wise, safe.

·        What does your teenage self need right now? A hug? Permission to scream? Encouragement? Let your current self offer that with love.

What this does: This visualization supports nervous system regulation and builds the neural bridge between your past and present self.

#6: “Zine to My Inner Teen” Collage Project

In this activity, you can reclaim voice, creativity, and identity through visual storytelling.
How to do it:

·        Create a mini zine (small folded booklet) dedicated to your inner teen. Use a single sheet of paper folded into pages, or design it digitally.

·        Fill it with magazine clippings, stickers, scribbles, quotes, song lyrics, poetry, rants, drawings – whatever your teen self would’ve put in a secret notebook.

·        Title the zine something that reflects her journey, like “Still Becoming” or “From Silence to Power.”

What this does: This honors your inner teen’s self-expression, defiance, and depth without judgment or censorship. It’s a tangible love letter to her creative fire.

#7: “Rewrite the Scene” Theater Exercise

This powerful exercise allows you to reprocess painful memories with empowerment and choice.
How to do it:

·        Think of a moment from your teen years that still lingers: a fight, heartbreak, betrayal, or moment of deep shame.

·        Write it out as a short script or scene. Be as detailed as you want.

·        Now rewrite the scene with a twist: you (as your adult self) walk into it. What do you say or do? How do you protect your inner teen? What changes in her and in you as you stand up for her?

·        Bonus: Read both versions aloud or act them out solo to fully process the emotional shift.

What this does: This gives you a felt sense of agency and the healing experience of showing up for yourself in ways no one did back then.

Because She Never Stopped Needing You

Your inner teenager isn’t just a memory. She’s still here, alive in the quiet doubts, the impulsive sparks, the part of you that still longs to be seen without having to explain herself. And maybe, for a long time, she didn’t feel welcome. Maybe she was too loud. Too much. Too emotional. Too misunderstood.

But now? You get to rewrite that story.

By doing this kind of healing – this messy, creative, sometimes cathartic work – you’re not just tending to the wounds. You’re honoring the fire. You’re letting her know: “You weren’t wrong for feeling what you felt. And I’ve got you now.”

It takes courage to turn toward the parts of ourselves we’ve outgrown or tried to forget. It takes tenderness to hear what those younger parts still need. But when we offer that tenderness, when we say, “You matter, even now,” something shifts. We start to feel more whole. More connected. More free.

So if you’re crying? That’s okay. If you’re laughing at how much you still love that angsty song? That’s okay too. This is healing. This is what it looks like.

And remember: you don’t have to rush it. You don’t have to get it “right.” Your inner teen isn’t asking for perfection. She just wants your presence.

Let this be your invitation to keep showing up for her… in your own time, in your own way.

She’s been waiting for you.

P.S. Want to go even deeper into inner teen healing? Here are 3 journaling prompts you can use:

1.  What did I really need to hear back then, but no one said out loud?

Let your inner teen speak freely. What words of validation, love, or protection were missing? Now write them down, as if you’re whispering them into her ear.

2. If my inner teen had full permission to take up space today, what would she wear, say, scream, or create?

This prompt invites self-expression without judgment. Let her be bold, dramatic, funny, or fierce. There’s wisdom in her rebellion.

3.  What was I ashamed of as a teen that actually deserves to be honored now?

Shine light on the places where shame took root, then reframe them through the eyes of your wiser self. What strengths or sensitivities were misunderstood?

Bio: Anna Khandrueva is a trauma-informed therapist who specializes in inner child healing through IFS and EMDR therapy. Through her compassionate, no-fluff blog, she creates space for neurodivergent women to explore the messy, beautiful process of recovering from trauma and coming home to themselves. You can find more of her writing at couragetohealtherapy.com. Want to continue diving into inner child work? Check out her post “The Power of Inner Child Work”

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