How I explained somatic therapy and inner child healing to my daughter - The Pleasurelit Woman

So many high-functioning women move through life carrying invisible imprints from childhood — old hurts, unmet needs, moments when we learnt it wasn’t safe to feel fully. These imprints don’t disappear just because we grow up. They live in the body, shaping how we love, lead, parent, work, and receive.

In this solo episode, I share a recent moment with my daughter that unexpectedly opened a doorway into this work — not in a therapy room, but in the ordinary moment of motherhood.

Podcast Episode

After watching a reel explaining somatic therapy in child-friendly language, we found ourselves talking about feelings, fears, and emotional pain. About how everyone, children and adults, experiences moments that hurt. About how those hurts can stay in our bodies long after the moment has passed.

That honesty softened something in her.

She didn’t feel broken. She didn’t feel alone. She felt seen.

And that is where healing begins.

We spoke about what we call our “little helpers” now — the protective parts of us that formed when we were small.

The voice that says don’t try. Don’t trust. Don’t feel too much. Stay safe. Stay small. Stay in control.

These helpers are never the enemy. They are brilliant survival strategies created by a nervous system doing its best to protect a tender heart and body.

When a child experiences pain, let’s say eg. a fall, rejection, fear, loss, a protective part often steps in to prevent that pain from happening again. But as we grow, those same protectors can become overactive, and with that they can limit our joy, pleasure, risk, and aliveness.

You are doing everything right. So why does nothing feel like enough and why doesn’t any of it feel good?

Something is missing..

I am Patricia. I was a high-functioning woman who held everything together and felt absolutely nothing inside. The high achiever, perfectionist, people pleaser, the strong one, the good girl, the independent woman. Capable of everything except being present in my own body. I was disconnected, on autopilot, tense, always on.

Pleasure is your missing key that will change everything.

I know what it costs a woman to keep holding it all together - the sleepless nights, constant overthinking, digestive issues, unable to hold space for your children, isolation, sales dropping. And I know what becomes possible when a woman finally stops performing and allows herself to experience pleasure.

I guide high-functioning women through Pleasurelit Alchemy, my signature four-stage framework, to reconnect with their bodies, expand their capacity for pleasure, and stop abandoning themselves to hold everything together - so they become the Pleasurelit Woman: radiant, regulated & deliciously turned on.

I’m a mother, E D & D V survivor, former nurse, pleasure explorer, and an award-winning educator in tantra and somatic pleasure embodiment. I’m the founder of Pleasurelit®, the bestselling author of The Pleasurelit Way, and host of the top 5% podcast Pleasurelit with Patricia.

Pleasurelit integrates trauma-informed somatics, nervous system regulation, tantra, breathwork, yoga, health, and embodied leadership. It is my lived path as much as it is my professional work.

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YouTube Video

I shared with her that I have these parts too. That even grown-ups feel scared sometimes.

Instead of trying to silence these voices, we can turn toward them with curiosity.

When anxiety or fear rises, pause.
Notice the voice or “the little helper”.
Ask it what it’s trying to protect.

Thank it for doing its job.
Let it know you are here now.
That the adult you is safe.

This is the essence of inner child work, not through reliving the past, but re-parenting the present.

Our conversation also reminded me how powerful it is to give children language for their inner world early. When we speak openly about emotions, we create a space where feelings don’t have to hide. Where pain isn’t shameful. Where vulnerability is safe.

There are so many tools easily accessible now that can become bridges into these deeper topics.

Because when children learn that emotions are welcome, they don’t have to spend decades disconnecting from themselves… only to try to find their way back home later.

Let’s give our next generation emotional literacy — the ability to feel, name, process, and move through experiences without shutting down or armouring up.

And that begins with our own healing.

The more we tend to our own inner child, the safer our children feel to be fully themselves. The more capacity we build to feel, the more space we create for them to feel too.

Inner child healing isn’t just personal work. It’s generational work.

Please support the podcast: Follow/Subscribe to the show, rate it with 5 stars (on Spotify) and share the episodes with others, so we can spread more pleasure into this world. You can also tag me and the guest speaker, so we can re-share your love.

Thank you. With love & pleasure, Patricia

For educational and informative purposes only

We would love to hear from you:

• What resonated with your from this conversation?

• What has been your experience with inner child work?

• What are some of your “little helpers” you created over time?

• What do you feel called to share?