Age Regression - What is it? What is it Used For? (UPDATED AS OF 1/13/19)
Ciao lovelies! Today’s post is a follow up to THIS post about how there is no expiration date on
fun! Today’s post is going to be about how expressing your “childish” side and
indulging “childish” wants or hobbies can be super healthy to your mental state!
In other words, we’re going to be talking about the unconventional “age
regression” coping mechanism. (TRIGGER WARNING- Mentions of sexual abuse, self harm,
eating disorders.)
(Please note that in this post we are not discussing the hypnosis
level of this therapy! We are simply talking about tapping into your inner
child for the sake of stress relief and coping with traumas. Also DISCLAIMER- I
am not a medical professional or a licensed therapist. I am simply recommending
this from personal experience, not from a place of expertise.)
Even though this practice is increasing in its popularity,
many have misconceptions about what this is or what it’s good for. The most
simple and truthful definition is this “Age regression is when somebody reverts
to a child-like state of mind, often as a coping mechanism for things like
PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.” And this meaning is
what we are talking about today.
Unfortunately for the sake of this post, there aren’t a lot
of reputable sources for age regression, many of these sources get it wrong,
and most places that even mention it mistakenly assume it is a sexual thing,
when it is absolutely not. And that is why I wanted to write this article, to
create a article that regressors can link back to and use to explain this to
others, to end stigmas against regression and to stop the spread of misinformation.
MYTHS ABOUT AGE REGRESSION:
“Age Play and Age Regression are the same”- This is
incorrect. Age Play is when someone pretends to be a younger age for a sexual reason.
Age Regression is when someone feels like or goes into a younger head space for
therapy/coping/stress relief reasons. The two are distinctly different but
unfortunately get grouped together by ignorance.
“Age Regression requires you to have a ‘Caregiver’”- This is
also incorrect! You don’t need someone to be taking care of you in order to
regress, because regression is based off you, your mental state and your coping
mechanisms/therapeutic methods.
“You must have had a bad childhood in order to age regress”-
Actually, you can have had a perfectly normal childhood and still regress! For
one, sometimes the traumas people are coping with happened later in life, so
they’re regressing to cope with it now, other times for two, people regress for
stress relief not necessarily to relive childhood!
“You can only age regress if you’re mentally ill/Age regression
is a mental illness”- Neither of these are true, as you can regress even if you’re
neurotypical. Age regression is not a type of mental illness but is instead a
coping strategy/therapy method/stress reliever.
EXPERIENCES:
Now, I will share with you some people’s personal experiences
with age regression to help them. Every story shared was shared willingly with
us and we have kept certain people anonymous. The only thing changed in these stories
is grammar/spelling. Everything else is left untouched.
“I regress because I was sexually abused as a child and
teen. When I regress, it’s like I get a new childhood where nothing bad happens
to me. It’s nice to be able to play with toys and color and relax and have the
flashbacks and painful memories stop for once. I have told my therapist about
my regression and she said it sounds like a very healthy coping mechanism. I
used to cut to cope with my PTSD from the abuse, but now I can just regress and
be happy.” – Anonymous
“I started regressing at the end of high school without
knowing what I was doing because I just thought I was childish. I noticed that when
I was regressed I could finally get myself to eat which I had difficulty with
because of my anorexia. The hardest part of it all for me is knowing I can’t
explain myself to the ones I care about because they might judge me or not
understand it.”- Anonymous
"When I was very young I went through a lot of mental and physical trauma, and this continued into my young adult life. I ended up developing a bunch of different disorders causing me to have intense mood swings, flashbacks, night terrors, and panic attacks. I'm in a constant state of extreme anxiety without a cause. But when I age regress I am able to express my emotions and deal with past traumas. It gave me a much needed outlet in what I saw as a world of darkness. It helped pull me out of my depression, and helps me cope in a positive way. I've been regressing for about 3 years, and I have never improved as much as I have in these past years. My regressed state is the only time I'm not constantly anxious and paranoid. My mood swings happen less often and I'm more positive in general. Age regression has changed my life for the better, and become a part of who I am as a person." - (Please note that our source for this quote has left Tumblr and we have no other accounts to source them to- 1/13/19 update)
What do you think of Age Regression as a coping mechanism? Would you ever
try it? Have you? Let us know what you think in the comments!
One last note! Please do be cautious when using this coping skill. I have been informed that it is possible for this coping skill to cause dissociation. Please exercise caution and only do what you feel is comfortable and healthy for you.
Thanks for reading!
Interesting article. I know I find myself being in a "younger" or at least sillier head space when I feel at ease or am somewhere I feel comfortable expressing myself. I have anxiety and depression and often when I'm home or around people I trust, I do things like make weird sound effects or animal noises. Kinda helps me express myself without having to really use words. I always thought of it as a kind of verbal tic. On a related note, in high school, I used to ask people questions like a 5 year old (ie, what's your favorite color?) And those of love would answer me every time, even if I repeated the question a lot. It was a little thing, but them answering my silly questions put me at ease, made me feel accepted by them. (And therefore relieving my social anxieties/feelings of no one caring)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experiences! People often use regression or tendencies of regression in various ways, one of which can be coping with social anxiety! Personally, I sometimes find regressing by accident in social situations can make me a little more timid, but it's really up to the person! Thanks for your comment!
DeleteThank you! Honestly, thank you so so much for this article! It is so hard to find someone who knows what regression is, and I ALWAYS searched for a cute blog where I was feeling comfortable! I finally found it!!! Thank you so so so much for your work!!!
ReplyDeleteAw I'm so glad I could provide a comfortable space for you!! Thank you so much for reading!! <3 -Lunaria
DeleteI'm actually doing a paper for my English class on age regression, mainly because I'm a little and I want to be able to better explain to friends who want to know what being a little means. Thank you so much for writing this article, as it helped tremendously.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading! I hope your paper went well!
DeleteThank you, as someone who suffered pretty sever trauma as a child and as a teen you showed me that I was valid, that my coping mechanism was healthy, before I knew about this and read this article I felt like a freak, like I was imature and childish, and you showed me that I was not only valid but I was not alone, I newer had a name for what I did until I found this, thank you for teaching me about myself and age regression, thank you
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! I am so glad you can now feel valid! You are so valid!
Delete