WELT: The psychologist Stefanie Stahl speaks of the concept of the “inner child”, which has to find a home. They prefer to call it the “uncared for child”. How come?
Bastian Willenborg: I call them the “unsupplied child” because their core basic needs have not been well met. Among other things, this includes our basic need for autonomy and belonging. An example: someone who was laughed at as a child at parties for not belonging to a clique is reminded of it at a party as a 44-year-old man. He comes to the company party and thinks that the other guests are looking at him askance. The uncomfortable feeling of his childhood comes up and he will use the survival strategies he developed back then, because his negative emotions weren’t taken care of well enough at the time and are therefore still coming up today.
WELT: You call these survival strategies the “saving corset”. What would one be?