India, Aug. 16 -- You may think of your childhood as a distant part of your life, but some of the thoughts you learned early can stay with you as an adult. You may blame yourself when something goes wrong, expect bad news or assume that a difficult situation will get worse. These reactions can feel automatic, but they can also give you a chance to understand yourself more deeply.

Spiritual teacher and psychiatrist Judy Tsafrir has explored this idea through what she calls the "BLUE" pattern. In a recent Instagram post, she explained how childhood thought patterns can continue into adulthood and encouraged people to look at them with more compassion.

Her approach offers a simple way to turn inner-child work into a practice of self-awaren...