Healing Looks Different These Days, Sometimes It Has Fangs

2. It doesn’t always come with incense or soft-lit yoga. Sometimes, healing has sharp teeth, googly eyes, and fits in your palm. For some, it’s a $12 toy clipped to their purse. For others, it’s the first time they felt seen in years, not by a therapist, but by a scruffy little figure with a lopsided grin and unapologetic weirdness. Meet Labubu. It might look like just another collectible but to many, it’s the first thing in a long time that made them feel seen. It’s Not Just a Toy — It’s What It Awakens At first glance, Labubu looks like another quirky Gen Z trend: chaotic-cute, meme-able, maybe even silly. But sit with it long enough and something deeper stirs. Something tender. For many adults, especially those who grew up too fast or too quiet, Labubu isn’t just aesthetic. It’s emotional shorthand. A symbol of the inner child, the one they buried to survive.

3. In psychology, the inner child isn’t a metaphor, it’s a psychological part of us that stores early emotional memories, unmet needs, and instinctive joys. When we reconnect with it, we often grieve. But we also begin to feel again. Labubu, with its imperfect charm and feral cuteness, reminds us of who we were before shame and silence rewrote our emotional scripts. “It started as a joke. I clipped one to my bag,” one woman shared. “Now, I notice strangers softening when they see it. My barista talks to it like it’s alive.” That’s not just nostalgia. That’s a memory returning through the backdoor. What Makes This Toy So Emotionally Magnetic? Part of Labubu’s power lies in how it straddles the line between cute and chaotic. Its “ugly-cute” design taps into something playful yet slightly rebellious, a mix of sincerity and satire that resonates with both Millennials and Gen Z.

4. One review put it this way: “Millennials love anything that connects them with their inner child… Gen Z loves anything ironic, a cute doll that’s also objectively ugly? It ticks the box.” In an era when emotional expression often feels restricted, whether by culture, burnout, or societal expectations, Labubu gives people permission to express themselves freely. It doesn’t require an explanation. It simply is. And maybe that’s why it resonates so widely: it models a kind of freedom we’re still learning to give ourselves. 3 Simple Practices to Reconnect with Your Inner Labubu If something inside you softens when you see these little creatures, follow that feeling. Here are a few ways to build on it:

5. Make Play Personal Again Give yourself permission to enjoy something purely for yourself, whether it’s coloring, crafting, collecting, or building. Playing without purpose is often the most healing. Journal from Your Inner Child Ask yourself: “What did I need that I didn’t get?” or “What did I love that I stopped doing?” Write as if you’re that younger version of yourself. Let her speak. Create a Comfort Ritual Place a small, joyful item somewhere you’ll see it daily. Let it become a symbol of safety. It might be a toy, a scent, a sound, anything that reminds you of being held or seen. These aren’t distractions. They’re acts of emotional nourishment. And they remind us that tending to your inner world doesn’t require grand gestures — just honest ones.

6. More Than Nostalgia: It’s the Start of Emotional Reclamation For many of us, childhood was not always a safe place. Some grew up too fast. Others had to stay small to stay loved. The idea of “inner child healing” can feel vague or even indulgent. Until you realize how much of your current life is shaped by that unseen, unhealed part of you. Labubu’s rise in popularity may seem like a trend, but it reflects something more profound: a longing to reconnect with what we’ve lost and reclaim what we still deserve. Comfort. Whimsy. Permission to be a little weird. To feel. To want. And perhaps most importantly: to be loved for all of it. Healing Sometimes Looks Like a Keychain It’s easy to overlook what seems silly. But sometimes, the most minor things are what crack us open. A tiny figure on a desk. A wide grin dangling from a bag. A strange little creature that makes you laugh for no good reason.

7. But there may be a reason. Maybe your inner child saw it first. Maybe she’s been waiting, not for something loud or life-changing, but for something soft. Something that says, I remember you. And maybe now, you’ll remember her too.

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