This past June, a very important film for understanding emotions was released called “Inside Out 2.” The original movie, “Inside Out, “released in 2015, put its viewers into the shoes of Riley, a typical pre-teen girl and introduced the viewer to the five major emotions that controlled her life, Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness, very typical emotions for a girl that age. As Riley nears puberty and her teenage years, her emotional system takes a sharp turn, and this is where “ Inside Out 2” picks up. (image designed by FreePik.com)
In the middle of the night, maintenance workers come in and begin renovations for some new emotions. The next day we meet, Ennui (boredom), Envy, Embarrassment, and most notably, Anxiety. Being the most important emotion in her life thus far, Joy has a quick reality check as Anxiety comes up to home plate to bat for Riley.
In the fall, Riley will be attending a different high school than her best friends and she has to decide, while at hockey camp, whether she’ll change her personality to get in with the other hockey girls who will be in school or stay true to her old friends.
Anxiety ends up banishing the original five feelings from emotion headquarters and makes drastic changes. She completely flips Riley’s belief system and pushes Riley to do things, making her feel she is “not good enough.” Towards the end of the movie, Riley is put into the penalty box which triggers her first panic attack. In headquarters, Anxiety begins to spin out of control and can’t stop her awful worry spiral. Joy and the original crew make it back to headquarters just in time to calm things down and Riley quickly recovers.
This delightful animated movie is a testament to the struggles most teens and many adults have with anxiety on a daily basis and speaks to how emotions can change like the weather during a single day and over the course of our lives.
I can’t help but reflect on the fact that although this is a movie about a teenager, it is a depiction of an emotion, Anxiety, that all too many adults experience as well. So many things about the movie struck home: how quickly anxiety came on and how strongly it took hold; how anxiety can change the way that we perceive ourselves and affect the things we do; how anxiety can cause us to always be preparing for things to go wrong and how it can cause people, young and old, to strive for perfection; and most importantly, how anxiety can steal the joy from our everyday lives.
It is crucial that we be aware of and understand all the emotions we experience, especially anxiety, and get help when needed. If anxiety is stealing the joy from your life, give me a call.
(This blog was prepared with the help of my wonderful summer intern, Sam Fields. Many thanks to Sam for his incisive thinking and his hard work.)