I went to see Inside Out 2 and they absolutely got it right.
I went to see Inside Out 2 and they absolutely got it right.
If you have not seen the movie Inside Out 2 then stop here.
*** this contains spoilers
I wasn’t sure what to expect. How can they portray what it feels like to experience anxiety in only 90 minutes? (clearly my anxiety was already revving up). Riley has hit the age of the TEEN in the film. All our usual emotions are present, still working hard to take care of Riley. When suddenly an alarm sounds alerting the transition into, PUBERTY!
Soon Anxiety, Ennuie, Embarrassment and Envy show up at Headquarters.
They quickly capture the SELF. The essence of who Riley is. (the Self is the unchanging part of each and every one of us) In true Joy fashion she is trying to make the experience of life for Riley as pleasant as possible. Full of nothing but the shiny best parts of herself. We will soon find out when teen angst takes over, perfectionism rears its ugly head and the woes of teenage social dynamics take over and the Self begins to change.
The Self as portrayed in the film, like a tree of life. A collection of Riley’s personality, her self talk, her best memories. I talk about the Self in the therapy space as all of the different parts of us. These parts in the film are represented by all the different emotions. As we experience life we experience emotions and from the combination of the two we draw conclusions about who we are in the world and how the world works.
In the movie, when Riley creates a memory we begin to hear the thought that goes along with it. These thoughts began changing the Self that makes up who Riley is. We see first hand how when Anxiety is at the control panel Riley’s thoughts begin to change. As someone who lives with anxiety and as a mom and social worker, the thoughts Riley begins to develop were heart breaking. The moment she has the BIGGEST thought of all, “I am not good enough!” I sobbed. This is one I hear so often. We can see how all of Anxiety’s efforts in directing Riley’s behavior (note, feeling, behavior, thought, this is a cycle I teach often to my clients) was in an effort to keep her feeling included and good enough.
I found myself sobbing as Anxiety spun out of control and Riley experienced a genuine and authentic portrayal of a panic attack in the film. As all of the emotions worked together to let Anxiety know she is not alone, Anxiety states one powerful line, “I was just trying to protect her!” Cue more tears!
YES!
So many of the feelings we feel, the parts as they show up are so uncomfortable and even can drive us further and further from our truest essence of Self. Yet, it is so important to know that each part, each emotion is there trying it’s hardest to protect us. If you recall from the first film, Disgust is only trying to protect Riley from the grossness of broccoli (I love the reference in the second movie!) Fear is only trying to help baby Riley see that there are dangers in the world. Most powerfully in both films we learn that the goal is not to repress any of the emotions, but to allow each to play their part.
In the end when the repressed emotions make it back to headquarters and work together to soothe Anxiety, we learn that all the emotions are welcome and necessary. That Riley is not only her most pleasant thoughts about herself, “I am a good person” but that she also carries the thoughts from her Anxiety. Each and every part makes up who she is. All valid. All welcome.
You dear reader, are a beautiful compilation of all of your emotions. We need each part of ourselves to make up who we are.
