This post contains slight spoilers about Inside Out 2
This isn’t a lengthy movie review.
I won’t go into an in depth description about scenes or characters. What I will do, is discuss how the Inside Out series continues to show case and describe human emotions in a way that makes the audience feel understood.
The first Inside Out taught us that it is okay to feel different emotions. It’s okay to feel sadness and anger as that’s what makes us human. The sequel dives into a similar objective but with newly added emotions.
I was overly excited when I heard they were making a sequel for the movie as the first one was wildly successful. When I first watched the previews and met the new emotion named “Anxiety,” I already had a hope that they would display the accuracy of this emotion in a way that all ages can understand and identify with. We were introduced to other emotions like embarrassment & envy, which are all apart of what makes us human, but in this blog I want to specifically focus on anxiety.
Anxiety stood out for me because I am someone who deals with chronic anxiety. At some point everyone feels anxious about something whether it’s a school test coming up, a job interview, a date. There’s a healthy level of anxiety to help the human mind prepare for something that will happen in the future.
But as it shows in the film, sometimes anxiety can be debilitating, to the point where it interferes with your everyday life. You’re stuck in a constant state of worry or fear and that turns into emotional or physical symptoms that can affect the mind and body.
The scene that stood out to me spoilers*
Is the part where the main character Riley has a panic attack. I saw the all to familiar signs. The quickening heartbeat, shallow breathing, the mind & body in a state overwhelm that’s almost paralyzing. Inside Out 2 portrays that emotion so well, in the mind Anxiety is spinning around out of control but also standing still in one place. It’s feeling like you’re in a flight or fight mode while not being able to do anything about it. Riley has to take some deep breaths while centering or grounding herself. This is when you focus on your body by wiggling your fingers or in her case, touching the bench.
Inside Out once again knocks emotional awareness and regulation lessons out of the park. They portray human emotions in a way that applies to all ages and I am so appreciative seeing these topics mainstream. As there was not as much representation of anxiety when I was younger, I am glad this generation gets a mainstream visual that lets people know that all emotions are normal and needed. The Inside Out series has been a model in showing that you should not suppress emotions and it is okay just to feel!
Inside Out 2 is a great sequel to the first and I would highly recommend seeing it in theaters.
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