Inside Out 2 is a touching story that gripped me the entire time. When discussing afterwards, I landed on 3 profound psychological and therapeutic truths that can be drawn from this story.
CAUTION - This post has spoilers to the movie. You have been warned.
First, anxiety has a purpose, but if it becomes the primary driver, it will overrule one’s life. Inside Out 2 highlights how an unhealthy level of self-reliance and rampant anxiety may lead to intense dysregulation and relationship breaking behavior. Anxiety is an evolutionary development in humans. It stirs up thoughts, emotions, and actions to help us survive. If someone never feels anxiety, something is wrong. A functional anxiety floods the body with adrenaline, heightens awareness, and can increase performance depending on a person’s relationship with the anxiety. At the very least, it alerts someone of their perceived risk.
In the movie, Riley is anxious because she believes a threat exists to her future friendships. Rightly managed, anxiety is a useful tool to notify her of the threat. But, when anxiety is reinforced by untenable defense mechanisms and leads to an unhealthy level of self-reliance it forces a person into a boxing match with all of creation. The character Anxiety leads Riley to attempt control over existence: Riley MUST deduce every possible outcome and then enact a fail-safe plan. Riley comes face to face with reality. She cannot control everything. BUT she can control some things, primarily, her own sphere of influence.
The viewers of Inside Out 2 see this integrated behavior at the conclusion of the movie: Anxiety begins to overthink a situation. This worry is acknowledged, determined as beyond her control at the moment and redirected to what she can control - a Spanish test later in the week. Riley thus appropriately listens to her anxiety and uses it to motivate her to care for the thing in her sphere of influence.
Second, our emotions are to integrate into the Self. At the climax of the movie, Joy and Anxiety exchange briefly that they do not get to choose who Riley is. In a moment of clarity, Joy dispatches the “tree” she tried forcing upon Riley. What happens next is the growth of a new and more complex tree. This tree holds in balance the various beliefs Riley has about herself. The audience hears “I am a good person,” “I am not enough,” and “I need help sometimes.”
As the Emotions witness the tree’s display of shifting beliefs, led by Joy, they embrace the tree. This embrace symbolizes a submission of the emotions to the Self and an acceptance of the Self. A maturing person will encounter seemingly contradictory thoughts about who they are. Each person holds a deeply complex belief system that is informed by countless experiences and memories. The person who embarks on a journey to integrate and accept each of these beliefs as a part of self will fashion a differentiated and connected Self. Their emotions will submit to the Self. The person will become beautiful and intricate, capable of managing their emotions and circumstances as they come. They will accept their thoughts and feelings as they are, and then choose the next best action.
Lastly, choosing joy is an intentional decision and may require effort. Once Riley accepts who she is, imperfections and all, and the Emotions submit to the Self, she comes out of a panic attack. She then admits her faults to her best friends and asks for forgiveness. Integration of the Self and the emotions became the pathway to healed relationships with others and with herself. In the peace and the return to loving friendship, Riley consciously chooses joy to influence her actions. She then actively decides to be joyful about where she is, what she is doing, and more importantly, WHO she is. Riley grows into a defined Self who can hold with integrity seemingly paradoxical beliefs and values about her identity.
A final note - It does not matter the amount of failure or successes a person may have. What matters is the Self’s inherent dignity and goodness. The person who submits to this reality and accepts this self is more capable of choosing joy in life.
Stephen Doran
Graduate Student Intern
Supervised by Courtney Lipscomb, LPC # 82251
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