By Eliana Kazan, Intern
If you haven’t seen InsideOut 2 yet, what are you waiting for? This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching the new Pixar movie, Inside Out 2. Although it is a movie directed for a younger audience, the concept is extremely real and mature. If you saw the first Inside Out, you would know about how this movie takes place inside Riley, a young girl’s mind. Riley faces challenges like moving to a new school, meeting new people, and facing other aspects of growing up. Her mind is controlled by her emotions, the original crew being Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. These emotions are the most common for children and it is natural to feel all these ways. However, as I saw Riley grow in Inside Out 2, I really connected with the mental health aspect of emotions and how much we can change over time.
Now at 13, Riley has new obstacles and goals ahead of her. Along with puberty and change comes her new emotions, Anxiety, Ennui, Envy, and Embarrassment. I really connected with these emotions as I am still a teenage girl facing change as I just graduated from High School.
Throughout the movie Riley seems to find herself making difficult and unusual decisions. Luckily, the movie portrays that with new feelings and change, it is common to feel confused or conflicted about certain decisions. Riley’s fresh emotions overpower her old ones, making it difficult for Riley to feel joy or other emotions. However it is important to remember that as we go through change this is normal. Feeling large waves of anxiety or envy are typical, especially as a teen.
The character and emotion, Anxiety, resonated with me the most, as she took control of Riley’s mind and overpowered Joy. Anxiety’s role was essential to the new movie and did an amazing job showing how overpowering anxiety can be to our mental health. Like Riley, I personally struggle with strong waves of anxiety.
During anxious times like meeting new people or playing in a hockey game, anxiety would take the lead. Riley would overthink about irrational scenarios or even begin to shake and hyperventilate as her emotions built up. This happens to me as well and it can be very scary since I feel so out of control.
Luckily, with Flawless self care and mental health tips, I have adapted my anxious habits and have done a better job managing them. Not only that, but Flawless has taught me to remember that my feelings are valid. While dealing with new emotions and strong feelings can be difficult, it is a battle almost everyone has to face. The Inside Out 2 movie does a wonderful job of portraying how powerful our emotions can be, and why taking care of our mental health is so impactful to our overall health. Though mental health obstacles can be scary, this is your reminder that you are FLAWLESS.
You can watch my highlights on the movie here on this Instagram reel.
