When You're Feeling Inside Out

I want to sing the praises of the animated film Inside Out 2 this week.
 
Now before you tune out or dismiss me, hear me out…
 
Starting with the original, the writers did a brilliant job showing the personification of each emotion to help anyone watching recognize that while we have all the emotions, we’re not whatever emotion we’re experiencing. It’s temporary.
 
In the second version, the character of Anxiety is introduced. I know anxiety is a big issue for many of us, myself included, and I have to share with you something profound from that movie so spoiler alert, if you're going to watch, stop reading!
 
In the movie, Anxiety is showing the main character Riley all the worst-case scenarios that could happen. Anxiety is so amped up in terror over the worst possible outcomes, that she begins moving so fast, she blurs. The character of Joy comes over and puts her hand on Anxiety to begin to calm that frenetic energy. Then Joy says, “You don't get to determine who Riley is.”
 
That line made me burst into tears. Why? Because when we’re in an anxiety attack, it feels like that's who we are. It feels like we can't slow down or calm down. All the catastrophic scenarios, conscious or subconscious, are ruling us. And yet, anxiety doesn't get to determine who we are. It's a state of being that’s amplified from fear.
 
I find it fascinating that it's Joy that can alleviate Anxiety. And I get it, it's almost impossible to jump from fear to joy on an emotional scale during an anxiety attack. But, what if you do imagine something uplifting- either a memory or something you’d like to experience? Even if you’re making it up! For me, that can pull me out of the spin- imagining something fantastical in my reality.

Then, put your hands over your heart and as much as you can, breathe. Let your exhale be slightly longer than your inhale, to begin to calm the internal cyclone of thoughts and feelings. Feel your feet on the ground and come into present time. As you do that, remind yourself that you’re not your anxiety. This is temporary. This state of being doesn't determine who you really are.