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‘Inside Out 2’ not only provided viewers with laughs and a heart felt message, but it also highlighted several factors associated with one’s mental and emotional well-being.
The sequel to Pixar’s ‘Inside Out,’ which was released in 2015, is a film known to cater to children, but this time around the adults received a lot more than a good belly laugh and their money’s worth. The original film follows the life of a young girl named Riley and the emotions that play an integral role in her everyday life. Fast forward to the sequel and Riley is all grown up still trying to navigate those same emotions, alongside new emotions that arise. As the sequel dives deeper into the nuances that come with mental health and navigating one’s overall well-being, surpassing entertainment purposes, adults are left in deep thought reflecting on their own emotional growth.
Below are some mental health takeaways for adults from ‘Inside Out 2’:
1. It’s 100% Okay to Embrace Your Emotions
Embracing your emotions doesn’t make you weak. When you are able to open up to what you are feeling, you can better navigate how you treat yourself and treat others. Recognizing how your emotions can affect your behavior and the relationships that you share with others allows you to truly hone into your emotional development journey. When you accept that change is a part of your journey, it becomes easier to maneuver.
2. Managing Your Stress Levels Will Benefit You
We all suffer from stressful situations in some shape or form, but knowing how to show up for yourself in stressful situations can sometimes help. In order to maintain a healthy mental health and well-being, it’s important that you learn to incorporate certain stress management techniques. Being an adult is hard and nobody can tell you different, but there are several ways to manage one’s stress including seeking help, practicing mindfulness, and being okay with change.
3. Change is Good
It’s normal to immediately perceive certain changes as negative, but the reality of the situation is that change is good. When you’re approached with different changes in your life, you can feel scared and it can be quite daunting, but you have the ability to create the trajectory of your future. Although not everything will go your way in life, making the most out of a situation can create a space where you have the upper hand in creating your happy place and defining what true happiness means to you.
4. Stay True to Who You Are
Even as adults we can sometimes find ourselves in situations where we change who we are in order to appease others. Those people who accept you for who you are, are simply your people. You will never need to change or manipulate your true self when you’re in the presence of good people. Embrace who you are and love all the parts of you, even the parts that can be a bit tricky to understand at times. The right people will always be in your corner and won’t ask you to show up as anyone other than yourself.
5. Don’t Let Anxiety Override Your Joy
Some of your happiest moments or what should’ve been happy moments have been ruined because of your anxious thoughts. While both anxiety and joy happen to be complex emotions, they are two emotions that can cause an immense amount of feeling. Anxiety has a way of interrupting and making you think there’s no way things can be going as good as they are. Anxiety makes you overthink and doesn’t allow room for positive emotions to seep in, unless you do the hard work to block it out. The uphill battle between anxiety and joy makes experiencing life confusing and cause you to miss out on some of the best moments given to you. Always lead with joy and remember that you are worth it, you deserve it and anxiety has no room in your life.
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5 Mental Health Takeaways For Adults From The ‘Inside Out 2’ Movie was originally published on elev8.com
