Inside Out 2: Befriending an Anxious Part

If you haven’t seen the movie Inside Out, you definitely should. In the first movie, audiences are introduced to Riley's core emotions – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. These emotions live in Riley’s mind and control her emotions.

Inside Out 2 follows Riley into puberty, introducing new emotions – Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Anxiety. I recently saw the movie, and I can't stop thinking about it!

Riley’s anxious part is a prominent presence throughout the film, controlling her every move and preventing other emotions from coming through. Anxiety believes it knows what’s best for Riley, expressing how it helps her make friends, get playtime on the hockey team, and convinces the other parts that this is what Riley needs for her future.

As the story progresses, the other parts of Riley start to notice that Anxiety is hijacking her, causing her to lose perspective. They want to stop Anxiety, but it becomes louder, stronger, and even kicks out the other parts trying to intervene. In the climax, Anxiety is seen gripping the control board, eyes wide, frozen in fear, while chaos swirls around. The other parts yell at Anxiety to let go, but it can't. Finally, Joy approaches Anxiety, sees it for what it is trying to do, and offers care and compassion. At this point, Anxiety lets go of control.

This film offers a profound look at how different parts within us can take over, hijack our system, and even cause us to lose some control. It also shows us that even the parts that may feel negative to us have positive intentions. So, what can we do if we notice an anxious part similar to Riley’s?

Using the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, we can work with our anxious parts by using the 6 Fs:

1.     Find the part in, on, or around the body.

2.     Focus on it. Turn your attention towards it.

3.     Flesh it out. What is the image with this part?

4.     Feel- How do you feel towards this part?

5.     BeFriend the part. Understanding the part with compassion.

6.     Fear- What does this part fear? Finding out what this part is protecting.

After understanding the part for what it is doing, we can begin to befriend it. This is what Joy does at the end of the movie. She befriends Anxiety by seeing its intended function, and offering care and compassion.

To build this relationship, reassure the anxious part by saying, "I appreciate you trying to protect me. I see what you are doing." Acknowledge its protective role, often hiding other parts (exiled parts) of us that are hurt and vulnerable. Can you see the protection? Can you honor the good? Notice how you feel towards the part. Seeing a therapist who practices IFS can help create awareness within ourselves, unburden and integrate parts, and heal the parts that are stuck.

 Written By: Cala Ochs, MSW, LCSW