Warning: Massive spoilers ahead.

Anyone who knows me will confirm that I am a child at heart. And, as a therapist, I obviously loved the first Inside Out movie. So when my daughter and wife took me to see Pixar's Inside Out 2 for Father’s Day this year, I was excited to go. Little did I know that I was about to watch a movie that perfectly encapsulates the anxious experience and offers profound insights for those struggling with intrusive thoughts, shame, and anxiety.

Briefly, Inside Out 2 continues the story of a just-turned-13-year-old girl named Riley who goes off to summer hockey camp with a couple of friends, puberty, and a whole host of new emotions. Her familiar emotions, including Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear, are equally as unprepared as Riley is for the new crew. Headed by Anxiety, the emotions of Embarrassment, Envy, Ennui, and Nostalgia set out to help Riley navigate new social pressures and prepare for her future.

As Anxiety and company set to work tinkering with Riley’s personality, belief system, and tenuous interpersonal skills, we can see several familiar examples of how we experience big feelings, including anxiety, that offer us some ideas of how we can better understand our emotions, experience compassion for our struggles, and grow into stronger, more confident people.

For those of us with anxiety (i.e., everyone), we sometimes think........

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