This new sequel shows that teen anxiety isn't always a bad thing

When we think of teens suffering from anxiety, we are likely to think of it as a mental health problem. But Inside Out 2 shows that anxiety is a normal feeling and can have a positive purpose, as long as it doesn't take over.

The film is a sequel to the hit Pixar animation Inside Out (2015), which tells the story of 11-year-old Riley who must move to a new town while her emotions – personified as joy, sadness, anger, Fear and disgust – struggles to maintain balance in one's mind.

In Inside Out 2, we return to Riley's life in San Francisco, where she's made new best friends and is having a blast on the ice hockey rink. His core emotions now make up a well-functioning team. Everything is fine. Until the puberty alarm goes off.

As with Inside Out, the sequel has a lot of fun visually imagining our internal processes. Puberty throws a wrecking ball into Riley's mental headquarters as builders arrive to carry out renovations. It's a great way to show that puberty not only brings psychological, physical and hormonal changes, but also influences brain development.

In the film, this reconstruction gives way to new personified emotions: Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy and Boredom. In reality, we don't suddenly develop additional emotions in adolescence, but our emotional experiences are more intense and less stable than in adulthood.

Emotional new characters help Riley navigate the challenges of teenage life. Most of the story takes place at hockey camp, a microcosm of the teenage social world. Riley is about to transition to high school where she hopes to become a member of the ice hockey team, the Firehawks. At hockey camp, she is torn between her friends from her old school and the desire to impress the older, cooler Firehawks players.

Here we see how anxiety can play a positive role in our lives. Anxiety takes over and presents itself as a future-oriented emotion that helps Riley try to avoid bad consequences.

One of the main causes of Riley's anxiety is the fear of not having friends in high school. This is a reasonable thing to be concerned about. Peer relationships become increasingly important during adolescence, and teenage friendship experiences are linked to our well-being.

In the world of Inside Out 2, Family Island (representing Riley's time with and love for her family) is still present, but stands in the shadow of the large and exciting Friendship Island. Riley's actions are full of typical teenage awkwardness, but Anxiety and the other new emotional characters work toward meaningful goals.

It is true that we should be concerned about anxiety rates among young people. Anxiety disorders can develop in early childhood. Generalized anxiety disorder is the most common form among young adolescents.

There is evidence that rates of adolescent anxiety have increased and have a long-term impact on a range of outcomes, from academic performance to earnings in adulthood.

However, there is a difference between the feeling of anxiety we see in Inside Out 2 and an anxiety disorder. Having worries is a normal part of growing up, just as it is a part of adult life.

As the film shows, the problem can arise when anxiety increasingly takes over. A new concept introduced is the development of a sense of self, made up of strands of beliefs that Riley has about herself and linked to her memories, such as: “I am a good friend.”

Anxiety decides that Riley's existing sense of self is no longer fit for purpose and throws him away, forcing Joy and the other original emotions to travel into the depths of the mind to save him. And if you want to find out what Riley's deepest, darkest secret is, stay for the post-credits scene.

As a psychologist, I appreciated that Inside Out 2 shows emotion regulation – how we manage our emotional responses. When anxiety takes over, the core emotions of Inside Out are repressed and suppressed. Suppression can help us deal with difficult situations, like when Riley holds back tears until she's no longer in front of people.

However, research has shown that another strategy, cognitive reappraisal, is linked to better psychological outcomes in adolescents. Reappraisal involves thinking differently about a situation in order to feel a different emotional response, such as viewing a challenge as an opportunity.

Old and new emotions must figure out how to work together, perhaps by reassessing the situation. Joy learns to see the arrival of new emotional characters differently and to recognize that Riley's sense of self must evolve and be made up of all of her emotional experiences and memories. Anxiety can play a helpful role, as long as it doesn't become overwhelming.

The story arc was at times reminiscent of Joy learning to appreciate the role of Sadness in Inside Out, but the intrigue and added psychological complexity are interesting enough that the sequel still feels fresh.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Alana James does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.