"Inside Out 2": How Emotions Work in You | A Therapist Commentary

Originally posted on YouTube 5/17/25.
As part of my series of movie reflections for Mental Health Awareness Month (May), here's my full, spoiler-filled, commentary on the Disney Pixar film "Inside Out 2" (2024). This movie was a perfect illustration of how emotions function, how memories and beliefs form, and the need to integrate unpleasant experiences and truths about yourself. I touch on the necessary roles of mothering and fathering from parents, as well as the controversy over whether Riley's admiration and envy of Val was LGBT-coded.

#mentalhealthawarenessmonth #InsideOut2 #MovieCommentary #Emotions #Anxiety #Subpersonalities #SenseofSelf #ImplicitLearning #Parenting #SameSexAttraction #EmotionalRegulation #Mindfulness

References:
Leonard Sax. (2016). The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids when We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups.
Abigail Shrier. (2024). Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up.

For more on the topics addressed:
Transformational Change of Attachment, Schemas, and Sexuality through Memory Reconsolidation: https://youtu.be/yDL7zOIMYvQ
The "A" Words for Attachment-Based Needs: https://youtu.be/5Goz4fdt4G0
The Self-State Model for Self-Regulation: https://youtu.be/YLhWwE2RSW4
Polyvagal Theory Validates Reintegrative Therapy: https://youtu.be/jA9QuFlYd_c
Incarnational Counseling: Mindfulness and Christianity: https://youtu.be/affXzlIWqvs
Taking EVERY Thought Captive? | CBT or Mindfulness in Christian Counseling: https://youtu.be/J8NVVh2ZJIs
Casting Your Anxiety on God: A More Informed Approach: https://youtu.be/Fqb94uehyrY
Happy Patriarchy Day! On the Meaning of Fatherhood: https://youtu.be/IqN1sVGj-KI
Anger: https://youtu.be/RKzhBNkHptw
What Are Emotions For? https://youtu.be/p-k86zW2NwA
My Honor-Shame playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAyCJnSE2gfrDqx13fRvknSjyyl3nfvyZ

Timestamps:
01:51 Is it woke?
05:34 Adolescence and the need for parental authority.
07:52 Memories, beliefs, and sense of self.
10:28 Mothering (Pleasure Principle) and Fathering (Reality Principle).
14:37 Enter puberty.
15:51 Anxiety enters.
16:18 Is Riley gay? (Discussing the eroticization of admiration and envy.)
23:22 Introducing new emotions and how Anxiety functions.
25:51 Neuroception.
26:56 Scenario-building.
27:37 Expressive emotions vs. inhibitory emotions.
30:57 Schemas and implicit/emotional learning.
33:25 Anxiety and honor-shame dynamics.
36:08 The need for mindful reflection on hard truths about yourself.
39:37 Denial makes you vulnerable to major anxiety.
43:55 Your sense of self should be based on total truth.
44:35 Self-regulation through grounding and mindfulness.
46:21 Co-regulation through attachment and attunement.
47:57 Selecting emotional states (subpersonalities) from the core self.
49:37 How to utilize anxiety.
52:32 Security from God's perfect love.

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God bless!
-Andrew Rodriguez