If you haven’t seen the movie Inside Out, or you want a chance to see it again and discuss its incredible message, please join us at Positive Pathways for Movie Night on December 11th from 6-8pm! (more details at the end of this post)
Movies can be a great way to add context to things that we are going through – like eating disorders and emotions. The journeys of characters can help us gain different perspectives on our situations. To illustrate how we can navigate through the complexities of eating disorders and emotions, the movie Inside Out by Disney’s Pixar offers a wonderful roadmap.
Inside Out is a great story about a young girl and an emotional journey. It combines elements of the hero’s journey with important emotional truths about the human experience. For those struggling with eating disorders and emotions, this movie can be a great analogy for the interplay of our primary emotions, and how to allow our emotions to come into balance. All of our emotions have a purpose, and while some may be uncomfortable, it is learning how to feel all of our feelings that complete recovery from eating disorders is possible.
Without giving too much of the storyline away, Inside Out shows how we need all of our emotions, and that when we favor one, it can squelch important experiences. The main character, Riley, is shown in her stages of developing memories and personality. One of her dominant emotions strives to keep in control of all experiences in order to make Riley happy. Putting on a happy face even when we are feeling sad or angry or afraid is a common experience for many people. However, we were born with the ability to experience a range of emotions for a reason. They color our memories and contribute to the complexity of who we are.
When it comes to struggling with eating disorders and emotions, we may be searching for a way to feel a positive emotion at the price of another emotion that needs to be acknowledged. In the movie, there is a command center in the mind, and one emotion in particular assumes charge over it. But this keeps other emotions from getting in their say. The more we try to bury that other feeling, the more it tries to get into our consciousness. With eating disorders, we might use binge eating, purging or restrictive eating as a way to bury feelings we don’t like. But as illustrated in the movie, those uncomfortable emotions are the key to our wholeness – and to eating disorder recovery.
Inside Out illustrates that not all experiences and memories are black and white. Life is not all happy nor all sad, all angry nor all fear. The richness of life taps into all of our emotions, like colors of a rainbow. Joy can come from sadness. Anger can come from fear. And when we are honest about our emotional experience, we allow ourselves to experience things in a more richly colorful way – and even deepen our connections with others through our authentic and vulnerable emotional expression.
Join us at Positive Pathways to watch Inside Out, followed by a discussion about eating disorders and emotions – on Friday, December 11 from 6-8pm. Popcorn and sodas provided, or bring your own snacks and non-alcoholic beverages! LEARN MORE or PRINT FLYER
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If you’re looking for more guidance about eating disorders and emotions, contact Emily Johnson, MA – the author of this blog article. Emily is an EDIT™ Certified Counselor, and has a specialty in athletes with eating disorders. EMAIL EMILY OR LEARN MORE: http://positivepathways.com/edit-certified-counselors/
Interested in a FREE consultation? Dr. Dorie would like to get to know you and give you feedback about EDIT™ individual therapy and group options. Call 720-606-3242 or learn more: http://positivepathways.com/free-consultation/
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