‘I went to see a kids’ movie and it drastically improved my anxiety.’

If I got a promotion at work, there would be a little voice in my head saying “what if I’m not good enough?”

If I mispronounced a word in a presentation, a little voice in my head would say, “Everyone is laughing at you.”

If I receive a birthday gift, a little voice in my head tells me, “You don’t deserve it.”

My anxiety had always felt like a non-issue because, for the most part, it would be tied to a more dominant feeling.

However, it was still very present and noticeable.

When watching the movie, the Anxiety character explains her role as Riley’s future planner who is there to protect her from possible “scary things she can’t see.”

A big part of his job was planning every possible scenario that could happen before Riley made a decision. Because his character was anxious, most of those scenarios were terrifying, which would lead Riley to question his core beliefs.

Hawke played Anxiety brilliantly. Throughout the movie, my sister and I kept looking at each other to confirm that watching Anxiety unfold on screen was making us both… anxious. Anything she did would make us squirm in our seats and increase our heartbeats.

When the movie ended, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Anxiety described herself… Someone who plans for the future and protects herself from the things she can’t see.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized I hadn’t been as anxious as usual. I didn’t understand the ‘Sunday Scaries’, I didn’t think “My friends hate me” when they canceled plans, and I didn’t freak out about not being good enough when they offered me a project I always wanted. work.