Application Paper on Pixar\'s Inside Out and Riley\'s Adjustment Disorder PDF

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Summary

For the application paper due at the end of the quarter for Psych 218, students must choose a character from a movie or tv show that may have some psychological disorder. For this specific paper, Riley is from Pixar's "Inside Out" and her Adjustment Disorder diagnosis. After moving from Minnesota to...

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Application Paper

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Stop Burying and Start Expressing Emotions Jackson E. Kennedy Louisiana Tech University

Inside Out is not only one of Pixar's most successful but accurate psychological films. The movie introduces Riley, a baby, and shows Riley growing up and experiencing essential milestones. However, Riley nor her family are the main characters; instead, Riley's emotions, including Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, act as the protagonists throughout the movie. These

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characters work at "headquarters," which in reality is just Riley's brain controlling her emotions while also providing insight into how she responds to different stressors as the movie progresses. The film introduces the conflict when Riley, now at the age of 11, discovers her family is moving from Minnesota to San Francisco, California, for her father's new job. Although optimistic, Riley continues to have poor experiences in San Francisco and even creates her first sad core memory after crying in front of new classmates on the first day of school. In a desperate attempt to prevent Riley from experiencing any more problems, Joy attempts to prevent Sadness from playing any role in Riley's life. Unfortunately, this decision comes back to hurt her when both Joy and Sadness are sucked into a memory tube, thus leaving Riley unable to feel happy or sad. The rest of the movie reveals Joy and Sadness'attempt to return to headquarters before Riley loses all qualities of her personality. Kids and teenagers hide their emotions more than ever before, especially when they struggle out of fear and judgment, and something needs to change to stop this trend. After moving from Minnesota to San Francisco, Riley begins to disengage from her family and lose interest in her hobbies, such as hockey. Additionally, Riley becomes easily agitated and can longer control her emotions which causes her to cry in school and become angry during hockey tryouts. Overall, Riley's difficulty adjusting to her new home suggests that Riley is suffering from Adjustment Disorder. According to Johns Hopkins University, Adjustment Disorder is "an emotional or behavioral reaction to a stressful event or change in a person's life." Considering Riley's symptoms began within three months of moving, which is the stressor, and continued for an unspecified amount of time, the diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder with depressed mood and anxiety make the most sense. Furthermore, Adjustment Disorder symptoms should not last for more than six months unless

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identified as chronic. However, as the movie comes to an end, Riley appears to take the first step in improving her mental health when she expresses her emotions. There is also an argument that Riley illustrates symptoms equivalent to Major Depressive Disorder; however, in my opinion, the film does not provide enough proof to confirm this diagnosis. Despite illustrating depression, loss of interest in activities, and lack of concentration, Riley does not experience five or more symptoms during the same two-week period required by the DSM-5. Thus, while Major Depressive Disorder cannot be ruled out, it can neither be confirmed. While Pixar's Inside Out is a significant success, it is also highly accurate for such a complex subject. The movie's accuracy is due primarily to the director of the film Pete Docter who took it upon himself to find experts in the field of Psychology. In an interview with Keltner, Wes Judd explains the filmmakers' steps in making an accurate movie saying, "To ensure they translated complex psychological issues accurately and clearly, they turned to two of the leading minds in the study of emotions, Paul Ekman and Dacher Keltner" (2017). Dr. Dacher Keltner, an emotions expert and psychology professor at the University of California Berkeley, played a significant role in assisting Pete Docter to ensure that Riley's actions accurately reflect her emotions. Additionally, the movie accurately depicts different aspects of memory and the relationship between memory and emotions by having Sadness touch the core memory and turn it into a negative memory. Throughout the film, many features pay homage to the brain and the complex process of memory and emotions, yet with the assistance of psychologists and neuroscientists, Pete Docter successfully illustrates the role of memory and emotions in an adolescent girl suffering from Adjustment Disorder. Although moving from Minnesota to San Francisco is the main reason Riley later experiences symptoms of Adjustment Disorder, her parents also play a minor role in the diagnosis. During the first night at their new house, Riley's mom asks Riley to

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keep smiling to help her father continue being their "happy girl" during this challenging transition. Although she is unaware of it, Riley's mom asks her daughter to suppress her emotions. When Riley experiences a problem finding her role in her new environment, she cracks just a little until eventually shattering into pieces. The best treatment option for Riley would be family therapy because of their close bond and recent lack of communication. Most of Riley's core memories include her mother and father, regardless of whether the memory was happy or sad, proving that her parents play a pivotal role in her life. Riley begins struggling when her mother asks her to keep smiling and be their "happy girl" so her father will have support, but this causes Riley not to express how she feels about moving to San Francisco. As Riley continues to lose interest in her hobbies and struggles socially rather than expressing her problems to her parents, she holds her emotions, which eventually causes Adjustment Disorder. Family therapy is almost proven to be the ideal treatment as the movie comes to an end and Riley finally opens up to her parents, saying, "You need me to be happy, but I want my old friends and my hockey team. I wanna go home. Please don't be mad". After this interaction, Riley's parents hug her and explain that they miss Minnesota as well. Family therapy focuses on improving communication and support among the family to create an open and healthy relationship for the entire family and prevent any family member from feeling guilty or not supported. In conclusion, Pixar's movie Inside Out uses incredible techniques and illustrates the complex memory system and the importance of expressing your emotions. Many people believe that if you are not happy, then something is wrong with you, but the truth is that all emotions are vital in building our character and building our memories. Nobody can be happy all the time, and in fact, it is often those who seem to be the happiest that are hurting the most. This film proves the

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damage that can occur from burying your feelings, and most importantly, do not let the fear of judgment prevent you from asking for help. Regardless of what you may be going through, somebody out there has, is, or will be in the same position, so please ask for help. Again… do not suffer in silence

References “Adjustment Disorders.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 25 Oct. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adjustmentdisorders/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355230. “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5).” DSM-5, www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm. “It's All In Your Head: Director Pete Docter Gets Emotional In 'Inside Out'.” NPR, NPR, 19 Feb. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/02/19/467338375/its-all-in-your-head-director-petedocter-gets-emotional-in-inside-out. Judd, Wes. “A Conversation With the Psychologist Behind 'Inside Out'.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 8 July 2015, psmag.com/social-justice/a-conversation-with-psychologistbehind-inside-out....