In Inside Out 2, Anxiety explains her role as one of Riley's emotions - "My job is to protect her from the scary stuff she can't see. I plan for the future." Anxiety takes over to destroy Riley's belief system and create a new one. This shifts her belief of "I'm a good person" to "I'm not good enough". Anxiety fails to realize that without Joy as one of Riley's emotions, self-doubt will continue to grow and thrive in Riley's mind.
There's a scene where Riley has an anxiety attack while she's in the penalty box at hockey camp. As she slowly starts to recover, they show her feeling the bench she's sitting on and she hears the puck on the ice. This perfectly depicts one major coping skill for anxiety where you use your 5 senses to ground yourself in your physical reality.
3-3-3 Grounding Technique Example:
- What are 3 things you can see?
- What are 3 things you can touch?
- What are 3 things you can hear?
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