A Theme of Mental Health and Depression in Inside Out

In our world today, there are many children that are living with some form of mental illness. According to WebMD, “20% of American children will be diagnosed with a mental illness.” Children who suffer from a mental illness are likely to feel lonely, have negative feelings, and make unhealthy lifestyle decisions. Children that suffer from a mental illness can also have a difficult time expressing their feelings to others. This could lead to the most common mental disorder in children which is depression. Disney-Pixar proficiently portrays mental illness in the movie, “Inside Out,” by showing how sadness can lead to depression. 

A mental illness that is common in children is depression. Depression is a serious medical illness that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior. According to CDC, “about 3 in 4 children aged 3-17 years will have depression.” Depression in children is different than depression in adults. Children have a more difficult time expressing their feelings to others. They are confused and don’t know how to process this mental illness. “Inside Out,” is a film that was produced by Pixar in the year of 2015. The movie starts off with one of Riley’s emotions, Joy, who later introduces us to the rest of Riley’s emotions which are sadness, anger, disgust, and fear. They all live in Riley’s head. In the first part of the movie it shows Riley’s memories throughout her life. Riley’s core memories are known as her most important memories. Each Core Memory powers a different part of Riley's personality. She is now 11 years old, lives in a nice house, has loving parents and friends, and is part of the hockey team. Everything was fine until she was told that she and her parents are moving to San Francisco due to her dad getting a job offer. Her five emotions did not know how to Riley was going to feel to this. During half way of the movie, Riley did not seem so happy about moving to a new city. She wanted things to stay the same but unfortunately, she didn’t not have a word in the situation. When Riley moved to San Francisco, she was feeling down all the time. One of her five emotions, sadness, ends up turning most of her happy and positive core memories into negative and sad memories which later affects Riley’s behavior. Riley was beginning the early stages of depression. Riley ends up crying on her first day at school and she also ends up ruining her tryout for the hockey team. Riley also decides to run away. Riley took some money from her mom’s purse and makes her way to the bus station. Riley gets on the bus and her other 3 emotions struggle to think of something in order to prevent her from running away but they can't make Riley feel anything. At the end of the movie, Riley asks the bus driver to stop and gets off. Riley comes home and her parents are relieved to see her. She looked sad and her parents seemed to finally notice. Riley starts crying in front of her parents and she tells them the truth. She tells the, that she misses their home in Minnesota, her friends, and her teammates. She tells them that she’s not happy. Her parents seem to understand and helped her. In the last part of the movie, Riley is finally 12 years old, and she seems fine. She finally accepted her new life in San Francisco. 

“Inside Out,” is a film about a 11-year-old girl named Riley that had to say goodbye to her happy and nice life in Minnesota due to her father receiving a job offer in San Francisco. When they move to San Francisco, she experiences various changes in her life which end up leading to depression. Riley ends up making unhealthy decisions which later affect her. She had a difficult time expressing her feelings to others which is why she kept them to herself. But after she returned home from getting on the bus, she confesses to her parents about the way she feels. At the end of the movie, Riley seems fine living in San Francisco. Overall, the movie was about a mental illness and depression and how quickly it can develop. It is not uncommon for children to be diagnosed with depression. In order to recognize depression in children we must know the signs. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “children with depression can feel sad, have loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, have trouble sleeping, and have a difficult time thinking. In the movie, Riley displays most of these signs. She’s always feeling sad, she didn’t want to try out for the hockey team at her new school, she had trouble sleeping, and she was making unhealthy decisions. It is very important for everyone to know the signs of depression. 

Depression is a mental illness that causes sadness and loss of interest. It affects the way you think, behave, and feel. People with depression can have many symptoms throughout the day. According to Mayo Clinic, “Some symptoms of depression in children are angry outbursts, sadness, loss of interest in normal activities, trouble thinking, concentrating, and making decisions.” Depression has major consequences in young people especially if it’s left untreated. The consequences of depression can later occur in the future. Some consequences are relationship problems, suicidal thoughts, and reckless behavior. Depression is a serious mental illness that must get treated. Depression is extremely treatable, and most people get help with treatment. If depression is left untreated, it will just get worse. There are many treatment options for depression. Some treatments for depression are medical procedures, medication, therapies, and specialists. It can be difficult for people with depression to reach for help.

People that have depression can feel suicidal at times so it’s very important to know how to prevent it. If you search up, “hotline for depression,” a lot of depression hotline numbers are available to help you save a life. We can all help someone with depression. Depression in children has become an important issue in many families. Many parents feel like it is not necessary to talk to their children about mental illness. They either don’t know how to explain it to their children or they simply don’t want to. “Inside out,” gives children a deep message about mental illness and depression. It shows them how quickly it can develop. After watching “Inside Out,” many parents started to discuss mental illness with their children. They told them that it is important for them to be open about their feelings. Every family should be open about mental illness. Our mental health is very important. We must make sure that we are always taking care of ourselves. 

The movie “Inside Out” has a message to all of the young people about mental illness. The movie is showing them how sadness can lead to depression and how it can happen to anyone. It also shows them how important it is for them to get help whenever they feel sad or empty. Depression is a serious medical illness that needs to get treated right away. Mental illness is also a serious topic that everyone including children need to know about.