Disney’s Masterful Exposé of Riley’s Brain on Puberty Reminds Me that Emotional Regulation Can Be Hard for Adults, Too

 

by Jenna Kruse

 

It would be easy to chalk up Disney’s newest Pixar hit, Inside Out 2, as cinema therapy for those whose hormone siren just went off—it certainly normalizes teeth that haven’t yet surrendered to the braces, skin that won’t cooperate, and the awkwardness of needing deodorant for the first time.

 

But as the movie masterfully gives a behind-the-scenes view of Riley’s emotional control center, I’m left wondering why, as a 40-year-old woman, I still relate so powerfully to her story—and not just as a mother of a teen and preteen.

 

Riley’s experience of puberty and the subsequent “emotional overhaul” it causes mirrors the intensity with which many teenagers—and adults—experience the flesh vs. spirit war that Romans 7-8 exposes within us all.

 

Granted, Riley and my Read more