Topic of Choice 4: Anxiety & the Upside Down - * LOW KEY SPOILERS *

Topic of Choice 4: Anxiety & the Upside Down - * LOW KEY SPOILERS *
November 24, 2017
The popular TV show Stranger Things was released last fall. Like everyone else, I binged watched the episodes late into the night and clutched all the pillows and people around me very intensely. Shortly before starting this show, I realized that I was struggling with generalized anxiety. I felt anxious all the time, regardless of whether anything stressful was actually happening. I would do things I enjoy and be with people I love, but fear reigned over my thoughts and feelings.

I am not a person who generally appreciates scary films or tv shows and I questioned if it was smart for me to be watching anything mildly scary while in this fearful place. As I watched Stranger Things, though, I noticed parallels between certain parts of the storyline and my own life. When I get very anxious, the entire world seems to darken. Places that usually seem beautiful and fun become dark and twisted. While others can be in a place and see the world as it normally is, I will be standing in the same place and see darkness and death surrounding me. This very much reminds me of the Upside Down.


Additionally, in the same way that monsters (demogorgons) escape from the Upside Down and terrorize humans in the normal world, anxiety also seeps out of one’s own heart and can damage and even wreck situations and relationships in one’s normal life. I personally have not lost any friends because of my anxiety (which is a blessing), but it definitely has also wreaked havoc on the lives of those around me. When I have been anxious, I have accidentally lashed out and been hurtful or unfair to those around me. While others may not be able to see the world that I see in those moments, they are affected by my actions. This somewhat parallels how most others, aside from Will, could not see the Upside Down as he could, but they were affected by the monster that creeped out.

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