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How watching movies helps in mental health

  • emmafrost
  • Feb 11, 2020
  • 5 min read

Every week a movie comes up. There are many things to boost up your mental health. But, watching a movie can also benefit a person. It portrays a powerful catalyst that heals out the inner mind. Movies also help to create awareness in the mind.

There are some movies that allow a person to use the effect of imagery plot, music in films to help in the psyche for insight, inspiration, emotional release or relief. There are times people wait to watch a movie in a theater just to boost up their mental activity. Movies entertain people and also encourages emotional release.


At times, people who have mental issues finds trouble in expressing out their emotions. Movies help to release out their emotions through a story they get attached to. The release of emotions makes it easier for a person to become more comfortable in expressing out their plight. The story of every individual movie depends a lot. For example, some of the sad films make a person happier as they are able to relate to their distress. The display of the sad movies shows that other tragedies make it appreciative for all the good happening in a person's life.


Movies have been playing a vital role in thousands of years. It has been helping in providing knowledge and wisdom that has passed down as an art of storytelling among the people. A good movie always helps a person to feel good and calm out their mind. One interesting factor of watching a suspenseful or thriller movie releases out stress hormones in the brain.


Movies that helped in mental health:

There are some movies that portray the mental health issue. These are the movies that helped a person to deal with their mental health issues. The powerful movies are:


A Beautiful Mind:


A beautiful mind is a powerful movie that portrays a man who is brilliant in mathematics. The story has been played by Russell Crowe that makes groundbreaking contributions that experience life with schizophrenia. This movie is a biographical drama film based on the life of an American mathematician John Nash. There are people who fight with schizophrenia and it makes it difficult for them to deal with it. A beautiful mind helps a person to come out of their mental health and learn the ways to deal with their troubles.




Inside Out:


Inside Out is an animated movie that got popularity for its story play. The story follows out a life of 11-year-old Riley and her struggles to cope up with the family when they move to San Francisco. The film shows how different emotions act all together inside the head of Riley. The emotions that showcase is Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust. These films helped many persons to understand their emotions better and how to deal with it. We all go through with different emotions like Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and these make a person find difficult to cope up with. With the screenplay, this movie helped a lot to distinguish among the emotions and help a person to cope with their feelings.




Silver Linings Playbook


Silver Linings Playbook is a movie portraying the story of Pat Solatano acted by Bradley Cooper. The movie showcases how Pat Solatano builds his life after his failed marriage along with losing his job and spending time in a mental health institution. The film also showcases the experiences of living with the issues of mental health and coping up with it.



However, there are some movies that show a different side which affects the mind of the people. One such movie is Joker released in 2019. This movie is portrayed by the actor Joaquin Phoenix acted as Arthur Fleck as a Joker.




This movie showcases a mentally ill, impoverished stand-up comedian who is disregarded by society. Followed by the story shows how the history of abuse caused him to become a nihilistic criminal. It has been a dark and compelling origin story of a man who has a painful journey to self-destruction. Joaquin Phoenix won the best actor in Oscar for his compelling acting.


There are many movies that portray the many stories dealing with mental health issues. Movies help a person to keep the mind at ease. A good movie has many benefits to deal with mental health.


Benefits of watching a good movie:


There are many benefits of watching a good movie that helps a person to deal with their mental difficulties. Movies have been encouraging the audience to get entertained or aware of the social troubles. Watching a movie every now and then helps to keep the mind relived. There are some reasons that movies help in mental health:




· Movies help in escaping from reality:


In the older times, it has been seen that escapism is the aspect of the movie. Films showcase different stories where a person goes into an unreal world. Every day people are dealing with different mental issues all the time. It becomes difficult for them to cope up with the day to day activities. The movie is a factor that helps to relax out the minds. A two-hour movie helps to immerse a person from another world, where endings better than their life endings. Watching a good movie helps to get relief from the stress of work, studies, and life in general. At the movie end, people have to deal with their day to day life again but escapism out for two hours helps a person in many ways.


· A good movie helps in releasing our emotions:


A good movie depends upon a good director that can display a good screenplay. Some of the directors make movies having own sets of problems that they are dealing with. These get a showcase in a movie. The result of such films is that it helps a person to express out their emotions in a positive way. People who are suffering out from emotions or dealing with other factors affect them the most by relating their stories and finding a way to deal with the emotions.


A sad movie makes some people cry which helps them latter to feel relaxed and drown out of heavy emotions. Likewise, a happy movie helps a person to cheer up their mood and keeps it light. A scary or thriller movie helps out to pump out full energy when a person feels a bit low-key. It helps in managing our emotions and amplifying it in finding out the emotions a person lacks in.


· Films inspire the minds of the people:


There are varieties in storytelling, movies become inspiring for a person. Some of the films picture a positive motive or creates awareness that is much needed. Watching a good movie makes a person gets motivated in doing something good. A motivational movie or a biographical movie helps in changing out and improving the life of a person who watches it. Watching a good movie helps in benefiting a person. Improvement is necessary and a positive story helps to shower positivity in the minds.


How film therapy works in mental health


Film therapy is a technique that helps a person to overcome their stress, depression, and anxiety. It has lots of benefits in boosting up the mind. Film therapy helps a person to become aware of the fears that help them to work on overcoming them. This unique technology also helps in focusing on their problems. The contents of the movie make a person aware of the problems through the screenplay.





· It helps out in providing relaxation that a person needs the most to work in a positive way.


· With the entertainment factor, it helps a person to laugh and feel positive. It also helps out a person to relax the minds.


· Movies also reflect on changing out the attitude towards your present situation, society, and other terms.


· Film therapy also helps out to build up better relations with family and friends. Watching a movie helps to spend quality time with your closed ones and this makes to get positive vibes.


· Movies are believed to be a reflective art that marks out on existential, spiritual and other factors to put an impact upon the lives.


 
 
 

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