Anxiety Disorders in Movies

When the principal character in the movie “High Anxiety” encountered weird situations at the Psycho-Neurotic Institute where he worked, he himself became a victim of high anxiety in the turn of events. Though the film was jocularly made and had shown anxiety disorder in a lighter vein, in reality, the disease can be serious business. Anxiety disorder ranks among one of the top in the mental illness list.

You will see anxiety disorders treatment centers in California proliferate in the vicinity of Hollywood itself, where films are being made about anxiety disorder. It is never hard to find anxiety treatment in Los Angeles.

Although movies are made revolving around every mental illness, on anxiety disorder alone there are a handful of them. They have showcased every pertinent aspect of the disease. Quite a few had also turned out to be runaway successes. Here, we take a quick look at some of the movies exploring the many facets of anxiety disorder:

Anxiety disorder may arise out of life-situations and a sense of worthlessness engulfs the patient, akin to the character played by Bette Davis in the 1942 movie ‘Now, Voyager’. She is dominated by her mother, is overweight and her self-esteem hits rock bottom. She suffers from anxiety disorder until a psychiatrist comes to her rescue. With treatment she regains her self confidence and connects to life, love, and romance. This is how it goes with anxiety disorder. You’ll need help in the form of a psychiatrist or clinical expert to see you through the ordeal.

In the movie ‘What About Bob’, the character Bob suffers from agoraphobia, which is an extreme fear of open or public places in a person. The film trails the protagonist’s journey with his psychiatrist and how he gets cured of his anxiety disorder.

Alfred Hitchcock, the maverick filmmaker known for his ability to make audience wriggle in their seats, explored an array of anxiety disorders in his film ‘Vertigo’. Right from suicide to acrophobia (fear of heights), the movie is an insight into the minds of people with anxiety disorders. A must-watch if you are looking for movies with an adrenalin rush.

“Airplane” is another movie which is a low-down on ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’, a serious form of anxiety disorder. An ex-pilot suffers from PTSD because of a scary event in his life. When he gets on to a plane in pursuit of his girlfriend he finds himself in the eye of the storm as both the pilots fall ill due to food poisoning. Will he be able to overcome his fear of flying and land the plane safely? The film is a gripping tale about his struggle with PTSD and how he steers all the passengers to safety.

‘The Many Fears of Marnie’, ‘Greenberg’ and ‘The Aviator’ are other examples of movies revolving around anxiety disorder. Watch them if you want to discover how anxiety disorder can play havoc in a person’s life and how important it is to receive treatment on time.