Stranger Things Thoughts
Warning Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 spoilers ahead
I finished watching Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 and I am still feeling all of the emotions. I immediately asked all my therapist friends if they watch the show because I wanted to geek out with someone about the ties to the work we do with our clients. Not many had seen the show, so if you’re reading this, you get to hear my rants.
Season 4 had some clear connections to mental health that honestly first got me hooked on the show. The villain (Vecna/One/Henry) uses people who have a trauma history to achieve his evil goals. He uses their darkest memories against them. He convinces them that they are not worthy of good things in this world, and he torments them through flashbacks, nightmares, physical symptoms (hello, PTSD ). He clouds their thinking and it all appears hopeless, until one of his targets accesses her own strength through the power of music. When Max hears a song that has kept her going through a challenging year, she then starts to recall positive memories and moments of connection with her closest friends. I love those moments during therapy, when a client has a breakthrough and is able to cling to hope. They find their way out of the despair and darkness. Trauma tries to tell us the worse things about ourselves. It tries to keep us from seeing the truth. I love helping clients “run up that hill” to find healing and redemption on the other side.
So, Season 5 finally airs, and we see Will gain some new self-confidence. He has already begun this journey, but Robin also starts to plant seeds, sort of giving Will permission to be himself. Robin tells Will about how she had been looking for answers in somebody else. She shared how it wasn’t until she watched a video of her younger self that it clicked for her. She had the answers within herself. How many times do we seek validation from others? We think we will be fulfilled if only we could be accepted. But what if you found that younger version of you that has always been there? What if you accepted them?
For four seasons, we see there’s a dark hold over Will that he can’t shake. Until finally in a pivotal moment, we see Will recall past memories from his childhood. We see scenes played of beautiful moments of connection with his family and best friend. Characteristics of Will’s personality are shown in these clips. Then, Will begins to access strength within and realizes his full potential. He takes reign of these powers and saves his friends. It seemed to me a great reflection of the power we have within us if we begin to look inward.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapy modality I use with most of my clients. The theory is that we are made up of different components or parts of ourselves. These parts can be formed at different times in our lives and shape our personalities. Sometimes these parts can carry burdens or negative beliefs about ourselves. When a part is in the driver’s seat, it might cause you to feel angst, defeat, stuck, or downright dysregulated. At the core, we all have a True Self. This True Self is usually characterized by one of these 8 C qualities: Calmness, Curiosity, Clarity, Compassion, Confidence, Creativity, Courage, and Connectedness. When Robin described the moment of accepting herself, she said she felt carefree and fearless. Her description was spot on with quality of True Self. This is where I truly geeked about the comparisons to IFS and Stranger Things. Will appeared to access his True Self and was able to use this energy to overcome burdens he had been carrying for so long. I can’t wait for Volume 2 to see what else Will does from here.
