Winnie the Pooh: Piglet and Anxiety
Hey All!
As you will have gathered from my last post, very few things make me as happy as Winnie the Pooh. It is one of the things that I turn to for comfort when I am most overwhelmed and it has been something that has bought me joy for as long as I can remember. This last week is one that I found particularly overwhelming, and at times I have most definitely struggled and found myself feeling especially overloaded. For this reason I felt like writing something a little lighter today and I thought I would tie one of my very favourite things to one of the key themes of this blog: mental health.
One only has to step foot into the world of the internet to find many theories about the various characters of Winnie the Pooh representing different mental illnesses. I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with the illnesses attached to certain characters and like many retrospective theories about children's media I think that these theories can be a little stretched. However, one character whose anxious nature is Piglet. This doesn't necessarily mean that Piglet was or is specifically intended to represent anxiety disorders, he could simply be an anxious individual. Regardless, Piglet's nature as an easily frightened worrier is incredibly interesting to me.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety for years now and has always been a naturally anxious person Piglet is a character who I find very easy to relate to and understand. Actually, the way in which Piglet's anxious character is presented fits quite nicely with my own understanding of my general, day to day anxiety. Certain things can heighten Piglet's anxiety, such as the thought of a Backson or going on an expedition to find a Heffalump, and of course Piglet's predisposition to feeling anxious means that in such as these he is often a little more frightened than his friends. However, this is not to say that Piglet's feelings of what seems to be anxiety disappear as soon as such activities come to an end and he returns to daily life. It is my personal observation that Piglet seems to live with a somewhat constant low-level feeling of anxiety, a anxiousness that is manageable but still leaves him feeling on edge a lot of the time. This is how I would more accurately experience of anxiety. Instead of describing complete relaxation with extreme peaks in anxiety, I would rather describe myself as a generally anxious person who experiences some instances of increased anxiety (e.g. panic/panic attacks). For me this is potentially why Piglet is such a relatable character.
One thing I particularly love about the how Piglet's being anxious is handled within the stories of Winnie the Pooh is that Piglet is not made to feel bad by his friends for his often being frightened or worried. Rather his friends try to support him and praise him when he attempts to face his anxious feelings and fears. In particular, Pooh is always there to reassure his friend and when Piglet joins the others on a Heffalump Expedition in 'Pooh's Heffalump Movie' Pooh tells him that he is very brave because Pooh knew that Piglet was especially frightened to come. Piglet's friends always include him the things that they do, never excluding him on the basis of his overthinking and worrying. He is simply one of their friends and they treat and care for him just the same. When Piglet has to in one story give his house to Owl Pooh Bear proclaims "He'd come and live with me," said Pooh, "wouldn't you, Piglet?" and in 'The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart' Tigger teaches Piglet to be a Tigger. He is loved and he is part of the family, anxious or not.
That's just my take on Piglet's anxious nature and having watched various Winnie the Pooh stories over and over it is possible that I am over reading. However, I do find it interesting how so many people get frustrated with their anxious loved ones while Piglet is treated as just another important member of the family.
Thank you for reading my thoughts. After this week I just wanted to talk about one of my favourite things so I hope you enjoyed. As it is so loving said in the Tigger Movie: "...dress warmly...eat well...stay safe and sound.. [and]...keep smiling..."
See you later alligator!
Freya x
PHOTO SOURCES:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Disney_s_Winnie_the_Pooh.svg
http://comicbook.com/movies/2017/08/30/disney-nick-mohammed-piglet-live-action-christopher-robin/
https://disney.co.uk/
http://www.adoptionlcsw.com/2014/05/adoption-in-disney-movies.html
http://immagini.4ever.eu/cartoni-animati/winnie-the-pooh-131586
As you will have gathered from my last post, very few things make me as happy as Winnie the Pooh. It is one of the things that I turn to for comfort when I am most overwhelmed and it has been something that has bought me joy for as long as I can remember. This last week is one that I found particularly overwhelming, and at times I have most definitely struggled and found myself feeling especially overloaded. For this reason I felt like writing something a little lighter today and I thought I would tie one of my very favourite things to one of the key themes of this blog: mental health.
One only has to step foot into the world of the internet to find many theories about the various characters of Winnie the Pooh representing different mental illnesses. I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with the illnesses attached to certain characters and like many retrospective theories about children's media I think that these theories can be a little stretched. However, one character whose anxious nature is Piglet. This doesn't necessarily mean that Piglet was or is specifically intended to represent anxiety disorders, he could simply be an anxious individual. Regardless, Piglet's nature as an easily frightened worrier is incredibly interesting to me.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety for years now and has always been a naturally anxious person Piglet is a character who I find very easy to relate to and understand. Actually, the way in which Piglet's anxious character is presented fits quite nicely with my own understanding of my general, day to day anxiety. Certain things can heighten Piglet's anxiety, such as the thought of a Backson or going on an expedition to find a Heffalump, and of course Piglet's predisposition to feeling anxious means that in such as these he is often a little more frightened than his friends. However, this is not to say that Piglet's feelings of what seems to be anxiety disappear as soon as such activities come to an end and he returns to daily life. It is my personal observation that Piglet seems to live with a somewhat constant low-level feeling of anxiety, a anxiousness that is manageable but still leaves him feeling on edge a lot of the time. This is how I would more accurately experience of anxiety. Instead of describing complete relaxation with extreme peaks in anxiety, I would rather describe myself as a generally anxious person who experiences some instances of increased anxiety (e.g. panic/panic attacks). For me this is potentially why Piglet is such a relatable character.
One thing I particularly love about the how Piglet's being anxious is handled within the stories of Winnie the Pooh is that Piglet is not made to feel bad by his friends for his often being frightened or worried. Rather his friends try to support him and praise him when he attempts to face his anxious feelings and fears. In particular, Pooh is always there to reassure his friend and when Piglet joins the others on a Heffalump Expedition in 'Pooh's Heffalump Movie' Pooh tells him that he is very brave because Pooh knew that Piglet was especially frightened to come. Piglet's friends always include him the things that they do, never excluding him on the basis of his overthinking and worrying. He is simply one of their friends and they treat and care for him just the same. When Piglet has to in one story give his house to Owl Pooh Bear proclaims "He'd come and live with me," said Pooh, "wouldn't you, Piglet?" and in 'The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart' Tigger teaches Piglet to be a Tigger. He is loved and he is part of the family, anxious or not.
That's just my take on Piglet's anxious nature and having watched various Winnie the Pooh stories over and over it is possible that I am over reading. However, I do find it interesting how so many people get frustrated with their anxious loved ones while Piglet is treated as just another important member of the family.
Thank you for reading my thoughts. After this week I just wanted to talk about one of my favourite things so I hope you enjoyed. As it is so loving said in the Tigger Movie: "...dress warmly...eat well...stay safe and sound.. [and]...keep smiling..."
See you later alligator!
Freya x
PHOTO SOURCES:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Disney_s_Winnie_the_Pooh.svg
http://comicbook.com/movies/2017/08/30/disney-nick-mohammed-piglet-live-action-christopher-robin/
https://disney.co.uk/
http://www.adoptionlcsw.com/2014/05/adoption-in-disney-movies.html
http://immagini.4ever.eu/cartoni-animati/winnie-the-pooh-131586
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