How ‘Inside Out 2' shows us anxiety ‘can be motivating'—'It's there to keep us on our toes,' psychologist says

On its second weekend since opening, "Inside Out 2" collected $100 million in ticket sales. The box office hit follows Riley Anderson, a 13-year-old girl, as she encounters an onslaught of new emotions associated with being a teenager.

One of the standout additions is Anxiety, a quirky orange character voiced by Maya Hawke.

Lisa Damour, a psychologist who worked on the movie, says that while anxiety is often billed as a negative emotion, the movie brings to light the helpful role it can play in your life.

"Anxiety can be motivating and that's important," she says.

'The way psychologists see anxiety is as a protective emotion'

Originally, the character was animated to look more like a "villain," Damour says. But during the course of development, her appearance was rendered cuter.

"In the final form of the film she is adorable, if a little bit off the rails at times, and I think this was an important evolution because the way psychologists see anxiety is as a protective emotion," she says. "It's there to keep us on our toes and help us course correct."

Occasionally, anxiety can tip into unhealthy territory if you use it to justify illogical decisions.

"Irrational anxiety is when you overestimate the threat and underestimate your ability to do anything about it," Damour says.

Damour hopes "Inside Out 2" communicates that anxiety can be a tool as much as it can be a nuisance.

"The character evolved over time into a representation that reminds us that anxiety has a place at the table in terms of helping us make decisions and pay attention to what's goin on around us," Damour says. "But she should not be running the show all the time."

2 tips to handle anxiety

If your anxiety is more of a hinderance than a motivator, it might be good to put some distance between yourself and some of your more unhealthy thoughts, Judy Ho, a neuropsychologist and professor at Pepperdine University, recently told CNBC Make It.

There are a couple easy ways you can do this, Ho says:

1. Questions your thoughts: Ask yourself what evidence supports you anxious thought and what evidence contradicts it. Write down your findings in two columns and compare them. Oftentimes, Ho says, there is more evidence that your anxiety won't come to fruition than evidence that it will.

2. Practice a more balanced thought process: If you're anxious about one aspect of your life, it's OK to feel that. However, you also want to remind yourself that not everything is going poorly. Ho recommends following this script when thinking about your day: "Yes I [insert something that is not going well], but I [insert something that is going well]."

Want to be a successful, confident communicator? Take CNBC's new online course Become an Effective Communicator: Master Public Speaking. We'll teach you how to speak clearly and confidently, calm your nerves, what to say and not say, and body language techniques to make a great first impression. Sign up today and use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off through July 10, 2024.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.