Having struggled with anxiety for a couple of years now, I’ve had the chance to learn what calms my nerves best and what gives me a sense of security and trust, and one of these methods is watcing one of my ‘safety shows’. I have a few TV series that always distract me from my anxious thoughts, make me laugh and relax and cope efficiently whenever I’m feeling unwell. I wasn’t surprised to find that this is not a personal concept: a quick search on Tumblr will show you how many people turn to their ‘safety shows’ when it all becomes too much.
In today’s post, I’m going to share which shows play that role in my life and why they mean so much to me.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is my all-time favourite series and the first show I’ll go to for relief. It needs little to no introduction: the show follows the adventures of a family of five living in typical American suburbs, as well as the dynamics among their local community. I did not watch The Simpsons as a child; it was actually in my first year of university that I took up the series from season one. I always lose track of where I left off so chances are, I’ve never finished it fully, but the main storyline is not as important to me as the humour of the show and how it always distracts me from whatever’s on my mind.
The one thing I love the most about The Simpsons is how it portrays family life as what it really is rather than an airbrushed, picture perfect version glorifying family values. Funny occurrences follow one after the other, and they often come along with witty cultural references and unexpected turns of events. It is immersive and hilarious, and laughing for a bit always distracts me from my anxious thoughts.
Daria
I started watching Daria in my junior year of sixth form, and it’s soon become a therapeutic show for me: I related so much to what was going on with the main character, and the situations she was in and the life lessons she was learning from them helped me cope with my own plodding through college. The show tells the story of a smart and slightly misanthropic teenager who makes her way through the American high school of the ‘90s. As viewers, we observe the world through her eyes and learn about high school life, through numerous cultural references and a hierarchic representation of the social classes existing in that environment. The show has run on MTV for five seasons, but I have discovered it with a series of memes I stumbled over on Tumblr, and then watched it when it was still available for free via Comedy Central.
A reboot is also on the way so needless to say, I’m thrilled.
Even now that I am no longer in high school and I don’t really relate to Daria’s life anymore, I still go back to this show because of the nostalgia it makes me relive. Each episode is a short walk down the memory lane, and a gentle throwback to how easy things really were before I took on the world, moved countries and started university. In that regard, it is a warmly welcomed break from the stress of my daily life.
BoJack Horseman
Probably the show I’ve loved to hate the most before I actually started watching it, BoJack Horseman is what I go to to feel better when things aren’t going well. This is really what the series is all about: the life of a struggling, washed-up actor trying to stay relevant in Hollywood, among one-time wonders, addiction and loss and in front of an ever-demanding public. Throughout the sixty-one episodes of this series, the eponymous protagonist deals with depression, trauma and addiction, and tries to make his way through the challenges posed by all of these experiences. Although a fairly humorous cartoon, I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the most heartbreaking shows I’ve ever watched.
And that is mainly why I keep on going back to BoJack Horseman: it teaches me to accept life for what it is, with its occasional misery and trauma, and embrace it as the way things tend to be like even when we want to make a change. Distracting, but self-affirming in a way. And beautiful all at the same time.
Friends
And finally, another incontestable classic. I watch Friends whenever I want to have a good laugh about the things that make me feel anxious, because what Friends is about is basically adulting gone wrong: no job or bad job, failed relationships, a bank balance that cries. All of these things make me feel fearful and worry about my future, but seeing them presented in a funny way in this comedic show makes me feel... a bit better about my life? Yes, sad as it is, that’s the best way to put it.
What about you, what are the TV shows that help you unwind and give you a particular sense of safety and cosiness? I would love to hear your series suggestions in the comments section below!
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