Tip#1185: How Movies Mirror Your Inner Strengths, Part 7 – PTSD - Star Trek: Picard – Star Trek: First Contact

I just watched the 6th episode of Star Trek: Picard called “The Impossible Box” and was both happy how it thrilled my inner nerd and also addressed Jean-Luc Picard’s well known traumatic experiences with cyber-villains, The Borg. It moved me to see Picard visibly express his trauma and vulnerability.

It then reminded me of the pain and courage it took for me to uncover and face childhood bullying (see tip#1169) and other traumas in my adult life.

Star Trek: Picard, Episode 6, The Impossible Box

This is why I’ve always loved the many Star Trek movies and TV shows, the heroes always inspired me to be the strongest and best version of myself. Picard first inspired me as an entrepreneur for my illustration business with his outstanding, confident leadership skills and how he fostered excellent teamwork in Star Trek: The Next Generation. And in his latest series, now in his 90’s, continues to inspire me in how he is facing his pain and cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I love these shows!

Janet Stevens, Motion Graphics Designer and Victor Jolic, Video Coordinator

Star Trek: Discovery

Actress, Avaah Blackwell, Star Trek: Discovery

I recently attended my friend, Avaah Blackwell’s 30th Birthday party who is also an actress starring in the 2nd season of Star Trek: Discovery. So I was absolutely thrilled to meet some of her co-workers and geek out over many behind the scene stories of the making of this series as well as sharing our passion for the Star Trek universe! I met Janet Stevens, Motion Graphics Designer, Victor Jolic, Video Coordinator and Robin Careless, FX Costume Builder who were so amazing and super nice to talk to!

Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 & 2
Watch now: Amazon Prime Video

I am still dealing with seasonal depression but sharing my passion for Star Trek with these amazing people re-energized my enthusiasm for life. Feeling this positive emotional energy flow through me also helped fuel the confidence and courage to continue healing my past traumas through group therapy. And Picard’s painful story with The Borg has been years in the making. It first began in the two part episode “The Best of Both Worlds” in Star Trek: The Next Generation and then continued in the film Star Trek: First Contact.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

The science fiction action film, Star Trek: First Contact, is about Captain Picard and crew of the starship Enterprise pursuing the evil Borg back in time to stop them from destroying mankind in the past. This entertaining chapter shows us more of the origins of man’s first contact with alien life while continuing Picard’s PTSD from his first encounter with The Borg. Starring Patrick Stewart. Jonathan Frakes. Brent Spiner. LeVar Burton. Michael Dorn. Gates McFadden. Marina Sirtis. Alfre Woodard and Alice Krige.
See: movie trailer
Watch now: Amazon Prime Video

Along with exciting space battles and seeing favourite Star Trek characters back on the big screen we get to see Picard in a new light regarding his relationship with The Borg. Picard is usually calm, rational and commanding as a Captain and yet he expresses blind anger and rage over his past physical, mental and emotional violation of having been implanted with cybernetic technology against his will. He wants revenge at the expense of the safety of his crew and his ship.

What helps Picard face his unstable behaviour is, ironically, a woman from Earth in the past named Lily (Alfre Woodard). Lily fearlessly challenges Picard’s actions and true feelings about The Borg despite his resistance. As The Borg say, “Resistance is futile” and so Picard surrenders to Lily’s wisdom, resumes control of himself and returns to the wise Captain we know and love.

Childhood traumas or traumatic events in our adult lives can have far lasting repercussions. They can secretly sabotage our dreams and goals and they can be the source of unexplainable depression, anxiety or anger. Favourite film and TV show characters can be inspirational role models to allow us to unearth and face painful times in our lives and help us move forward. Find a favourite character today to mirror your inner strengths and ignite your courage and resilience!

Related Tips:
Tip#971: How Movies Mirror Your Inner Strengths, Part 4 – PTSD – Iron Man 3
Tip#1135: The Power of Emotional Release, Part 4 – Trapped Emotions – Creed 2
Tip#1018: Move Forward By Letting Go, Part 2 - Kubo and the Two Strings

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

 

Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Award-winning Illustrator | Movie Blogger | Speaker | Foodie
Discover Movies As Inspirational Learning Tools!
See website: www.MoviesForMotivation.com
 
© Emmanuel Lopez 2020

Tip#1184: You Are Not Alone, Part 3 - 8 Self Care Tips - Sonic the Hedgehog

This past week was a really good one! It included many types of therapies that helped manage my winter depression (SAD) while giving me so much hope and positivity for the upcoming Spring season! It’s a week where I felt less of the loneliness that comes with the winter blues. Here’s a list in case these 8 Self Care Tips inspire you to explore them further…

1) Mindfulness Therapy Group: New monthly program of meditation practice: Read more
2) New Law of Attraction tips on YouTube for Reality Transurfing: Aaron Doughty and Quazi Johir
3) Walking therapy (daily for sunlight/vitamin D and exercise)
4) Increasing magnesium dosage for depression & sleep (recommended 400mg daily): Read more
5) Art therapy: I added new inspiring video clip of Jim Carrey and his art therapy on my new series: Celebrities for Mental Health
6) Attended a special event promoting Annie Sloan’s famous Chalk Paint and painting workshops: Read more
7) Food therapy with delicious, shared meals: See foodie photos on my Instagram
8) Music therapy at a special private home performance of a Toronto Symphony Orchestra members followed by a full show and TSO orchestra the next evening called Majestic Bruckner at Roy Thomson Hall

The live musical performances capped off a rejuvenating week which included meeting many new people and potential new friends and work colleagues! As I’ve written many times before, social interactions are extremely helpful in maintaining my mental health especially with SAD.

There were times when I felt so blessed knowing these social events were helping re-energize me during a season I just want to stay indoors and hibernate. Being alone at home doing nothing during the winter blues can sometimes feel good and yet it is so important to be with people and simply celebrate life, learning, sharing and just having fun!

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

The action-adventure comedy film, Sonic the Hedgehog, is based on the video game franchise and is about an extraterrestrial named Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) living on Earth and teams up with his new friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to battle the evil Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). This fun and hilarious story also stars Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough.
See: movie trailer 
Watch now: Amazon Prime Video

I immediately identified with Sonic when the film showed how lonely and alone he was on our planet. It’s that emotional connection that hooked me into enjoying his journey on learning to interact with humans, learn about friendship and finally enjoy all that life has to offer. Sonic even makes a bucket list his new friend Tom helps him with!

Jim Carrey’s character Dr. Robotnik is also a joy because it’s another of his zany comedic characters on screen! This character also shows off an array of very cool looking futuristic technology while trying to capture Sonic. I highly recommend this film for it’s sense of fun and laughter and life lessons for enjoying life to the fullest with people we love!

Sometimes life can feel lonely and you figure out ways how to cope with being alone. And yet the power of social interactions and friendships can elevate the joys of sharing what life has to offer! Movies can remind us of all the fun we can have on our planet. Find some of that shared joy today!

Related Tips:
Tip#594: You Are Not Alone, Part 1 - Henry Poole Is Here 
Tip#1071: You Are Not Alone, Part 2 - The Shape of Water
Tip#1184: You Are Not Alone, Part 3 - 8 Self Care Tips - Sonic the Hedgehog
Tip#1171: The Power of Art Therapy, Music Therapy & More! 

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

 

Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Award-winning Illustrator | Movie Blogger | Speaker | Foodie
Discover Movies As Inspirational Learning Tools!
See website: www.MoviesForMotivation.com
 
© Emmanuel Lopez 2020

Tip#1183: Deal with Unexpected Changes, Pt. 4 - Parasite

This winter has been challenging and yet I've been able to deal with unexpected changes with some creative thinking and perseverance (see previous post). For example, I’ve had insomnia for over two weeks, seasonal depression has been at an all time high and I’ve been dealing with painful impingement in both shoulders since the Christmas holidays. I read that shoulder impingement, in my case, was the result of overuse in using my iPhone, MacBook and iMac computer.

The day after the 92nd Academy Awards I watched a press conference with Jojo Rabbit director and screenplay writer Taika Waititi where he suddenly complained about Apple’s MacBook keyboards causing similar shoulder pains that I was dealing with! It was an amazing synchronistic moment for me and brought me some peace of mind that this shoulder problem is shared by others.

Read more: Taika Waititi slams Apple’s MacBook keyboards after winning first Oscar

Jojo Rabbit didn’t win the Best Picture Award but that honor went to Parasite that also made Oscar history by being the first non-english speaking film to win. This prompted me to finally write about Parasite because when I first saw it I was overwhelmed and had mixed feelings and I didn’t know what to write about. So I will do my best now without any spoilers!

Parasite (2019)

The dark comedy thriller film, Parasite, is about the Kim family (Song Kang-ho, Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin and Park So-dam) and the Park family (Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jung Ji-so, Jung Hyeon-jun and Lee Jung-eun). That’s all I’m writing because I highly recommend you see it knowing as little as possible. Part of its brilliance is the unexpected directions the story takes.

Watch now: Amazon Prime 

Like many others, I felt this was a cinematic masterpiece on multiple levels. It speaks about the lifestyles and homes of lower and higher class families and much more. And the standout life lessons for me were the creative and strategic thinking skills of the Kims, the lower class family.

It was entertaining, compelling and hilarious to watch each of the Kims in action. But the moment the consequences unravel is part of the uniqueness of the film and also where I found the surprises progressively disturbing. It’s something I am still figuring out why. In the end I highly recommend you see this film and just go with the flow.

Life is full of unexpected problems, pains and directions it will take us on. And this can be reflected in the films we see where we witness characters using their skills, creative and strategic thinking to get them out of their problems. They can show us what to do and what not to do. The choice is ours in the end. Make it a positive choice today!



Related Tips:
Tip#871: Deal with Unexpected Changes, Pt. 3 - Before We Go

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

 

Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Award-winning Illustrator | Movie Blogger | Speaker | Foodie
Discover Movies As Inspirational Learning Tools!
See website: www.MoviesForMotivation.com
 
© Emmanuel Lopez 2020

Tip#1182: Power of Perseverance, Part 2 - Ford v Ferrari

The past two weeks have been brutal because of winter depression (SAD) symptoms that have been extremely high and also having insomnia every night. I’ve been house sitting at a friend’s place and usually have problems sleeping in other people’s homes and beds so I’ve been sleep deprived. But I’ve been persevering with my indestructible optimism that I will find relief and solutions!

For example, I’ve been using social media like Facebook to ask others about their experiences with melatonin supplements as a sleep aid and received some amazing advice and information links.

Magnesium came up as a key factor needed to be taken with melatonin supplements and later received a post of a friend’s unique tip of boiling banana peels for its magnesium, a natural muscle relaxant, to make a tea for sleep that intrigued me.

Read More: How To Make Banana Tea For Restful Sleep

A few days later I posted a photo on Facebook from my morning walk in bright sunshine that helped my seasonal depression and received another amazing comment that synchronistically mentioned magnesium as treating depression better than psychiatric drugs. Over-the-counter magnesium tablets had significantly improved depression in just two weeks. Thus magnesium therapy was what I wanted to explore.

Read More: Scientist Say Magnesium Treats Depression Better Than Psychiatric Drugs

Someone else also shared a fascinating link to an article on the Japanese practice of ‘forest bathing’ that’s also called eco-therapy. The subjects in this study showed significantly reduced hostility and depression scores, coupled with increased liveliness, after exposure to trees.

Read More: The Japanese practice of ‘forest bathing’ is scientifically proven to improve your health 

On top of all these wonderful Facebook comments, I received an invitation to go for a therapy walk in High Park here in Toronto. I was feeling really blessed and uplifted by all this support and it was simply the result of my persevering in finding answers to a problem I needed solving. This made me think of a movie I recently saw that was filled with inspirational examples of perseverance, resilience, indestructible optimism and so much more!

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

The sports drama film, Ford v Ferrari, is based on the true story of American automotive visionary designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) come together to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. Also starring Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon in supporting roles.
See: movie trailer 
Watch now: Amazon Prime

Based on the trailers I really didn’t have an interest in seeing this film. But I trusted my gut and was totally blown away by the perfect balance of entertainment and inspirational life lessons brimming throughout this movie! Aside from exciting racing sequences and the fantastic performances by Bale and Damon there were outstanding lessons their characters demonstrated for leadership, teamwork and friendship. I highly recommend seeing this for a multitude of inspiring themes listed here!

Inspiring Themes:
• Passion
• Perseverance
• Resilience
• Indestructible Optimism 
• Supportive Relationships
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Creative Thinking
• Strategic Thinking

Amazing true stories and real-life heroes can inspire each of us to persevere in our own challenges in life. They can remind us that we can achieve our goals with the love and support of others around us. And when these life lessons shine bright in an entertaining movie it can further elevate the positive emotional energy within us. They can fuel our passion, perseverance and indestructible optimism through the darkest of times!

Related Tips:
Tip#158: Power of Perseverance - Battlestar Galactica 2004 
Tip#1178: Real-Life Heroes in Movies Inspire, Part 6 - Bombshell
Tip#1167: Remember Your Indestructible Optimism, Part 9 - Dolomite Is My Name

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

 

Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Award-winning Illustrator | Movie Blogger | Speaker | Foodie
Discover Movies As Inspirational Learning Tools!
See website: www.MoviesForMotivation.com
 
© Emmanuel Lopez 2020