Talking about traumatic life experiences can be challenging--even if they happened "a long time ago," even if we've talked through them before, even if we think we're ready. Some of my favorite tv shows that gracefully address upsetting life experiences include "Adventure Time," "Avatar: The Last Airbender," "Bluey," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Star Wars: Rebels," and "Steven Universe." The animated medium of these tv shows can also give us some safe distance between ourselves and our experiences.

Adventure Time

• 4x25, "I Remember You" - This episode explores themes of ambiguous loss.
• 6x1, "Wake Up" - This episode explores themes of attachment injury, childhood abandonment, and absent parents.
• 6x4, "The Tower" - This episode explores themes of attempting to process trauma, specifically as it relates to attachment injury and absent parents.
• 6x6, "Breezy" - This episode explores themes of attempting to process trauma and the ways it can affect others.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

• 3x8, "The Puppet Master" - This episode explores themes of genocide, war, refugees, and revenge.
• 3x16, "The Southern Raiders" - This episode explores themes of genocide, war, loss, and revenge.

Bluey

• 1x16, "Yoga Ball" - This episode explores themes of boundaries and autonomy.
• 1x38, "Copycat" - This episode explores themes of death and playing through life experiences (loss).
• 1x40, "Early Baby" - This episode explores themes of playing through life experiences (premature birth).
• 2x16, "Army" - This episode explores themes of fitting in, making friends, and playing through life experiences (military life)
• 2x40, "Bad Mood" - This episode explores themes of feeling and managing emotions.
• 3x31, "Onesies" - This episode explores themes of miscarriage.
• 3x34, "Space" - This episode explores themes of playing through life experiences (getting separated from parent/feeling lost).

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

• 4x7, "Darkness on Umbara"; 4x8, "The General"; 4x9, "Plan of Dissent"; 4x10, "Carnage of Krell" - This arc explores themes of moral injury, war crimes, and subordination and insubordination.
• 4x19, "Massacre" - This episode explores themes of found family, betrayal, survivor's guilt, and loss (pairs well with 4x20, "Bounty").
• 7x2, "A Distant Echo" - This episode explores themes of guilt, loss, and finding one's place.
• 7x11, "Shattered"; 7x12, "Victory and Death" - This episode explores themes of betrayal, survivor's guilt, and loss.

Star Wars: Rebels

• 3x6, "The Last Battle" - This episode explores themes of PTSD in a combat environment (most impactful if "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has been viewed, first).

Steven Universe

• 1x45, "Rose's Scabbard" - This episode explores themes of survivor's guilt, grief, loss, and responsibility.
  
• 2x1, "Full Disclosure" - This episode explores themes of responsibility after a traumatic experience and a desire to protect loved ones from the truth of the experience.
• 2x6, "Sworn to the Sword" - This episode explores themes of self-sacrifice.
• 3x15, "Alone at Sea" - This episode addresses trauma bonding and dysfunctional relationships.

Which episodes or other shows would you include?