Mental Health Tips from an Unlikely Source: K-Pop Demon Hunters
Because sometimes therapy hits different when it has choreography, a soul sword, and a derpy tiger.
I’m an almost-40 therapist and mom who somehow found myself binge-watching a colorful, animated K-pop demon-hunter movie… and honestly? It gave me more healing than I expected.
The songs? Massive bops, even for someone with zero interest in K-pop.
The final track? Goosebumps. every. single. time.
The animation? Bold, saturated, and dripping in symbolism. Like, neon sword-fight mojo and grief in glitter form.
And then there’s the derpy tiger and that sassy six-eyed magpie who refuse to let any moment be too serious, truly healing in the mundane. Exactly my style. Somewhere between the beat drops and the demon battles, I realized… this movie might seem silly on the surface, but emotionally? It slaps. so hard.
Here are 7 things K-Pop Demon Hunters can teach us about healing, identity, and becoming your damn self (Glowing swords optional)
Therapy truth: A life split between “who they expect me to be” and “who I actually am” isn’t sustainable. At some point, you have to stop auditioning and come home to yourself.
Bonus lyric:
“I was a ghost, I was alone
어두워진 앞길속에 (darkened/gloomy, in the road ahead)
Given the throne, I didn’t know how to believe
I was the queen that I’m meant to be.”
Even when we’re handed visibility or influence, it means nothing if we’re still haunted inside. Real empowerment doesn’t come from approval, it comes from integration of all parts of yourself, even the ones that you fear.
2. Found Family Is Sacred
Theme: Chosen belonging, Trust, Authenticity
Scene: Huntr/x reconciling after the Idol Awards betrayal, and coming together to defeat Gwi-Ma.
When Rumi got real and honest about what she is, and sang from her truth, Mira & Zoey heard her singing out over the Saja Boys performance felt her, and connected with her. Even though she was part demon, they knew her heart and could see her shame and pain, and knew it wasn’t as black and white as they had thought.
Therapy truth: Healing happens faster when you’re not doing it alone. Whether it’s your weird little group chat
After the initial shock of the reveal of Rumi’s half-demon history, Mira and Zoey come to realize that she is the same Rumi she has always been, even with her “patterns” and complicated past. There were a few times that Rumi could have told the other girls her secret, when they were exposing their own insecurities, but it seems she feels hers is too difficult to manage.
Are you doing the same thing and hiding yourself from your people? It might be time to challenge that and seize the opportunity the next time it presents itself
3. Name It to Tame It: Shame Needs Light
Theme: Inner work, Shame, Trust
Scene: Celine had always taught Rumi (and the other girls) to hide who they really are. And Celine knows that Rumi’s nature isn’t black and white, she feared loving Rumi fully because of what she was, but she also feared that she wouldn’t be accepted if anyone knew, and promoted Rumi masking. As Rumi’s shame grew, so did her “patterns”.
Quote:
“We are hunters, voices strong. Your faults and fears must never be seen.”
Therapy truth: Avoidance feels safer... until it starts to haunt you. Healing means turning around, locking eyes with the thing you’ve been running from, and saying, “I see you now.”
Being who you are and naming the pain is the first swing of your sword. Or your glitter-covered demon-fighting crew, you deserve people who don’t need you to explain why you are the way you are.
4. Trauma Makes Love Scary, But It’s Worth It
Theme: Trauma-informed intimacy, vulnerability, healing through relationship
Scene: Rumi and Jinu’s connection is emotionally charged, slow-burning, and terrifyingly real. Neither of them is healed. But they’re willing to try.
Song Tie-In: “Free” their unofficial love song (and emotional gut-punch)
Lyric:
“All the damage that might make me dangerous,
You got a dark side, guess you're not the only one.
What if we both tried fighting what we're running from?
We can't fix it if we never face it.”
Therapy truth: We don’t get to outgrow all our darkness before we deserve love.
Rumi and Jinu don’t wait until they’re “healed” to connect. They just show up, bruised, scared, guarded, and try. And that is wildly brave.
Intimacy after trauma means letting someone close while still holding your own power. It means saying: “I’m not perfect. But I’m not giving up.”
Because love doesn’t have to mean saving someone.
Sometimes it just means staying, with your shadow and theirs, and fighting what you’re running from… together.
5. Your Weapon Grows With You
Theme: Identity, transformation
Scene: Rumi’s sword transforms after Jinu owns up to the lie he told Rumi, and then later sacrifice’s himself for her and gives her his soul. This part is heartbreaking, but healing the rift between them that Gwi-Ma caused, and integrating with her true self transformed her weapon into something bigger and more powerful.
Lyric:
“My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like,
fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like,
truth after all this time, our voices all combined,
this is what it sounds like”
Therapy truth: You don’t erase your past, you just carry it differently. Healing isn’t amnesia. It’s strength without shame. It’s working through your pain and baggage and recognizing the strengths within yourself, faults and all.
As you evolve, your defenses and identity do too. The tools you once used to survive? They can grow up with you.
6. Every Battle Starts Inside
Theme: Emotional channeling
Scene: The “Takedown” rehearsal, feeling so conflicted with singing this song, it came from a place of anger when it was written, and as Rumi got to know Jinu better, she saw goodness in him, even though he was a demon. That’s when the veil began to lift and she began to realize how unaligned she was with her position as a hunter because of her own nature. The veil lifts for Rumi, and saying all demons had no feelings and deserved to die didn’t feel true to her any longer. This song wasn’t going to bring the people together; it was going to deepen the divide.
Therapy truth: Feelings aren’t enemies. They’re energy. You don’t have to be calm to be powerful, you just have to stay present.
Rage, grief, joy, fear, they’re compass points. Let them guide you instead of swallowing you.
7. Integration Is the Final Song. Spiritual AF.
Theme: Creative catharsis, post-traumatic growth, Grace
Scene: Huntr/x performs “What it Sounds Like.” the lights, the sound, the color, it’s a full-on soul cleanse. When the new Honmoon appears not as blue like before, not as gold like they had been told they needed, but like a rainbow; Symbolizing there is room for more than just good and bad, it’s more complicated than that. It is grace embodied.
Lyrics:
“I broke into a million pieces, and I can't go back
But now I'm seeing all the beauty in the broken glass
The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony.”
Therapy truth: This goes beyond healing, it’s integration and wholeness.
It’s what happens after the breakdown, when the pieces don’t go back the same way... and somehow, that’s better, even if you never thought that was possible.
Art makes space for the parts of us that felt too broken, too loud, or too strange to say out loud. And when someone else sings it? You don’t feel so alone anymore.
Final Thought
Self-help books are great.
But sometimes what heals you isn’t a workbook...
It’s a bangin’ soundtrack, a soul sword, a trip to the bath house (or spa) and a derpy tiger reminding you it’s okay to laugh in the middle of the chaos.
Because yeah…
K-Pop Demon Hunter therapy? Hits different.
Got a favorite show or movie with hidden therapeutic gold?
I’m always on the lookout for stories that dig deep, spark insight, or hit you right in the healing feels. If there’s a character arc, theme, or scene that made you think “Wait… this is basically therapy,” I want to know! Drop your suggestions in the comments or shoot me an email, I might feature it in a future post!