History Main / Freakout

A well-done Freak Out makes the [[WhamEpisode audience freak out as well]], and provides more CharacterDevelopment than an entire season could in the same. Sadly, this is rare — all too often, it is used as a desperate gimmick to "revitalize" a show. Viewers should beware if a Freak Out comes due to ExecutiveMeddling, if it comes after several seasons, if it makes the character DarkerAndEdgier, or [[HotterAndSexier if it makes the character hornier]]. If all four happen at once, chances are high that the show is JumpingTheShark.

** Kabapu gets several of these. His expression in volume nineteen as he explains how he's not going to be a dictator—he's going to be '''more''' than a dictator to his terrified employees—is a thing of horror.

* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'' Kenai does this in when he realizes he turned into a bear and he lets out a SkywardScream that can be heard for ''miles''.

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'' While other pterosaurs have been defeated by being knocked down one has a breakdown after being defeated in a unique way.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'', [=SpongeBob=] briefly loses it when [[spoiler:Plankton tells him that it's his fault that they failed to get the secret formula back and throws insult after insult at him]]. This, coupled with the dystopia surrounding him, causes him to start screaming, kicking a trash can, collapsing to the floor, and start [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking mixing garbage with recycling]]. He snaps out of it, and [[WhatHaveIBecome realizes that he's just become a savage like everybody else]].

*** The Doctor dies from a combination of old age and Mondas' influence in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet "The Tenth Planet"]], and returns with a more mercurial but also quirkier personality and much, much better social skills. The "change" process is apparently very traumatic (production documents reveal he was reliving all of his traumatic memories during the process) and it takes him quite a while to come to terms with who he now is.
*** The Third Doctor spent his life exiled to Earth by the Time Lords and working as an agent in a MildlyMilitary setting, his personal philosophy placing a great deal in loyalty and authority. His death of radiation poisoning transformed him into a manic, crazy-eyed {{Cloudcuckoolander}} {{Manchild}} who absolutely could not ''stand'' taking orders from anyone and would happily burn all authority to the ground if he could, with the implication that this was suppressed rage from his initial imprisonment finally breaking into his personality. In addition to this, he became detached and aloof around people he'd previously thought of as his best friends and even tried to suddenly abandon Sarah Jane so he could travel on his own, though this was done out of confusion rather than apathy and he [[ApologyGift gave her a jelly baby as an apology later]].
*** The Fifth Doctor had a fairly rough time of it as an incarnation anyway, but [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani "The Caves of Androzani"]] is pretty much about [[BreakTheCutie torturing him to death]]. The experience forced him to make awful decisions, and as he began to regenerate he had hallucinations of the Master taunting him — the poisoning was bad enough that he almost died for real during the regeneration. The result of this was that the Sixth Doctor was a lot less mentally stable than the Fifth, with a difficult, sadistic and insane personality, experiencing strong feelings of painful body dysphoria. He even attempted to strangle his companion due to a delusion that she was evil.
*** The Seventh Doctor freaked out prior to becoming the Eighth, but for different reasons. He regenerated because the doctor trying to save his life was actually killing him due to her ignorance of his alien physiology. The Eighth Doctor, while more stable than the Sixth, also was a rather mentally flaky incarnation, being particularly prone to amnesia and detachment from reality.
*** During the transition from his Tenth to Eleventh incarnation, the Doctor was extremely reluctant and panicked when undergoing the regeneration process. The eventual energy release blew apart portions of the TARDIS bridge.
*** Over the course of [[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor a single episode]] full of [[TimeSkip Time Skips]] the Eleventh Doctor aged 900 years — over TheSlowPath — on Trenzalore while trying to stop the Time Lords coming through into the universe. Immediately after regenerating, in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath "Deep Breath"]], [[spoiler:he takes on a much more aggressive and commanding personality and tells Clara he's abandoned his interest in being her "boyfriend" or acting like a human.]]
** Lesterson from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]] loses his marbles when he learns that the Doctor was right about the Daleks all along.
** The K1 in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot "Robot"]] was just about holding onto sanity until it killed its "father" in self-defense, after which it snapped and started trying to start a nuclear holocaust to wipe out all of humanity [[MoralityPet apart from Sarah Jane]].
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath "The Robots of Death"]], paranoia and stress combining with an [[{{Phobia}} extreme sensitivity]] to the UncannyValley leads to the highly-trained secret agent Poul having a gibbering psychotic break, shrieking at the Doctor that they are secretly surrounded by "the walking dead", and then exiting the plot due to inability to do anything from that point. The ExpandedUniverse direct sequel to the story, ''Corpse Marker'', establishes that Poul has undergone heavy psychotherapy to repress his memories of the events to return him to a near-functional state, all of which is immediately undone as soon as the killer robots start showing up again and he regains his memories, leading to him having several phobia-induced panic attacks and accusing the Doctor of being a murderer (although the Doctor uses [[TheCharmer force of personality]] and implicitly some mesmerism in order to make him settle down a bit).
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones "Smith and Jones"]]: Nearly everyone in the Royal Hope Hospital panics upon realizing the building has been transported to the Moon.
** The Tenth Doctor has a huge one in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]], where he basically snaps after refusing to accept that a group of good people have to die just because history says so and basically turns into his archenemy the Master briefly. This affects him for the rest of his run. That entire segment can basically be summed up in this line:
--->"'''THE LAWS OF TIME ARE MINE! ''[[AGodAmI AND THEY WILL OBEY ME!]]'''''"
** The Twelfth Doctor has one at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E12DeathInHeaven "Death in Heaven"]]. Right before [[spoiler: her death]], Missy gives him a set of coordinates, claiming them to be [[spoiler:the current location of Gallifrey]]. Twelve immediately flies the TARDIS to the spot, [[spoiler:only to find that Missy lied and that those coordinates lead to nothing but empty space]]. He snaps, punching the TARDIS console until sparks come out, before breaking down into tears.
** Twelve has another '''''gigantic''''' one in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven "Face the Raven"]] when the antagonist's plotting indirectly leads to his companion Clara [[spoiler:getting KilledOffForReal]]. That said antagonist owes their life to the Doctor doesn't help (although it ''did'' result in the downside of [[spoiler:immortality]]). The Doctor ultimately renounces his name momentarily (in the mythos of the show this is a huge deal as the last time we saw him do this he became the "War Doctor", and here he threatens to call down even his greatest enemies if something isn't done to save Clara). Ultimately, Clara demands him not to let this disaster turn him into a warrior again, spending what are literally [[spoiler:the final minutes of her (natural) life]] talking him down, but he is promptly delivered into the hands of his enemies, and the resultant torture he undergoes makes up the entirety of the next episode, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent "Heaven Sent"]]. The Doctor is so damaged that he becomes a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in the SeasonFinale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent "Hell Bent"]], risking the safety of the entire universe just to [[spoiler:get Clara back]], and he can only fully return to his best self once he [[spoiler:'''undergoes a MindRape''' and loses most of his memories of her]], which frees him from crippling grief and rage.

* Ryan on ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' in the Season 5. After years of working at the surreal Dunder Mifflin, constant sexual harassment from Michael Scott, the horror of actually having a relationship with the vapid Kelly, getting promoted during a recession, getting addicted to cocaine (TruthInTelevision - it turns you into an asshole), running a massive fraud, and getting busted and fired, then starting all over again as a temp at Dunder Mifflin, Ryan now carries a notebook filled with the names of people who piss him off. So he can "get back on them once I'm on the top again".

* ''Music/FreakOutAlbum'' (1966) is the name of Music/FrankZappa's debut album. And it lives up to its name during "Help, I'm A Rock" and "The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet".

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Series/TheMuppetShow:'' Don't ask Animal to play classical music. He just can't stand it for long. And when Animal freaks out, the rest of The Electric Mayhem follow...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Being a failed science experiment with more mental issues than even the most skilled therapist could count, ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s Lemongrab is CONSTANTLY in the midst of a freak-out.

** Aang might have undergone a Freak Out upon learning of the genocide of his race; it lasts most of the first season, and then ebbs and flows until he finds peace in the GrandFinale. In the flashbacks with Gyatso and Bumi he's earnest but calm and somewhat reticent and his [[{{Keet}} hyperactivity]] might just be a way of [[SadClown trying to distract himself from the horror]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', Officer Bennet suffers a Freak Out when he gets captured and mentally tortured by the Joker, followed by getting exposed to chemicals that turn his body into morphable clay. After spending two seasons as the good friend of main character Bruce Wayne, Bennet becomes the villain Clayface after the two-part season finale that focuses around this event.
** Joker himself states that he went from a normal office worker who dreamed of making people laugh to, well, the Joker after [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke "one rotten day and a chemical bath."]]
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtheadDoAmerica Beavis and Butt-Head Do America]]'', Beavis has one when the plane he and Butthead are on takes off, causing him to scream "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" over and over. Later on, when the duo fails to find Dallas, he has another one with his "We're Never Gonna Score" speech.
* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman loves'' this trope. [=BoJack=] alone has done everything from abandoning a show he was starring in to go to New Mexico for the foreseeable future to saying unforgivable things to his friends to ''doing'' unforgivable things to his friends.
** It's arguable that since the theme of the show is living with mistakes and trying [[DysfunctionJunction (and often failing)]] to make up for bad behavior or cruelty, this trope is inevitable in ''[=BoJack Horseman=]''.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': AND DAD WILL JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH TV!!!!
* Lois of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' has a complete meltdown when several mishaps and bad events (Peter giving away the family's gifts, the turkey got burnt, etc) make it harder for her to plan the family's Christmas and the lack of paper towels to clean up the mess in the kitchen [[RageBreakingPoint sends her over the edge.]] Lois goes on a rampage throughout the town and attacks anyone that gets in her way or dares to stand up to her. Her freak out ends when she gets tranqulized by the police.

** In "Insane in the Mainframe", Fry is erroneously sent to an insane asylum for ''robots''. Obviously, the staff (all robots) don't notice this simple detail and continue to treat him as such. He would be released weeks later when he, as described by the doctor, "no longer suffers delusions of humanity."
** He also freaks out in "Roswell that Ends Well", when he realizes he is his own grandfather.
** In "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?", Fry is told he must fight Dr. Zoidberg to the death. And the winner gets the "honor" of mating with a female of Zoidberg's species. After [[{{Beat}} thinking about this for a second]], Fry begins screaming hysterically.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** Daffy Duck's Freak Out in ''WesternAnimation/DuckAmuck'' is the stuff of legends.
** In ''WesternAnimation/DuckRabbitDuck'', Daffy has an impressive rant after taking one too many shotgun blasts to the face.
--->'''Daffy:''' Shoot me again! I ''enjoy'' it! I love the smell of burnt feathers, and gun powder, and cordite! I'm an elk! Shoot me, go on! It's elk season! I'm a fiddler crab! ''Why don't you shoot me?! It's fiddler crab season!''
** In ''WesternAnimation/PorkyInEgypt'', Porky's camel Humpty Bumpty suffers from "desert madness" and ends up HearingVoices.
--->"What's that? We're saved! The camels are coming! THE CAMELS ARE COMING! ''THE CAMELS ARE CO-O-O-O-OMI-I-I-I-ING!!!''"
* Franchise/DonaldDuck's unforgettable hunger-induced nervous breakdown in ''[[WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree Mickey and the Beanstalk]]''.

** Happens to Twilight Sparkle in the episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero "Lesson Zero"]]. When she realizes she doesn't have a weekly friendship lesson to present to Princess Celestia, she [[SanitySlippage grows increasingly crazy]] trying to find one, culminating in a fully-loaded Freak Out the likes of which have never been seen on the show before (which is saying something, given the show's other examples).
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver "The Best Night Ever"]]: Fluttershy tries to befriend the animals in the Canterlot gardens, but when they keep avoiding her she starts becoming frustrated just to get her hooves at them, and it all climaxes with her shouting [[PunctuatedForEmphasis "You're. Going. To]] [[SuddenlyShouting LOVE MEEEE!"]].
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne "Party of One"]], Pinkie Pie gets it into her head that her friends don't like her parties anymore, so she starts throwing parties with her new friends: a bag of flour, a bucket of turnips, a pile of rocks, and a collection of lint, all of which she's named and given voices. Then she starts imagining they really ''are'' talking to her...
** These freakouts have been classified by fanon as "Cutie-Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome" a condition that causes ponies to lose control and over-react to situations that cause them to doubt the purpose in life they found when they received their cutie-mark. Every one of the six primary protagonists has had at least one of these, and there's solid evidence to suspect that the show's first BigBad was caused either by one of these or some form of corrupting influence.
** In "Testing, Testing, 1,2,3", Rainbow Dash accurately describes Twilight's tendency to "get all freaked out about tests".
---> '''Rainbow Dash''': Your freak-outs are so epic, [[MusicalWorldHypothesis you sing whole "freak-out" arias]] about freaking out!
** By the Season 9 premiere, "The Begining of the End", Twilight's friends all know her tendency towards this when she's saddled with a heavy responsibility so well, that they've nailed it down to a "process" which they call [[PersonAsVerb "Twilighting"]].

** ''Heavily'' played for drama in "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E16HollowMind Hollow Mind]]". [[spoiler:After discovering that his entire life is a lie and realizing that Belos wants him dead, Hunter has an ''extremely'' realistic panic attack, gasping out that he can't go back before tearing his Golden Guard cloak off and running off into the woods while hyperventilating.]]

--->'''[[spoiler:Hunter]]:''' ''(hyperventilating)'' Oh, Titan! He's ''looking'' for me! He'll know I'm here! I- I gotta- I gotta run, I gotta- I gotta ''hide''- I g- I gotta-

** Stimpy's [[https://youtu.be/TvRsQnfk6x0?t=14 "I Like Darren!" rant]] from "Mad Dog Höek".

*** It says something when ''Ren'', the most prone [[https://youtu.be/0bme0JpXQUg to performing these]], is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness showing genuine concern]].
** In "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" has the yak's breakdown from Stimpy's incessant singing, which was inspired by the ''Porky in Egypt'' example.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Hurricane Ned.
-->'''Ned''': Calm down, Neddly diddily diddily diddily, doodily. They did their best shodaiddily iddily iddily diddily diddily. Gotta be nice, hostidididildilidilly ah HELL diddily ding dong ''[[Main/OOCIsSeriousBusiness CRAP!]]'' Can't you morons do anything RIGHT!?\\
[shocked gasps]
** Subverted in the episode "D'oh-in in the Wind". Homer, alongside his mother's hippie cohorts, attempted to "freak out squares" in Springfield. The joke was on them, however, as Ned Flanders took Homer's suggestion of "expand your mind" as a tip, apparently not knowing what Homer might have actually been referring to (i.e. expanding the mind with drugs), Homer's cosmic fool stint was decried by Krusty the Clown as being "weirdos," and Skinner's reaction to Homer's closing the "conformist-factory" (the elementary school) was simply dejection with the kids' reactions being a lot of cheers. In fact, the closest to an actual freakout that occurred was his son, Bart, and that's only because he was embarrassed that his dad arrived to pull off his hippie stunt at school.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Electro's FaceHeelTurn is the result of an [[ComesGreatInsanity inability to cope]] with the PowerIncontinence and loss of humanity that accompany the [[PsychoElectro electrical powers]] he gained in a FreakLabAccident. Doctor Octopus' is a result of the radiation that fused his [[ArtificialLimbs harness]] to his spine and changed him from meek to [[MadScientist megalomaniacal]].

** [=SpongeBob=] seems to have suffered from this the most, including in episodes such as "Pickles", "Bummer Vacation", and "Earworm". His Freak Out in "Grandma's Kisses" is likely his most notable, of course.
** Squidward's also suffered from this a bit, including in "Opposite Day", "Squid Wood", and "Squid's Visit".

** In "An Indirect Kiss", Pearl starts freaking out after realizing that Rose's healing fountain has become inaccessible due to a bunch of extremely tall, prickly weeds.
** In the "Say Uncle" crossover with WesternAnimation/UncleGrandpa, said character's weird ways and scientifically impossible antics are too much for Pearl.
---> (The Gems find themselves stuck in a blank white void with each other.)\\
'''Garnet''': There's got to be some way out of here.\\
'''Pearl''': (''shivering'') WE’LL NEVER ESCAPE! ''THIS'' IS OUR NEW HOME!!!\\
'''Garnet''': Pearl, you're overreacting.\\
'''Pearl''': ''I'M NOT OVERREACTING!!!!!'' (''proceeds to run around the void, screaming'')
** In "Log Date 7 15 2", having [[HeelFaceTurn just committed treason against Homeworld]] by [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu disobeying and insulting Yellow Diamond]], Peridot is having the Freak Out of a lifetime, alternating between fits of horror and fits of [[LaughingMad manic giggling]] while replaying the phrase "traitorous clod" over and over again on her tape recorder. When Steven asks if she'll be okay, she turns around with a manic grin and delivers an equally deranged "[[BluntYes No!]]".
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': Happens to Raven in her numerous appearances, most notably after her MindRape at the hands of Slade. The episode "Haunted" is devoted to one massive Freak Out after another that Robin endures when Slade [[MindScrew supposedly]] returns from the dead.
* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'': The Black Cube of Darkness in "The Black Cube", after a very bad day of being harassed and feared by everyone on his planet, despite trying his best to do good, loses it when an angry mob forms against him. [[AllLovingHero Wander]] tries to calm him down, but it doesn't work and he ends up getting his soul sucked by the Cube. It actually takes Sylvia [[WhatTheHellHero calling out the mob]] for their actions for things to finally start settling down.

* Fry from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' suffers a Freak Out after being erroneously sent to an insane asylum for ''robots''. Obviously, the staff (all robots) don't notice this simple detail and continue to treat him as such. He would be released weeks later when he, as described by the doctor, "no longer suffers delusions of humanity."

* [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], of Comicbook/TheAvengers, had a period where he thought he was someone else, and apparently went full-on mad scientist, to the point of setting killer robots on a major city just so he could destroy them to look good. He eventually recovered, and how much this gets played up depends on the writer. Some have him as having become fairly well-adjusted; others have him just a medication bottle away from another psychotic episode. And then there's ''Secret Invasion''.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' is '''the''' poster comic of Freak Outs, with most Rogues' minds breaking at some point, [[StartOfDarkness creating the other selves]] which drive Batman's duality theme close to home. Virtually every member of his Rogues Gallery can have their defining transformation into villainy traced back to a single traumatizing event: acid in the face, mutations, murdered parents, rescued parents, murdered spouse, etc. In particular, ComicBook/TheJoker is a firm believer in this trope, once saying that all it takes to separate the sane from maniacs such as himself is "one bad day." ''The Killing Joke'' storyline features him trying to give Commissioner Gordon his Bad Day. Ironically, his biggest success (ComicBook/HarleyQuinn) was apparently a [[CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure fairly meticulous process of chiseling away at her sanity and sense of self-worth]], though in her own series it was implied that she went through one of these before meeting him.
* Astrid Mueller of ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' uses these to counter demonic possession of her closest allies. The host mind's most traumatic, scarring memories force the demon out. The host tends not to weather it well, either.
* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'': In ''Emerald Twlight'', Hal Jordan suddenly loses his marbles and becomes an universe-destroying maniac after his home city is destroyed by a supervillain. Years later, ''ComicBook/GreenLanternRebirth'' revealed that Hal was being influenced and later possessed by an eldritch abomination/emotion parasite called Parallax.

* Rorschach from ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', despite coming from an abusive background, seemed to have a good head on his shoulders until he investigated the disappearance of a girl who turned out to have been murdered and fed to dogs by her attacker. He then went Rambo-like insane and never went back.

** Also ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'': Campbell completely breaks down in ''Say It Ain't So''. Bianca finds him in a sobbing heap in the girls' bathroom, which he didn't realize he had gone into until she calls him a stalker and he notices the tampon dispenser.

[[caption-width-right:350:Nina just had a very bad day.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' is '''the''' poster comic of Freak Outs, with most Rogues' minds breaking at some point, [[StartOfDarkness creating the other selves]] which drive Batman's duality theme close to home.
** Virtually every member of his Rogues Gallery can have their defining transformation into villainy traced back to a single traumatizing event: acid in the face, mutations, murdered parents, rescued parents, murdered spouse, etc.

* ComicBook/TheJoker is a firm believer in this trope, once saying that all it takes to separate the sane from maniacs such as himself is "one bad day." ''The Killing Joke'' storyline features him trying to give Commissioner Gordon his Bad Day.
** Ironically, his biggest success (ComicBook/HarleyQuinn) was apparently a [[CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure fairly meticulous process of chiseling away at her sanity and sense of self-worth]], though in her own series it was implied that she went through one of these before meeting him.

* [[TheGambler Daniel J. D'Arby]] suffers an impressive one in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', in an AbsurdlyHighStakesGame of poker against [[TheHero Jotaro]]. At one point, Jotaro makes ludicrously high bets on a hand that he ''doesn't even look at,'' while using his [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Star Platinum, to nab a cigarette and a drink [[SuperSpeed faster than D'Arby can see]]. This leads him to believe that Jotaro had switched out the cards in his hand without him noticing, and his panic only ramps up further when Jotaro demands that he match his raise by promising to reveal the capabilities of [[BigBad DIO]]'s Stand if he loses. [[TheMobBossIsScarier The mere thought of being punished for his betrayal of DIO drives D'Arby insane with fear]], to the point that he ''passes out'', thus forfeiting, and wakes up [[LaughingMad a gibbering wreck who's too loopy to interrogate]]. To top it all off, he was normally [[TheStoic tranquil and cool-headed]], which made his nervous breakdown all the more enjoyable to behold.

* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': Johan has one of these after reading a picture book.

* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': Nanoha has a minor one that's [[PlayedForLaughs Played for laughs]] after she transforma for the first time.

* [[TheGambler Daniel J. D'Arby]] suffers an impressive one in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', in an AbsurdlyHighStakesGame of poker against [[TheHero Jotaro]]. At one point, Jotaro makes ludicrously high bets on a hand that he ''doesn't even look at,'' while using his [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Star Platinum, to nab a cigarette and a drink [[SuperSpeed faster than D'Arby can see]]. This leads him to believe that Jotaro had switched out the cards in his hand without him noticing, and his panic only ramps up further when Jotaro demands that he match his raise by promising to reveal the capabilities of [[BigBad DIO]]'s Stand if he loses. [[TheMobBossIsScarier The mere thought of being punished for his betrayal of DIO consumes D'Arby with fear]], to the point that he ''passes out'', thus forfeiting, and wakes up [[LaughingMad a gibbering wreck who's too loopy to interrogate]]. To top it all off, he was normally [[TheStoic tranquil and cool-headed]], which made his nervous breakdown all the more enjoyable to behold.

* The title character of ''Film/{{Carrie}}'' has a similar freak out to Ralphie, but the results are far more destructive: rather than simply beat the snot out of the bullies who poured pigs' blood on her in front of the class, she burns the school down with everyone locked inside. This wasn't the first time she was bullied, but it was this moment that finally sent her over the edge.

* Kenai does this in ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'' when he realizes he turned into a bear.
* When Kuzco from ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' learns he’s been turned into a llama, he tries to tear his skin off, slaps himself across the face in a desperate attempt to calm himself down, laughs hysterically when he realizes he can no longer walk on two legs, and panics that he “can’t remember anything” because of the confusion being knocked out caused him.

* Ken Hidaka, at the very end of the ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' [=OAVs=], goes from boy next door having a ''very bad day'' to AxCrazy BloodKnight in the time it takes him to pull a shotgun trigger. [[SlasherSmile And it shows]].

* ''VideoGame/MystIIIExile'' "Your sons, Atrus. Do you know what they did?"

* In ''WesternAnimation/FlushedAway'', Roddy freaks out when he first arrives in the sewer, and tries to wake himself up. by repeatedly slapping himself.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Prior to the planned government assault on Tsubaki’s sanctum, [[spoiler:Katsuya sees [[LoveTriangle Akira together with his crush Sheryl]] and has a HeroicBSOD, then Inabe [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates Katsuya]] out of his depression by making it sound like he can save Sheryl from being blackmailed into a relationship by Akira. And then Tiol launches a FalseFlagOperation on Katsuya by disguising himself as Akira, killing his teammates, and throwing their bodies into Akira’s vehicle.]] This is reacted to with an UnstoppableRage, a MadnessMantra of IllKillYou, and a complete abandonment of reason or sense.

* In ''Lightnovel/TheWayToProtectTheFemaleLeadsOlderBrother'' Sylvia Pedelian, the resident [[TheIngenue ingenue]], goes through a huge one after being informed of her beloved brother's torture and death, after she spent a long time desperately searching for him in the original story. This eventually drives her into becoming a bloodthirsty {{Determinator}} who ends up massacring the entire [[TheMafia Agriche family]].

* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Sisko breaks through [[AffablyEvil Gul Dukat's]] wall of denial and makes him acknowledge that he really had been evil to the Bajorans when he was in charge of the planet. Dukat then [[GoneMadFromTheRevelation suffers]] an ''epic'' Freak Out, and decides that from then on, he's going to be outright openly evil and damn well ''enjoy'' it. Which could be seen as a NiceJobBreakingItHero moment, considering what he would go on to do.
** A more humorous example occurs offscreen in the episode "Blaze Of Glory". When Quark's opining on the war (And how the Jem'Hadar will likely kill them all) sends a bar patron into a frenzy. He whacks Quark with a barstool, runs onto the promenade screaming "We're all doomed!" and then bursts into the Bajoran temple stark naked and begs the Prophets for salvation. The kicker being said patron was ''Morn''.

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': Parodied in "Hercules Against the Moon Men" where Joel's invention "Super Freak Out" consist of him and the Bots in rock and roll outfits, it even sends TV's Frank [[GRatedDrug in a LSD Trip]].

* Alice suffers this in ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia'' when she sees Hatou in Chapter 11.

* ''Manga/ElfenLied'': Happens on numerous occasions to several characters. Most notable are Kouta after witnessing his sister and father being slaughtered in front of him by Lucy; happens again later on after he starts to remember bits and pieces of his traumatic past, and again when he sees Lucy slaughter people in front of him. Mayu after running away from home because of her [[AbusiveParents stepfather's sexual abuse]] and her mother's refusal to believe that her ''own daughter is being raped'' because she's jealous of her. Mayu gets another in the manga when she's about to get raped by The Unknown Man, which is directly related to the aforementioned abuse.

* For 21 episodes of ''[[Manga/LuckyStar Lucky Channel]]'', [[WideEyedIdealist Minoru Shiraishi]] calmly endures the ''[[ButtMonkey constant abuse and disrespect]]'' of his diva of a co-star, [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight Akira Kogami]]. Then he gets roped into trekking two weeks through the wilderness to retrieve a fresh bottle of spring water for her, getting [[BearsAreBadNews mauled by a bear]] in the process. When he returns to find himself replaced as co-star by Creator/DaisukeOno and ''then'' has Akira throw the water back in his face for being too warm, he goes ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes completely berserk]]''. He tells off Akira, trashes the set, clobbers crew members who try to restrain him, [[CameraAbuse attacks the cameraman]], and is last seen chasing Akira off-stage with presumably murderous intent. He eventually calms down by being lectured by the [[Creator/YukoGoto Yuko Goto]] parody, but in the concluding episode, he is a completely different character.