History Main / PersonalHorror

** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E4MindfulEducation "Mindful Education"]] has Steven and Connie both dealing with this, Connie from attacking a kid who bumped her out of reflex and the AllLovingHero Steven from being unable to save Jasper, poofing Bismuth and sending Eyeball out of his bubble when they were lost in space.

** ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' revolves around this for Steven. After saving the universe, he has [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow not idea what to do with himself]], since everything is mostly fine and he no longer has to be an LivingEmotionalCrutch to his friends/family. As such, Steven finds himself having to finally process all the pent-up [[ShellShockedVeteran trauma]] and [[SinsOfOurFathers anger at his mother's irresponsibility]] that he ignored during the original series, causing him to undergo a slow mental breakdown over the course of the miniseries.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Imagine that one day, you decide to join a group of bank robbers, and to ensure that nobody can figure out that you're no longer a law-abiding citizen, you come up with a criminal alias. That alias quickly snowballs out of control to the point that years later, long after you've quit the outlaw lifestyle [[ReformedCriminal and now trying your hardest to uphold the law]], practically everyone still called you by said alias, which you now regard as a shameful reminder of your mistakes that you wish to part with. This is what Cole Cassidy had to deal with, and in the ''New Blood'' tie-in comic, [[FriendlySniper Ana Amari]] comments that she could tell that he felt trapped by the life that he was living beforehand.

** [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie The movie]] gives us [[spoiler:Spinel's HeelRealization. She was literally made to be Pink Diamond's friend. She enjoyed being Steven's friend. And then she reactivated the injector that would kill all organic life on Earth when she thought he was going to use the [[IdentityAmnesia rejuvenator]] on her]].
** Spoilers for the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': [[spoiler:This ''entire followup series'' is this for Steven. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome It turns out that]] saving the universe [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow has left him without any life-changing goals to pursue]] and instead created a vacuum for all the pent-up [[ShellShockedVeteran trauma]] and [[SinsOfOurFathers anger at his mother's irresponsibility]] to surface. This isn't helped by [[PleaseDontLeaveMe all his friends and family members moving on with their lives]], or sudden bouts of serious PowerIncontinence ([[IneffectualLoner both of which he conceals from his family, despite their repeated attempts to offer help and support]]). This eventually culminates in Steven ''[[AccidentalMurder accidentally shattering one gem]]'', then ''[[MomentOfWeakness nearly shattering another]]''. By the penultimate episode, his inability to live up to his ([[DramaticIrony mistaken]]) belief that his friends expect him to be always and only an AllLovingHero causes him to cross the DespairEventHorizon, [[SuperpowerMeltdown triggering his corruption]] into a Pink {{Kaiju}}.]]

Related to PsychologicalHorror. Very much TruthInTelevision, but please keep examples civil. ''Not'' related to IKnowWhatYouFear or AuthorPhobia.

Can lead to HeelFaceTurn or the character becoming TheAtoner. Sometimes results in {{Past Experience Nightmare}}s or the character crossing the DespairEventHorizon. Some characters have an overlap with YouAreWhatYouHate. Often results in HeroicBSOD, sometimes after running HeroicSafeMode. Can be invoked in a BreakingLecture.

Can lead to HeelFaceTurn or the character becoming TheAtoner. Sometimes results in {{Past Experience Nightmare}}s or the character crossing the DespairEventHorizon. Some characters have an overlap with YouAreWhatYouHate. Often results in HeroicBSOD, sometimes after running HeroicSafeMode.