The release of "Avatar: The Way of Water" apparently brings with it a strange phenomenon again: "Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome". According to media reports, this could already be observed after the first "Avatar" from 2009 and described a feeling that some people felt after watching the film. Fans sometimes described feeling depressed and dissatisfied with their lives. Apparently, they didn't find the closeness to nature that characterized the fictitious Na'vi people. According to a report by the British "Guardian", "post-avatar depression syndrome" is not a medically recognized term, but an observable phenomenon.

In January 2010, the US news channel CNN reported for the first time on the phenomenon that people complained of depression after seeing the film. The broadcaster referred to the "Avatar Forums" fan forum page, where a thread titled "Ways to Cope with Depression Through Pandora's Intangible Dream" had more than 1,000 posts from sufferers and helpers at the time.

Is a similar phenomenon looming with "Avatar: The Way of Water"? After all, "post-avatar depression syndrome" continued to appear long after the original release of the first part. The 24-year-old American Max Perrin only saw the film in 2017, but the industry magazine "Variety" describes it as an intense, emotional experience.

"A lot of people have experienced that in the community," says Perrin. "It really made me rethink a few things." He had no idea that something like this could affect him so deeply. "I didn't want a life free of problems." Those in the world of "Avatar" only seemed "more surmountable" to him than his own.

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