History Main / TraumaSwing

* ''Film/TheSixthSense'': The surviving daughter of the Munchausen's-Syndrome-by-Proxy mother is shown on a swing during the funeral.
* ''Film/LittleChildren'': Ronald [=McGorvey=] (Creator/JackieEarleHaley) does this at the end.

* ''Film/ChasingAmy'': Holden is seen alone on a swing set following a huge argument with Alyssa. (The same swing set they had the "what is sex" discussion on earlier in the film.)

* Inverted in ''Film/{{Ikiru}}'': Watanabe dies at night, in the rain, sitting on a child's swing set. But the mood of the scene is peaceful and even a little bit triumphant: he is enjoying being in the park he dedicated his last days to building.
* The poster for the 2018 Iranian film ''Film/TheLostStrait'' has a soldier in a gas mask sitting on a swing.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "Epilogue": Ace is shown like this. [[spoiler:She's dying of a brain aneurysm due to her powers evolving.]] Batman then sits down on the swing next to her to comfort her [[spoiler:[[StayWithMeUntilIDie until she passes away; his presence calms her enough to die peacefully, which prevents a massive psychic backlash.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "Epilogue": Ace is shown like this. [[spoiler:She's dying of a brain aneurysm from overusing her powers.]] Batman then sits down on the swing next to her to comfort her [[spoiler:[[StayWithMeUntilIDie until she passes away peacefully]]]].

* The plot of ''Literature/TheAngelNextDoorSpoilsMeRotten'' starts when protagonist Amane Fujimiya encounters his schools [[SchoolIdol prettiest, smartest, and most athletic student]] Mahiru Shiina sitting on a swing set alone in the rain crying to herself and he offers her his umbrella to keep. Mahiru is somewhat of a BrokenBird who presents a [[StepfordSmiler social and personable front at school]] to mask her issues with her emotionally distant parents.

* In the anthology Whispers in the Dark, published by Rowanwood Publishing, there appears a short story, "The Girl", featuring a picture of the character sitting on a swing looking forlorn.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has Big Baby sitting upon the playground swing [[MelancholyMoon staring at the moon]].

* Truth in television. Children who're bullied, [[AloneInACrowd ostracized]], etc. will commonly be found by the swings because it's the only activity on the playground that doesn't require a playmate.

* ''Literature/IHadThatSameDreamAgain'': Nanoka sees a forlorn-looking man sitting in a swing in a local park on a couple of occasions, then learns that it's Kiryu's father when she runs into the two of them together.

* One of the Dark Spore children is first shown alone on a swing, while other children play nearby, in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. Arukenimon and Mummymon are also shown hanging out on a swing set when they begin questioning Oikawa's motives and their own existence since Oikawa created them using his own DNA ("I can't help but remember that conversation with [=BlackWarGreymon=]. He's a Digimon, and Oikawa's a human, so what are we supposed to be?")

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Anime/MyHime'': Mai does this after she discovers [[spoiler:she's destined to fight and kill her friends in order to save the world, has a fight with her best friend, ''and'' finds out that the sickly brother she has worked so hard to take care of has realised how dependent he is on her and doesn't want that anymore.]] On top of all that, while she's sitting on the TraumaSwing, [[spoiler: the boy she likes and the ClingyJealousGirl walk by and kiss in front of her (although he does not know she is watching).]] The end of the episode shows her lying in bed, realizing, "I've lost everything." And things still found room to go downhill from there.

* In Manga/CardCaptorSakura, Sakura tells Syaoran [[spoiler: about Yukito rejecting her LoveConfession]] when she's sitting on a swing. She then says that even when she does ''not'' regret [[spoiler: wishing Yukito well [[ShipperOnDeck and encouraging]] his feelings for her brother Touya]], the whole deal ''still'' [[LoveHurts stings]], and then she starts crying...

* ''Film/TheGameChanger'': The female lead is shown on an ornate swing and humming a lullaby her father used to sing for her as a kid, after her father's funeral. [[spoiler: Even though he only faked his death]].

* ''Literature/TheSugarSkull'': Scout is rather perky while visiting the local playground and spending some time on the swings, but her backstory gives the visit elements of this. She tells Eve that she remembers her mom pushing her and her younger brother on the swings, but also admits that it might have been a scene on television instead. Considering she spent most of her time [[spoiler: caring for her younger brother, who had an unspecified developmental disability, then ran away after years of rape at the hands of her mother's boyfriend, it probably wasn't an accurate recollection of her childhood.]]

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': In the Season 4 finale "Always", Kate Beckett is seen sitting on a swing in the rain [[spoiler: after surviving an attempt on her life and being suspended/resigning from the force]]

** The swing is revisited in the Season 5 finale "Watershed" and the Season 6 premiere "Valkyrie", as the site where [[spoiler: Castle and Beckett become engaged]].
** The swing has become a favorite spot for Castle and Beckett; they are seen on the swing again in the Season 7 finale "Hollander's Woods", [[spoiler: when Beckett tells Castle that she had aced her captain's exam, but Keith Kaufman wants her to run for the State Senate.]]
* Inverted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. The de facto leader of [[MonsterOfTheWeek Bugsters]], [[PsychopathicManchild Parado]], is standing on a swing while dealing the trauma to [[AllLovingHero Emu]]. Namely, that [[spoiler: he is the pediatrician's EnemyWithout and among other things killed people because he knew Emu won't ignore him anymore after that.]]
* ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger'': Balance/Tenbing Gold is sitting on a swing while mulling over the earlier events, mainly [[spoiler: his best friend Naga betraying the team for the dark side and the fact he (Balance) needs to nearly kill him if he wants to get him back.]] The scene wouldn't be any sadder if he was crying his heart out instead of just sitting there in silence, utterly defeated.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "Epilogue": Ace is shown like this. [[spoiler: She's dying of a brain aneurysm from overusing her powers.]] Batman then sits down on the swing next to her to comfort her [[spoiler:[[StayWithMeUntilIDie until she passes away peacefully]]]].

* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': in “Dreamscaperers”, a broken swing set can be seen outside the Mystery Shack of Grunkle Stan’s mind. As the last shot of “Not What He Seems” reveals, it symbolizes [[spoiler: the loss of his estranged twin brother.]]

* ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.2]]'': We see [[StringyHairedGhostGirl Alma]] do this.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories''' cover has an odd example where Cheryl is not only shown on a swing but literally ''frozen''.
* ''VideoGame/ButThatWasYesterday''. This happens to the guy after his girlfriend leaves him.
* ''VisualNovel/LuxPain'' has Yayoi Kamishiro in this classic pose when the protagonist finds her again in episode 7, her mind having succumbed to a [[TheCorruption Silent infection]]. She was actually going to kill herself there if Atsuki hadn't shown up in time.

* There's a shot of ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' as a child sitting on a swing while she is telling Kyon in the present day why she acts [[BlitheSpirit how she does]].

* ''LightNovel/IHadThatSameDreamAgain'': Nanoka sees a forlorn-looking man sitting in a swing in a local park on a couple of occasions, then learns that it's Kiryu's father when she runs into the two of them together.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. In "An Un-Birthday Present", a sane Beth from an alternate universe somehow survives the collapse of TheMultiverse, only to find no one on this Earth knows who she is, including her twin sister Kate Kane who attacks her [[MistakenForAnImposter under the belief that she's Beth's insane evil alternate self, Alice]]. Kate eventually realizes her mistake and tracks Beth down to a park they used to go to as children, where Beth is sitting on a swing trying to cope with how she's been {{Un Person}}ed.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. A flashback shows a young Bella sitting on a swing set after being molested by her father. A demon in child form exploits this low moment to offer her a DealWithTheDevil.

** "Ted"; Buffy is seen sitting on a swing set after her problems with [[ParentWithNewParamour mother's new boyfriend]].
** "I Was Made To Love You"; Warren's SexBot ''dies'' while sitting on swing. Just about as sad as it gets.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' In the Season 4 finale "Always", Kate Beckett is seen sitting on a swing in the rain [[spoiler: after surviving an attempt on her life and being suspended/resigning from the force]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', during Ellen's [[FlashSideways Second Life dreams]], Ellen [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2004-09-13 notices]] Tedd sitting alone and when she [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2004-09-15 invites]] him to play with her and her friends, he tells her he is "no good".
[[/folder]]

A popular way to illustrate that someone suffers from a trauma of some sorts is showing them sitting alone at a children's playground, usually on the swing, [[AbandonedPlayground often at dusk or night]]. In most cases, the trauma in question is related to a childhood experience, although the person in question can be of any age (child or adult).

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheBirthOfJapan'': After Nobita's repeated attempts at [[TheRunaway running away from home backfires]] and nobody, not even Doraemon, wanted to have anything to do with him, he's shown sitting alone on a swing looking rather forlorn. And then Gian, Suneo and Shizuka suddenly shows up, ''all'' of them having their own problems and intending to leave their homes too, and asking Nobita if they could join him.

* One of the Dark Spore children is first shown alone on a swing, while other children play nearby, in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. Arukenimon and Mummymon are also shown hanging out on a swing set when they begin questioning Oikawa's motives and their own existence, since Oikawa created them using his own DNA ("I can't help but remember that conversation with [=BlackWarGreymon=]. He's a Digimon, and Oikawa's a human, so what are we supposed to be?")

* In ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'', [[ButtMonkey Mitsuo]] did this in ''High School Boys and Mitsuo-kun's Worries'', when he has a BSOD after his parents discovered his PornStash.

* ''Fanfic/MiraculousThePhoenixRises'':Morgan goes to one while reflecting on life, before Moof arrives as well and the two have a heart to heart on they both have a DarkAndTroubledPast.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. In "An Un-Birthday Present", a sane Beth from an alternate universe somehow survives the collapse of TheMultiverse, only to find no-one on this Earth knows who she is, including her twin sister Kate Kane who attacks her [[MistakenForAnImposter under the belief that she's Beth's insane evil alternate self, Alice]]. Kate eventually realizes her mistake and tracks Beth down to a park they used to go to as children, where Beth is sitting on a swing trying to cope with how she's been {{Un Person}}ed.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51nxUv95-Jg This]] PSA against child abuse shows scenes of a playground while a narrator talks, and at the end a child is shown on a swing.
* In a ''Creator/ComedyCentral Presents'' stand up special, one comedian mentioned a woman had approached him at a bar because she said he looked like the loneliest person she'd ever seen. He incredulously asked the audience, "What, was I sitting alone on a swing set?"

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' In the Season 4 finale "Always", Kate Beckett is seen sitting on a swing in the rain [[spoiler: after surviving an attempt on her life, and being suspended/resigning from the force]]

* ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'': [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Kaito]] sits on a swing during his HeroicBSOD in #26. Then he is joined by [[TeamDad Juran]] and they discuss his inability to fight [[ArchEnemy Stacy]] seriously. Kaito wished that their earlier fight had ended in DefeatEqualsFriendship and tried to appeal to the HiddenHeartOfGold he knows Stacy has due to his earlier [[PetTheDog slip ups]]. Unfortunately, Stacy is hell bent on opposing Kaito just to spite him and simply doubled his efforts to kill him.
* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'': In s05e15 Michael visits a playground and sits sad on a swing after being traumatized by the roast from his co-workers.

** Subverted, a new girl comes to school, and everyone is already doting at her that she won't fit in. She is then sitting on the swings alone, Lisa comes in and offers to be friends with her, then the girl slugs her!
** Variation: when Luann Van Houten forbids Millhouse from playing with Bart, whom she thinks is a bad influence, we get a quick scene of Millhouse in his back yard, sitting alone on one end of a see-saw, dejectedly pushing himself up and dropping back down.

* Truth in television. Children who're bullied, [[AloneInACrowd ostracized]] etc. will commonly be found by the swings, because it's the only activity on the playground that doesn't require a playmate.

* In Manga/CardCaptorSakura, Sakura tells Syaoran [[spoiler: about Yukito rejecting her LoveConfession]] when she's sitting on a swing. She then says that even when she does ''not'' regret [[spoiler: wishing Yukito well [[ShipperOnDeck and encouraging]] his feelings for her brother Touya]], the whole deal ''still'' [[LoveHurts stings]], [[TearJerker/CardCaptorSakura and then]] [[CryCute she starts crying]]...

If the person is a child, it may imply [[AbusiveParents parental abuse]] or other family troubles; if done with adults, it can show how they still suffer from said childhood experiences.

* ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger'': Balance/Tenbing Gold is sitting on a swing while mulling over the earlier events, mainly [[spoiler: his best friend Naga betraying the team for the dark side and the fact he (Balance) needs to nearly kill him if he wants to get him back.]] The scene wouldn't be any sadder if robots could cry.

** Although he's not on the swing in the scene, Wataru is shown to be standing in front of a swingset when receiving the papers that will allow him to skip grades with his friends from Sakuya.

* One of the Dark Spore children is first shown alone on a swing, while other chidren play nearby, in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. Arukenimon and Mummymon are also shown hanging out on a swing set when they begin questioning Oikawa's motives and their own existence, since Oikawa created them using his own DNA ("I can't help but remember that conversation with [=BlackWarGreymon=]. He's a Digimon, and Oikawa's a human, so what are we supposed to be?")

* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': At the end of her date with Fuutarou, [[GenkiGirl Yotsuba]] takes him to an AbandonedPlayground with a couple of swings, revealing that she usually comes here when she feels lonely or sad. [[spoiler:In Chapter 90, she's shown using the swing as she muses to herself how her sisters recognize Fuutarou's good-hearted nature and that she will support them, despite her feelings for him. It is evident that as a StepfordSmiler, Yotsuba is using the swing as a coping machanism to hide her own uncertainties about her self-imposed role in helping her sisters at her own expense]].

* Inverted in ''Film/{{Ikiru}}'': Watanabe dies at night, in the rain, sitting on a child's swingset. But the mood of the scene is peaceful and even a little bit triumphant: he is enjoying being in the park he dedicated his last days to building.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. A flashback shows a young Bella sitting on a swingset after being molested by her father. A demon in child form exploits this low moment to offer her a DealWithTheDevil.

** "Ted"; Buffy is seen sitting on a swingset after her problems with [[ParentWithNewParamour mother's new boyfriend]].

* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': in “Dreamscaperers”, a broken swingset can be seen outside the Mystery Shack of Grunkle Stan’s mind. As the last shot of “Not What He Seems” reveals, it symbolizes [[spoiler: the loss of his estranged twin brother.]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'': After an argument with the Dursleys, Harry retreats to one, brooding on his PTSD-driven nightmares, scar pains, and the lack of anyone to talk to or real information from his friends.