If you have misophonia, certain sounds might trigger intense irritation, disgust, and physical discomfort. Get the details on symptoms, treatments….
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Mental Health. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. Physiological effects. Effects on sleep. Mental health. Positive effects of horror films. Tips for healthy viewing. The bottom line. Read this next. Why We Like to Be Scared The science of fear explains why being frightened can be fun, at least for some people. Medically reviewed by Peggy Pletcher, M. What an Introvert Is — and Isn't. But many researchers understand their potential. Psychiatrist Leela R.
Clasen of Aarhus University is now devising a study with his colleague, Coltan Scrivner, that will examine the clinical potentials of horror, and whether people with serious psychological trauma might find constructive uses for horror media. There is even a podcast called "Psychoanalysis: A Horror Therapy Podcast"—co-hosted by a licensed therapist—that explores the link between horror films and anxiety.
Margee Kerr , a sociologist and author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear , has done preliminary research on voluntary arousing negative experiences VANE —that is, situations such as watching a horror movie or running through a haunted house for fun. Kerr is now working on a grant proposal that would allow her to investigate how exposure to these kinds of VANE activities would modify stress responses.
As for me: When the pandemic hit, I immediately found myself seeking out more scary movies. I found a local store that sells used DVDs, and I am now revisiting the slasher films I loved so much in junior high. At the end of the week, I use them to help me unwind. Once again, I am finding comfort in the darkness of my living room, safely screaming away the fear.
All rights reserved. Then, in junior high school, I found salvation at the local video store. Feeling exposed When discussing trauma and phobias, it helps to understand first how our bodies process fear. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city.
Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars.
India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Some people form early positive associations with fear — maybe their family took a trip to a haunted house every October, or they have fond memories of telling ghost stories around a fire at summer camp. If, on the other hand, you never really had a reason to build that mental bridge between fear and fun, then taking in a scary movie just supplies you with the fear, and not the pleasure of warm and fuzzy memories to temper it.
You get less pleasure out of intense emotions. And a study in the journal Communication Research found that those people tend to be the same ones who enjoy horror. In a forthcoming study in the journal Emotion , Kerr and her colleagues found that a stressful experience can be a positive one if you go in determined to make it so. This attention-gripping sensation almost forces us to take a break from whatever day-to-day worries or concerns might otherwise gnaw at us.
On the other hand, if our capacity for dissociation and absorption is extremely high, we might find scary movies too stimulating—especially if we keep thinking of them and feeling genuinely fearful for days later anytime we're in the dark, alone, or whatever the "hook" was from the scary movie.
Scary movies amp up our bodies with heart-racing, breath-holding thrills, which actually primes us for sexual arousal. In fact, the neurological circuits that make us tremble and sweat with fear overlap with the neurological and bodily circuits that activate when we tremble and sweat with sexual arousal. This is probably why horror movies are often a popular choice for date night: They rev up our arousal system precisely when we're in the perfect situation to jump into the ready arms of our partner, who is likely feeling equally stimulated.
Horror movies are a safe way to satisfy the "shadow side" of human nature, as part of a psychological defense called " sublimation "—where we find socially acceptable outlets for sides of ourselves that would be taboo if expressed in a raw, unfiltered manner. This is actually considered a very healthy thing to do: For example, psychoanalysts sometimes speculate that surgeons may sublimate unconscious violent urges through the socially acceptable and extremely helpful!
Horror movies can do this for us on a much smaller, milder scale: They are a socially acceptable, benign way for us to mentally experiment with our darker sides.
These films also offer us the chance to do so in connection with friends and family, which can create calming reassurance that this aspect of ourselves is actually quite "normal" and harmless. Remember: Each person and individual situation are different, and we do change over time. For example, tendencies toward dissociation can change with age, along with conscious or unconscious interests in social taboos—all of these factors can affect the way we'll process a scary movie.
Of course, exposure to actual trauma can strongly affect the way we experience horror—and not always in the way we'd first imagine. While frightening films may trigger PTSD for some trauma victims, research suggests that others may find it empowering to expose themselves to fearful stimuli while knowing they're actually safe check with your doctor or therapist if you're unsure about this and need guidance. The important thing is to know that movies—including scary ones— can be a great way to explore, transport, or simply entertain yourself.
Just remember, you're in charge, and you should never feel compelled to watch a movie that truly bothers you or makes you feel genuinely uncomfortable.
0コメント