We are flooded with a sense of relief, which makes us feel good and safe once again. Some researchers theorize that individuals who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may become conditioned by the analgesic effect of certain types of movies and seek out stressful films to release more endorphins.
Scary movies might feel oddly comforting to those with trauma-induced anxiety. The years leading up to a child's fifth birthday are crucial for the brain. Traumatic events we experience during our early years can lead to the onset of memory problems, anxiety, emotional dysregulation issues, and even PTSD.
Some studies have found that people who are feeling nervous or are prone to anxiety are drawn to horror films, too. Perhaps scary movies provide a new focal point for their worries: Instead of ruminating over, say, finances, they can worry about the zombies they're watching.
What is the psychology of people who enjoy horror?
Horror entertainment can trigger the fight-or-flight response, which comes with a boost in adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine. The brain can then process surroundings and conclude that the experience is not a genuine threat. This knowledge of personal safety is one reason horror fans habitually watch scary movies.
And because there is no real threat, just a general, vague sense of doom, we rarely get any sense of resolution or relief. For some viewers who have anxiety or trauma, horror movies only make matters worse. But for others, horror can help provide relief from pent-up tension.
But for some, scary movies give us a safe place to indulge our worst fears. There is something comforting about watching something we worry about happen in a safe and removed way. We can turn off the TV at the end of the night or completely step away when we are unable to do that with our own anxiety in real life.
According to science findings, people may seek out horror movies for all sorts of reasons, such as triggering chemicals in their brains, to help them plan for worst case scenarios, or to practice coping strategies and control.
Many people believe that horror fans have low empathy. The claim that horror fans lack empathy is rooted in a flawed interpretation of a 2005 meta-analysis. Some morbidly curious people score high in empathy. Horror fans and morbidly curious people may be less coldhearted than the average person, research suggests.
No, enjoying horror movies is not a red flag that someone is a "nutjob." People have a wide range of interests and preferences when it comes to entertainment, and enjoying horror movies is just one of many possible tastes.
Watching horrific images can trigger unwanted thoughts and feelings and increased levels of anxiety or panic, and even increase our sensitivity to startle-eliciting stimuli, making those of us who are anxious more likely to respond negatively and misinterpret the sensations as real threats.
“Fear of the unknown” can be splintered and reskinned in many, many ways to give horror stories their specificity. People are afraid of death, because they can only guess at what comes afterward. They're afraid of the dark, because it has the potential to hide just about anything they could imagine.
Scary movies don't cause anxiety. However, they can trigger anxiety symptoms, even though you know the threat isn't real. It's all about what happens in the body when we're watching scary movies. During horror movies, our brains release adrenaline, which prepares our bodies for stressful situations.
Horror does that, but it does it in a safe, controlled manner that we know we can control, and so we adapt to it so we can control our emotions, and so cope with things that stress us out, or that we're afraid of, or that we're depressed. It's actually a very healthy way to cope with mental health issues.
PTSD occurs several months after a psychological trauma. Those who suffer from it go to great lengths to avoid people, places, and thoughts that remind them of the trauma. They are numb and have difficulty feeling a full range of emotions. They also have problems with sleep and invasive thoughts.
The main symptoms and behaviours associated with PTSD and complex PTSD include: Reliving the experience through flashbacks, intrusive memories, or nightmares. Overwhelming emotions with the flashbacks, memories, or nightmares. Not being able to feel emotions or feeling “numb”
'Emotional tears contain stress hormones and other toxins. Researchers have theorised that crying flushes these things out of your system, (though more research is needed in this area)'. 'Crying may be one of your best mechanisms to self-soothe.
One survey found that, on average, younger individuals tend to be more attracted to this scary genre; men are more likely to be fans of horror than women; and women versus men may like different aspects of a horror experience.
What does it say about my personality if I like horror movies?
In general, though, Analysts' combination of Intuitive Energy and Thinking Nature is ideal for enjoying scary movies. Intuitive personality types love to look for hidden meaning and tend to let their imagination run wild, and horror films stimulate those impulses in a way no other genre can.
What are certain traits horror fans generally share?
But the survey did unmask some interesting trends. People higher in a personality trait called thrill-seeking tended to watch and enjoy horror more. (Thrill seekers often seek out new and intense experiences.)
Horror movies can be a great way for people with anxiety to experience thrills in a safe environment, purge some stress, and feel catharsis when the credits roll. Horror movies can also, however, increase feelings of stress and disrupt your sleeping habits.
Why do some people love horror and others hate it?
The study found that people who had two identical COMT genes had higher anxiety levels and were more susceptible to being terrified. Whereas those who had different versions of the gene were more likely to enjoy, say, a scary movie and even laugh at the most 'terrifying' parts.
Psychological horror is unnerving in a way that a lot of other genres can't manage. A mountain of gore might gross out the audience. A jump scare might make them squeal. Psychological horror gets into the darkest corners of the human mind, unraveling what keeps us safe from ourselves.
You might get some relief from feelings of anxiety and depression→ As described above, watching a horror movie will release adrenaline throughout your body. The adrenaline will help to stabilize your mood and decrease your anxiety and depression in the short term.
For example, if a person spends many hours a day watching scary movies, they may eventually come to believe that the world is a scary place and may therefore fear leaving their home. The person may show similar symptoms of PTSD, but are not directly experiencing it.
In part, people's attraction to scary movies is driven by the physiological changes that the fear brings about because once the movie ends, the arousal remains for some time. Though we may not be aware of this, it heightens our emotions, and we will remember the fun that we had with our friends just after.
