horror movies can be harmful to health

Tonight, you might choose to watch a horror movie while eating candy to celebrate Halloween. But beware, for some people this activity would not be a good idea.

Fear of Horror Movies: A Pleasant Feeling

In a press releaseAmerican psychiatrists of Milton S. Hershey Hospital, in Pennsylvania, USA, believe that the impact of watching a horror movie depends on the person watching it. For some, they would be pleasant and could help them deal with their fears. For others, however, they would not be advantageous at all.

The principle of a horror film is to scare even if it’s not real. For this to work, the director must therefore be able to make us forget that it is false. “People usually try to avoid things that make them uncomfortable, To explain Dr. Ramnarine Boodoochild psychiatrist who participated in drafting the press release. So why do people love things like really grotesque horror movies?” The answer is “the paradox of horror“.

Watching “The Exorcist”there is an activation of what is called the sympathetic nervous system, which can cause things like increased heart rate and increased respiratory rateexplained Dr. Ramnarine Boodoo. This can cause quite severe nausea. Sweat. It can often feel like a panic attack“.

For some people, psychiatrists explain that these sensations would be pleasant. They compare them to those of a roller coaster: experiencing adrenaline without being in real danger.

Horror movies to face your fears

Watching horror movies can also help you cope better with your fears. In fact, as the vision progresses, they act a bit like a therapy and help reduce the feeling of fear in daily life.

“You can apply these tactics to real life scenarios, explains Hannah Nam, a researcher who participated in the drafting of this press release. I’ve also found that it can be a form of stress relief for some people.“.

Horror movies can be harmful to your health

But this method doesn’t work for everyone. The feeling of fear is subjective and can therefore be very different from person to person. For those suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety disorders, heart or respiratory problems, but also for very young children, psychiatrists advise against watching horror movies because they will not benefit from them. Worse still, these can also be harmful to their health because they are actually afraid. Psychiatrists particularly believe that this can increase the aggression of some people.

Therefore, you should never force someone to watch a horror movie. When proposing this activity to your loved ones, first make sure everyone is comfortable before bringing out the popcorn… And that, even on Halloween night!