Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: flickr.com One way people 'protect' themselves from scary movies

Scary movies are an all-time favorite around this time of year. Screaming and hollering from fright due to a movie or a prank are not uncommon either. Why do people enjoy scaring themselves at the movies when scary movies can have a lasting effect on your life?

Studies conducted at University of Wisconsin, showed that 90 percent of the participants had long term effects from scary movies, television shows, and other stimuli. In other words, months after viewing these frightening depictions, students were still affected by what they saw.

Slightly over half of the students involved in the study expressed unusual behaviors after watching a scary film ranging from insomnia, obsessive thinking about the stimulus, or avoiding any situation in their own lives that may resemble the film.

The study also showed a variety of symptoms from all participants. According to Kristen Harrison and Joanne Cantor, leaders of the study, 27 percent of the participants reported "crying or shaking…trembling or shaking (24 percent), nausea or stomach pain (20 percent), clinging to a companion (18 percent), increased heart rate (18 percent), freezing or feeling of paralysis (17 percent) and fear or losing control (11 percent)…" Through their study, they recognized that these stimulating factors also appear in real life frightful situations.

Some of the participants who weren't afraid of the frightening movies showed the same signs as the participants who were afraid. In addition, the participants who had longer-lasting effects were those who watched scary movies and television shows at a younger age. Nearly all the participants, despite their fear, knew which coping mechanisms worked for them. For example, some covered their eyes with their hands or pillows or reminded themselves that the event couldn't happen in real life. They realized that scary movies were just that.

They also realized that watching frightening movies or television shows won't cause death, unless of course they had a deadly heart attack. Simply put, the participants just didn't watch movies that they knew would give them nightmares or have them running away from the screen in order to avoid a long term effect. It may be necessary that you do the same if you suffer unlikable symptoms similar to the participants. However, if scary movies are your thing, sit back and enjoy the show.

Article Tools