A few summers ago, I started to get more into psychological thrillers and horror movies, despite the fact that I’ve always been very easily scared. Still, something about these types of movies is so interesting to me, so I began to see them in theaters.
I remember seeing a few that were kind of unnerving, like Split and Get Out, but none that really got me. It was when I saw the movie, The Quiet Place, that I was really caught off guard by the suspense and the action. So much so, that I experienced physical symptoms during the movie— and even after.
This connects to the nervous system, specifically the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is what controls many of your “fight or flight” responses. It causes involuntary reactions to “arousing” events by doing things like quickening your heart rate or dilating your pupils.
In my case, with the movie, my heart rate picked up and my teeth chattered completely involuntarily. The scary movie put me on edge, and my sympathetic nervous system responded by triggering these physical symptoms.
The counterpart of the sympathetic nervous system is the parasympathetic nervous system, which also triggers involuntary changes in your body, but in more of a calm way. For example, when the movie ended and my boyfriend squeezed my hand, signaling to me that everything is okay and that it was just a movie, my heart rate started to slow without me purposefully telling it to. I felt more at ease.
Both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are part of a greater nervous system: the Autonomic branch of the Peripheral Nervous System. The autonomic branch is what controls the involuntary, automatic actions that outside triggers may cause. This is different than the Somatic branch of the Peripheral nervous system, which is responsible for voluntary movements, like picking up a pencil.
I experienced the Somatic side of things when I covered my eyes with my hands during the movie or turned my head away.
While it’s reassuring to know that the sometimes overwhelming reactions my body has are perfectly logical, it’s safe to say that I probably won’t be watching a scary movie any time soon.