I absolutely LOATHE being scared. I don’t want scary movies or even suspenseful tv shows by myself. I just refuse to be scared and reason my way out of the feeling with sarcasm and snarky remarks. That being said, I absolutely LOVE Halloween and would consider it to be my favorite holiday. I even go to haunted houses and actually find a TINSY bit of enjoyment from those jump scares. Those sentences were contradicting, but many people feel this way. You don’t like it, but at the same time you love it! Why do humans like to being scared?
What is fear? Fear is your body’s natural response to an identified threat. Fear is a very complex emotion and can often be confused with having anxiety over something. Some fears are something you are born with and others are learned. For example, in the article it states that there are really only two fears that humans and animals have. The fear of falling from great heights and the fear of loud noises are the only two fears that you were truly born with. Another point the article made is that fears we’ve learned, like thunderstorms or bugs, are actually learned from others in our environment. For example if an older sister showed a fear of thunderstorms, a younger child might develop the same fear as a learned behavior. In the case of more dangerous fears, scientists believe that our ancestors originally feared these things because they were essentially deadly and we have had these fears past down through time.
One way to distinguish fear from anxiety is your fight or flight response. When the body is put in a dangerous situation, changes happen and this is called fight or flight. One change that happens is that the body releases adrenaline. Adrenaline gets your body ready to either run or fight off the perceived threat. According to the article above, not only does adrenaline get released but also dopamine. Dopamine is our pleasure hormone and that could be one of the reasons we like to be scared. Another reason discussed in the article is that we enjoy being scared in a safe environment. If we know that the perceived threat isn’t truly going to harm us, we enjoy it more. So go ahead and enjoy your jump scares, you adrenaline junkie!
I was a little confused reading the beginning of your post but I think Im starting to understand what you are saying. I have never had a “real” fear of horror movies or scary attractions. I actually love all the suspense and jump scares they both have to offer. I am aways in the mood to watch scary movies. I might be freaked out the entire time watching them, and even after (especially when I turn the light off in my room and have to make that quick sprint to my bed so that nothing gets me), but I just love the feeling. I must agree though that if I am in a safe environment, then I know Im not in any real danger or harm so it makes it easier to enjoy it.
Finally. I really thought I was the only one. I literally HATE scary movies. I just can’t take it. It’s always too scary and I end up having nightmares and it just never ends well. It’s actually comforting to know I’m not the only one. Here’s an article that shows you how to deal with any chronic fears you may have. http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/enhance-your-wellbeing/security/facing-fear/how-deal-chronic-fear-and-anxiety
I really relate to this post. I’ve always hated being scared, and avoid horror movies at all costs. At the same time, I don’t have any of the “typical” fears like heights and would love to go skydiving one day. I’ve never understood why some people seek out opportunities to be scared, like haunted houses or scary movies, so I was really interested in how you explained it in this post. I also found a (website that discusses why jump scares work so well.
I thought your post was really interesting! When you mentioned the two fears that humans and animals are born with, the one that stuck out to me was fear of falling from a high place. It got me thinking about those dreams you have when you sort of “fall awake” or something, and I wondered if it was connected! However, this article attributed the feeling to “hypnic jerks” https://sleep.org/articles/hypnic-jerks/
I’m completely in agreement with you, I hate scary things because I have an irrational fear of sudden noises that catch me off guard. I couldn’t even get through the new show on Netflix, Stranger Things, solely because of these suspenseful pop out moments, as interesting as it is. But, I love adrenaline whenever I know what’s about to come, such as adventurous or thrilling experiences. Here’s an article that highlights different types of adrenaline and adrenaline-type stress hormones, I found it very interesting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/19/adrenaline-cortisol-stress-hormones_n_3112800.html
I am the same exact way with that show! It’s so funny because that’s the show that inspired this post. That was a good article! I find it really interesting that the same hormones that bring us joy can also cause us harm in larger doses. This article talks about how an imbalance of adrenaline affects women. I wonder how the brain decides what is too much and what is too little depending on the situation.
https://www.womentowomen.com/adrenal-health-2/the-effects-of-adrenal-imbalance-stress-does-count/
I love watching horror movies and I never plan to stop watching them. However, did you know that horror movies, haunted houses, and other frightening things are actually bad for your health? According to this article, http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/17/horror-films-are-bad-for-your-health-according-to-scientists-5571167/ horror movies and other scary experiences can actually cause blood clots!
This article caught my eye because I’m the type of person to be easily scared. I can’t go to scary movies without covering my eyes 90% of the time and I’m that annoying girl at haunted houses who can’t stop screaming because she’s so scared. Like you said, everyone has a love hate relationship with being scared, but I will never understand the people who find 100% pure enjoyment in it.
I totally agree with this post! I can proudly admit even as a college student I get scared and sometimes I like it and sometimes I hate it. Surprisingly I am not really scared of heights. But that doesn’t mean I like roleercosters. I actually don’t like them not because of the height or speed but because I am scared of them breaking or having a malfunction while I am riding. Heres an image of one of the scariest roller coasters in the world. https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2014/07/Roller%20Coaster.jpg.jpg.653x0_q80_crop-smart.jpg
The funny thing is that I love rollercoasters! I just now recently began to kinda black out on them, which makes me sad. Here’s an article about rollercoaster blackouts!
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/10/08/roller-coaster-blackouts-safe-or-scary