introduction
Being afraid is enjoyable. You can tell if you’re going to survive or die by being scared. It’s how you move on from your own death and keep living. It’s how you experience life in its purest form, without the filter of ambition or aspiration self importance.
People are scheduled somewhere right now to terrify themselves, maybe with a thrill ride or a horror movie. In reality, almost 28 million people visited haunted homes in the United States alone in October of 2015. Many people find this behaviour strange, wondering, “What could possibly be pleasant about being scared?” Fear gets a terrible image, but it’s not all negative.
For starters, terror may be rather pleasurable. When a threat activates the fight or flight response, our bodies prepare for danger by releasing hormones that change the way our minds and bodies work. This instinctive response kicks off a process that can help with survival. They do this by ensuring that we have enough energy and are guarded from discomfort, while shutting down non-essential processes such as critical cognition.
Feeling pain-free and motivated while not getting caught up in worrying thoughts—that all sounds amazing, and it may be because this reaction is similar, if not identical, to what we feel in positive, high-arousal states such as excitement, enjoyment, and even during sex. The distinction is according to the context. When we are in true danger, we choose survival over enjoyment. When we activate this high arousal response in a safe environment, we may transition to enjoying the natural high of being afraid.
This is why individuals on roller coasters may shift from screaming to laughing in a matter of seconds. Your body is already in a state of euphoria. You’re simply renaming the experience. And, while the danger reaction is universal, research suggests that the chemicals connected with the threat response operate differently in different people. This explains why some people are more prone to seeking thrills than others. Other typical bodily differences explain why some people enjoy the dizziness of a loop-de-loop while despise the stomach-drop sensation of a steep roller coaster, or why other people scream with joy inside a haunted house but scream in panic if brought to a real graveyard.
Fear provides more than just a pleasurable, natural high. Doing things that we are fearful of can increase our self-esteem. When we complete a personal challenge, whether it’s running a race or completing a big book, we experience a feeling of satisfaction. This is true if we are confident that we are not in immediate risk. Or, while our thinking brains realise the zombies aren’t real, our bodies tell us differently.
The terror is genuine, so when we survive, the happiness and sense of success feel real as well. This is an outstanding evolutionary adaption. Those who were courageous enough and wise enough to know when to push through the fear and when to retreat were rewarded with survival, new food, and new places.
Finally, fear has the power to unite people. When you witness your friend shout and laugh, you feel obliged to do the same. This is because we make meaning of what our friends are going through by duplicating it ourselves. In fact, when we watch our friends scream, the same portions of our brain are activated. This not only heightens our own emotional experience, but also helps us feel more connected to individuals we’re with. The hormone oxytocin, which is released during fight or flight, aids in the sensation of closeness during moments of dread.
Fear is a powerful emotional experience, and anything that generates a strong reaction is likely to be long remembered. You don’t want to forget what might do you harm. So, if your memories of viewing a horror film with your friends is pleasant and leaves you satisfied, you’ll want to do it again and again.
conclusion
Horror film evenings are the finest. But why is that? Furthermore, why is it so entertaining to be afraid by a movie? Is there a deeper psychological explanation for this phenomenon? The answer is… perhaps. There is some data that suggests scary movies tap into evolutionary anxieties and help you survive them. It’s entertaining because it forces you to respond swiftly to danger. But wait, there’s more! There is also evidence that fear has an evolutionary advantage. As a result, being terrified actually teaches your body to react faster in the event of danger.