A lot of feedback from our unwanted thoughts post was from young people scared half to death from watching scary movies.
So here’s some specifics for that particular problem. This was the actual list I sent a young girl so scared she slept with a bible.
I’ve kept this post very short to get to the solutions straight away…
Know this:
- You’re not alone — most people freak out after watching scary movies, even adults.
- YOU ARE SAFE. You aren’t in any more danger now than you were before… it’s just a movie.
- You won’t feel scared for long. It will soon pass.
- Scary movies are made to scare you, that’s their job.
- Part of your mind can’t tell the difference between a movie and real life. It’s THIS part that freaks out, but YOU know… it’s just a movie. Because of this, it’s best to be careful what you feed your mind — what you watch, think and imagine!
Do this:
- Do some exercise: You are in a “fight or flight” state so act it out — dance or run about, jog on the spot, do star jumps, skip, have a pillow fight, do some shadow boxing or press ups… whatever.
- Watch “behind the scenes” videos to take the realness out of the movie, so you see clearly; “It’s just a movie.”
- Do what you can to feel safe: Be with people. Get lots of hugs from your parents, friends, even a pet or a big cuddly toy. Use a night-light.
- Keep your mind distracted: Watch comedy, get absorbed in a good book, listen to relaxing music, anything you can to distract your mind. Each time a thought comes up, remind yourself “It’s just a movie” and distract.
- To help you sleep, play the famous lullaby tune by Brahms below. Relaxing soundtracks like waves crashing on the beach would also be very good. Then when it’s time to sleep, use this relaxation technique: Put all your attention into your feet, feel your feet tingling and relax them, then move through every part of your body doing the same thing until you fall asleep.
“I want to say that a while ago I saw this article, it was the night after I saw a scary movie. I haven’t really thought about it since like, 3 months ago! This really helps!”— Katie, USA
FAQ
Q PLEASE HELP ME!!!
A If you follow all the tips in the article as best you can, that’s the fastest way to get back to normal. It’s all there, everything you need to know and do. Please leave a comment below if you’re having trouble following the advice.
Q Why am I sooooo scared just from watching a movie?
A Your mind reacts instinctively to perceived danger and changes your physical and mental state in order to deal with the danger — the “fight or flight” state. We evolved in nature where danger was real, like lions, and your brain still works that way. More about this →
Q Why am I hearing noises in my house after watching scary movies?
A If your mind thinks “danger,” your body changes to a “fight or flight” state. One of these changes is that you notice sounds that you normally wouldn’t notice. Your house always makes these sounds but you normally filter them out.
Q Why are my friends better at watching scary movies than I am?
A We’re all different. If you were to measure fear reaction in you and all your friends, you would get what is called a “normal distribution.” Most people would be somewhere in the middle, a few would not be affected at all and a few would have an over-reaction. There’s lots of reasons why you react like you do… genetics, previous experiences, beliefs, sensitivity etc. Everyone is different.
Q If my friends are watching a scary movie, I have to go along or I will be left out. What should I do?
A Go along if you want to, but don’t get sucked into it. Keep moving your attention away and back, away and back… like… look at objects in the room, notice the objects in the background of the movie rather than on the action, look to see how your friends freak out at the really scary bits :-) And you can keep remembering “that’s just a guy wearing make-up,” “just back a bit is the camera crew and director.” All sort of tricks like this to “keep it real.”
If the music builds up and you know there’s a scare coming, close your eyes or hide behind a pillow! Lots of people do it and the rest will be too absorbed to see what you’re doing.
A few fluttery moments of thrill are what you want from a movie. Losing sleep over it means it wasn’t worth it.
You could take your own DVDs to sleepovers, and see if a great comedy can tempt people away from horror. If you know in advance it’s going to be a horror marathon, you could just skip the event. Your friends won’t ditch you over one blow-off, and you get to spend time with them you actually enjoy.
If you’re REALLY sensitive and know you can’t handle it, then just say “No thanks.”
Q Why can’t I sleep after watching a scary movie?
A As you settle down to sleep, there are no distractions for your mind, it’s just you and your thoughts. It seems as though you are looking at your thoughts through a big magnifying glass.
Whatever you fear, you will be reminded of — it’s just a primitive part of your mind protecting you against what you saw as danger. If you react with anxiety to your thoughts, your body makes adrenaline as part of the “fight or flight” reaction. This will keep you awake and stop you sleeping. Then a vicious cycle of more thinking, more anxiety and so on.
To prevent this happening, you need another focus and to stay relaxed. To do this, play the famous lullaby tune as soon as you get into bed. Put your attention on the music. This will give your mind something to focus on and the calming effect of the music will help you relax. When it’s time to sleep, use the relaxation technique (tip 5) to keep your mind off scary thoughts.
If you wake in the night, remember, “it’s just a movie, no real danger” and then immediately use the relaxation technique again until you go back to sleep.
Q What about movies that are based on true stories?
A Saying a movie is based on actual events is just a way to get you more scared. An unusual event is often used to make unquestioned false assumptions, distorted, and then built upon further to end up with a story that has zero truth in it. In short, you can safely assume that no scary movie is true. It’s just a silly movie.
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Michael Kinnaird is the author of Happy Guide, the result of a 20 year exploration into what works for health and happiness.
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I am 11, and I hate scary movies. I look up bible verses and make a whole playlist of my favorite music to take my mind off of it. I used to absolutely HATE the movie Coraline (still do. See how easily I get scared?) so I would tell my self, a. The thought of little mice coming and leading me to a door I have never seen in my life is ridiculous. That thought usually does no good, so I will watch a really sappy movie and just start making fun of it. That usually does the trick, because I laugh so hard my chest hurts and I fall asleep. But, that’s not the point. I just feel so embarrassed I have to go upstairs for a claymation from Tim Burton, when I have been obsessed with Nightmare Before Christmas and vampire killing people and stuff since I was 6.
Oh, and just a tip for readers, try going to FanFiction.net, it has got some great fan made stories that can be pretty funny, and take your mind off stuff.
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Thanks Amy… Maybe you’re like my son who can watch all kinds of gore and horror and not be affected at all but anything sinister… stuff lurking in the shadows, freaks him out for weeks (or did when he was younger). He LOVED the Nightmare Before Christmas when he very little, maybe 6 years old and watched it about a hundred times. Me too, I think it’s an incredible movie.
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I haven’t been watching scary movies, but looking at scary pictures and reading creepypasta all day. This definitely helped. Another thing you should do is listen to some good music, not sad or slow music, a fast-paced energetic one.
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Well… I’ve seen some scary movies, well for me they’ve been enough… I have seen halloween 1, 2, saw 1,2,3,5 like at least 3 times each, but I keep sleeping with nightmares and I keep waking up at night, there was one time, that I only watched a trailer of a movie and didn’t sleep that night, right now… I saw a clip of the movie “the strangers”… Wow its scary, what makes me feel safe and what calms me down, is to know that I’m not the only one that have practically… panic to the scary movies… Thank you for creating this page, you don’t know how this has worked for me.. One of my best advice when you’re scared and can’t sleep… Try to sleep with the T.V. on… Cartoons work perfect
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Ok thanks I’ll try that tonight.
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And another thing, this probably sounds stupid but when I walk past a room with the door open and the light off at night I just end up literally sprinting down the stairs as fast as I can where I might find someone else. I always get this sensation that someone’s or something is following me or hiding in a dark room and waiting to grab me. I also have a major fear of ghosts every time the word is even mentioned all sorts of things run through out my imagination and stop me sleeping at night…. Please help!
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Hi Sam,
Although what’s happening to you feels incredibly frightening, please understand that it’s a normal intense reaction to what your mind saw as trauma and life-threatening danger. These reactions are primitive in that they operate instinctively and without logic or reason. The more you get into the horror, the more you trigger these instincts.
From a place of intense fear, you need intense EXERCISE as the first step. You can’t switch fear off like a light but you CAN exercise adrenaline away and then tell you mind CLEARLY that the “danger” has now gone by having a “don’t care” attitude when you get unwanted thoughts or fear flashes (“it’s just a silly game”), and calmly taking your attention away each time.
You need to reassure your unconscious mind that there is no danger. So once the adrenaline has gone (you’ll feel a lot better then), view arising thoughts as meaningless and remove attention.
In short… follow the tips properly :-)
Mike
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