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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And also when I’m on my iPod trying to take my mind off of it. I see something at the corner of my eye.. Is that my mind just trying to scare me?
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Hi Bri, when you’re scared, your peripheral vision becomes more sensitive that’s all it is. Nothing to worry about. ~ Mike
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Article Update:
Hi! Just a quick note to let you know I’ve updated the article to include “what to do if you wake up in the night.”
This is good to do whenever you wake in night actually, not just after watching a scary movie.
Mike
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Thank you mike, it helped a lot! I was able to sleep in my room for awhile yesterday but I always wake up at like 2:00am or 3:00 and I stay up cuz I get scared. I know the movie isn’t real but my mind gets the best of me. I forget about it for like a minute then I wake back up and still scared. I need help because my parents are mad at me cuz I can’t sleep in my own room! I am 11 years old and still have trouble with it.
Is there something wrong with me?
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Hi Bri, no there’s nothing wrong with you. What you’re experiencing is a normal reaction when you think you are in danger… even if that danger is your imagination. That’s why you must keep your mind off it. If you wake up in the night, just remember there’s no danger at all, it’s just your mind and then put all your attention into your feet, try to feel the tingling in your feet. And then feel other parts of your body tingling too. This will focus your attention away, and stop you triggering more anxiety by giving attention to and meaning to silly things. ~ Mike
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Hi I’m 11 and I’m interested in ghosts and stuff but I like to read the comments on videos on YouTube like on club penguin and stuff because well, I’m 11. And a lot of times there are these scarry chain messages and they scare me half to death! Im also Christian so I have a mini statue of the virgin Mary is my bedroom but I still don’t feel safe. Is there any way I can finally get some sleep? Oh I also keep waking up in the middle of the night and get scared so I never get any sleep. Please help!
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Hi I’m 11 and I’m very interested in the “paranormal” and my grandpa tells me about ghosts and stuff because I’m just so fascinated! But those stories aren’t the ones that scare me, stories in the Internet is what scares me. Like chain messages on YouTube in the comment section and I know that whatever promises they make don’t work because well I’m still alive but just the thought makes me VERY. Scared. Is there anyway I can fall asleep at night?
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Hi Lindsay,
It’s always going to be tough to fall asleep when you’re scared because your body is primed for ACTION… fight or flight, primed to save your life from what you have perceived as a dangerous situation.
It can be done though, turned around pretty quickly. First understand that there’s nothing to be scared of. Even if there are such things as ghosts, a ghost never hurt anyone. So then, decide to keep your mind off it from now on. If a thought pops just remember “nothing to worry about” and put your attention elsewhere.
Now if you’re scared you need to exercise… depending on how scared you are it could take up to 30 minutes to calm down, to get the adrenaline out of your system.
Now you’re calm keep your attention distracted with a book and some relaxing music til you feel sleepy. Then go to sleep :-) If you wake up in the night, then immediately remember “nothing to worry about” and then focus on your feet, try to feel the tingling in your feet, and if you like you can then try to feel tingling in other parts of your body too.
Read this to understand WHY you are reacting the way you do…
And then… you know…. STOP reading stuff that scares you!! :-)
Good luck,
Mike
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