WEBVTT - Why Does It Feel So Good To Be Scared?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works, Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>luring vog obamb here on the menu of what's scary

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<v Speaker 1>these days, there are many threats to choose, from mass

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<v Speaker 1>shootings and uncertain political and economic future, nuclear war spiders.

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<v Speaker 1>So it begs the question why would anyone want more?

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<v Speaker 1>Why do people, in fact pay money to be scared

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<v Speaker 1>when there's already enough frightening stuff served up daily? But

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<v Speaker 1>that's exactly what tons of people do. We Horror fans

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<v Speaker 1>seek out horror movies, scary books, and haunted houses. We

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<v Speaker 1>pay to consume fear, and selling fear is an increasingly

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<v Speaker 1>profitable pursuit. For instance, the number of horror movies released

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<v Speaker 1>in only seven sixty two. The top twenty horror films

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<v Speaker 1>of seventeen, including Stephen King's It Sold, combined a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and forty million tickets and grossed more than nine twenty

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<v Speaker 1>million dollars. But this is nothing new. Since nineteen sixty

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<v Speaker 1>horror movies have taken more than twenty four billion dollars

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<v Speaker 1>of our hard earned money at the box office, adjusting

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<v Speaker 1>for inflation. It's a big business and the haunted house industry,

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<v Speaker 1>and yes we can call it an industry now is

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<v Speaker 1>also capitalizing. It grossed more than three hundred million dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>Amusement parks another place to find heart racing attractions that

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<v Speaker 1>scare so many annually serve three hundred and seventy five

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<v Speaker 1>million people in North America alone. Of course, this brand

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<v Speaker 1>of fear served up by horror flicks, thrill rides, and

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<v Speaker 1>even haunted houses is a specific and in fact different

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<v Speaker 1>form of fear than what someone feels or deals with

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<v Speaker 1>if they're mugged or chased by wild boars. And that

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<v Speaker 1>is where we can find the answer to today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>why do we do this to ourselves? First, it's important

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<v Speaker 1>to know that there is a competing overload of various

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<v Speaker 1>definitions and associated nuances of fear. Lots of people study it,

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people have opinions. We'll break it down into

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<v Speaker 1>two simple types, capital A anxiety and capital F fear.

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<v Speaker 1>Anxiety is what keeps us up at night. It's often

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<v Speaker 1>experienced as dread, worry, uncertainty, nervousness, apprehension, and specifically, it

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<v Speaker 1>focuses the mind on possible future events that might happen

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<v Speaker 1>but have not happened yet, anything from nuclear war or

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<v Speaker 1>the end of democracy, to the injury or death of

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<v Speaker 1>loved ones, a terrible break up, the loss of finances, ETCETERA.

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<v Speaker 1>Fear that is fright, horror, terror, or panic is the

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<v Speaker 1>much more straightforward frenemy. It derives from what is right

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<v Speaker 1>in front of us, right now, an immediate threat to

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<v Speaker 1>our safety. This could be standing in front of a

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<v Speaker 1>crowd for a speech, an unfriendly dog running straight for us,

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<v Speaker 1>or that moment when we accidentally walk through a spider web.

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<v Speaker 1>Not anxiety about that possibly happening, but that actually happening.

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<v Speaker 1>It causes signal aficant near instantaneous fight or flight biological

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<v Speaker 1>changes in US. But further, in attempting to understand why

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<v Speaker 1>someone would want to experience something like fear, we also

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<v Speaker 1>need to acknowledge that it contains a subcategory which brings

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<v Speaker 1>about similar symptoms, but with mostly enjoyable outcomes. Margie Key

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<v Speaker 1>is a sociologist who studies fear and the author of

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<v Speaker 1>the Book's Scream. She and her colleague Greg Siegel, PhD,

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<v Speaker 1>the director for the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at the University

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<v Speaker 1>of Pittsburgh, have come up with an academic description for

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<v Speaker 1>this subcategory, voluntary engagement with negative high arousal stimuli, or

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<v Speaker 1>in other words, going to a scary movie or haunted

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<v Speaker 1>house and while allowing ourselves to feel the biological thrills

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<v Speaker 1>of being scared. As part of this, the overall experience

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<v Speaker 1>can lead to deeper meaning in our lives. In some cases,

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<v Speaker 1>it can even provide some therapeutic value for those experiencing anxiety.

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<v Speaker 1>Care says that experiencing fund scary can give us a

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<v Speaker 1>set of mastery over it that can feel very gratifying.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's a chance to feel like we've got it all

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<v Speaker 1>within our control. Here's how it works. Step one, we

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<v Speaker 1>choose to experience a scary activity. This step, perhaps the

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<v Speaker 1>most important, frames our entire experience. By exhibiting agency to

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<v Speaker 1>face something scary, we're acknowledging that we are in control

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<v Speaker 1>of it. We also realize the safety inherent in this

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<v Speaker 1>that if we walk into a haunted house, we're not

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<v Speaker 1>going to be murdered. Not really right. Step two, something

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<v Speaker 1>unexpected startles or unsettles us alike in the Blair Witch Project,

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<v Speaker 1>when someone is standing in a very dark corner, or

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<v Speaker 1>the Shining, when ghostly twins demand that we come play

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<v Speaker 1>with them forever, end ever, or in any number of

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<v Speaker 1>slasher flicks when the protagonist realizes that the killer's calls

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<v Speaker 1>are coming from inside the house. The original reference to

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<v Speaker 1>that maybe when a stranger calls. By the way, good trivia.

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<v Speaker 1>At any rate, we're on edge, which brings us two

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<v Speaker 1>step three. We exp variance fight or flight. Danger stimuli

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<v Speaker 1>is received by our brain and our sympathetic nervous system

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<v Speaker 1>kicks into gear. This is what kept the cave people

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<v Speaker 1>away from sabertoothed lions. Our bodies are flooded with adrenaline, dopamine, oxytocin,

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<v Speaker 1>and endorphins. Our heart rate, blood pressure in breathing increase,

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<v Speaker 1>We sweat, we get goose bumps. In some cases, we

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<v Speaker 1>may scream, involuntarily jump or run for the hills. Don't worry,

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<v Speaker 1>it's all completely natural. Care says. This is the pedal

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<v Speaker 1>to the metal and all systems go, but in a

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<v Speaker 1>safe environment, one in which we choose to experience. It's

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<v Speaker 1>important to note that this is much different than facing

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<v Speaker 1>real danger, and that's what makes it fun. Care said,

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<v Speaker 1>even deciding to do scary, this is the protective frame

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<v Speaker 1>we've created for ourselves in our mind. We are being

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<v Speaker 1>open to engage with this material and suspend our disbelief.

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<v Speaker 1>It creates a different experience than if we were, say,

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<v Speaker 1>mugged at random. Our framing of the situation is then

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<v Speaker 1>going to be with that. In the context, screams mean

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<v Speaker 1>fun and not fear, which leads us to Step four.

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<v Speaker 1>We experience satisfaction on a biological level. Our parasympathetic nervous

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<v Speaker 1>system kicks in and it brings everything back down to

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<v Speaker 1>normal heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, sweating, and that urge

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<v Speaker 1>to run far, far away. Care said, this can feel

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<v Speaker 1>very relaxing. It's the rest and digest period. We're safe.

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<v Speaker 1>We can sit with that and reap the benefits. So

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<v Speaker 1>step five. Those benefits we share in the experience and

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<v Speaker 1>build relationships. Care said of hunted house, horror movie, and

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<v Speaker 1>roller coaster excursions. These experiences are often linked with friends

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<v Speaker 1>and family. We attend with them. We're building strong bonds

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<v Speaker 1>and a shared camaraderie that in itself can be really gratifying.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the stuff that nostalgia is built from. So why

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<v Speaker 1>do we choose to experience certain scary things? The rush, sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but also to make our lives feel more meaningful, to

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<v Speaker 1>make memories. Care also notes that a common therapy for

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<v Speaker 1>those who experience anxiety, that other brand of fear that

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<v Speaker 1>consumes many of us these days, is to do something

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<v Speaker 1>scary enough but ultimately safe, to activate your sympathetic nervous system.

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<v Speaker 1>She said. It's a physical sensation that feels good. It

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<v Speaker 1>gives you a mental pause. You become grounded in your body,

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<v Speaker 1>fully distracted by something in your environment, and ultimately you

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<v Speaker 1>realize that you survived something. You set a challenge and

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<v Speaker 1>you survived, which brings gratification. These days will take all

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<v Speaker 1>the help we can get. So what's your favorite scary movie?

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Jamie Allen and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other

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<v Speaker 1>satisfying topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot

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<v Speaker 1>com