{"id":74567,"date":"2024-06-01T16:44:49","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T16:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/frightening-yourself-for-fun-helps-building-bonds-soothe-stress-study"},"modified":"2024-06-01T17:06:05","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T17:06:05","slug":"frightening-yourself-for-fun-helps-building-bonds-soothe-stress-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/frightening-yourself-for-fun-helps-building-bonds-soothe-stress-study","title":{"rendered":"Frightening Yourself for Fun Helps Building Bonds, Soothe Stress – Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Nearly 40 million people in the US experience an anxiety disorder in any given year \u2013 nearly 18% of the population \u2013 according to science. Some of us manage our anxiety by meditating, some by maintaining a healthy regimen of regular physical activity, and others by… BOO… scaring themselves!<\/p>\n

Fear, which is an emotional response to threats, alerts us to danger, and when we\u2019re scared, our nervous system floods our body with adrenaline and our brain with dopamine and norepinephrine, which can boost our mood. Now, new research looking at people who chase fear for fun suggests that it can help soothe anxiety and even help us bond with others \u2013 in addition to making us a little more resilient.<\/p>\n

Essentially, as long as we know that there\u2019s no real threat, according to the researchers, a little fear on purpose can be good for us. At least that\u2019s what researchers at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark found when they realized through their investigations that during the pandemic, fans of horror movies showed greater signs of psychological resilience.<\/p>\n

The thought is that doing scary things for fun, like watching scary films or visiting haunted houses helps people manage fears in real life by helping them regulate their reactions.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s similar to putting a fighter pilot into a simulator,\u201d says Mathias Clasen, director of the lab and an associate professor of literature and media at Aarhus University. \u201cYou learn what the emotions feel like and how to control them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings were echoed by a separate study conducted by Margee Kerr, a sociologist at the University of PIttsburgh, who found that people who patronize \u201cextreme\u201d haunted houses \u2013 the ones that employ actors to reach out and grab participants, or inflict higher-stakes scares like electric shocks \u2013 feel as though they\u2019re mood is improved afterwards, and often note less stress and tiredness.<\/p>\n

Researchers also suggest doing scary things with a group of friends since the shared activity may help you feel closer to each other.<\/p>\n

Some theories presented by members of the Fear Lab suggest that people who suffer from anxiety enjoy scaring themselves because it can give them feelings of control, especially if the threats aren\u2019t real.<\/b><\/p>\n

People who enter haunted houses are allowed to leave any time they want; they aren\u2019t actually in any danger. Being able to take \u201cbreaks\u201d or shut your eyes during moments of being overwhelmed are tactics that allow participants to manage their fear and push past comfort zones \u2013 which can help give a boost in mood, work through difficult emotions, and or help develop more as people.<\/p>\n

However, in order to feel the benefits from scaring yourself silly, you have to actually enjoy the activity, which means you can\u2019t just jump right into the scariest thing you can find, officials underscored.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTry the milder stuff first – a kids\u2019 horror movie or a neighborhood haunt where you can see the zipper on the monster\u2019s back,\u201d says Clasen, who also suggests looking for a \u201cscarier version\u201d of something you already enjoy, be it books, films, or podcasts. Like Kerr reminds us: \u201cRecreational fear is all about choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Nearly 40 million people in the US experience an anxiety disorder in any given year \u2013 nearly 18% of the population \u2013 according to science. Some of us manage our anxiety by meditating, some by maintaining a healthy regimen of regular physical activity, and others by… BOO… scaring themselves! Fear, which is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":74566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,31],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-74567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nFrightening Yourself for Fun Helps Building Bonds, Soothe Stress - Study - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nearly 40 million people in the US experience an anxiety disorder in any given year \u2013 nearly 18% of the population \u2013 acc ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/frightening-yourself-for-fun-helps-building-bonds-soothe-stress-study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Frightening Yourself for Fun Helps Building Bonds, Soothe Stress - 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