Horror movies calm my anxiety
My obscure alternative to therapy.
Over the years my anxiety has manifested itself in a lot of different ways. There was the phase when I was a little kid and was afraid of flushing the toilet. There was the phase when I lived alone and thought endlessly about how I might die in my sleep, and no one would ever find me until weeks later.
These days it exists as a sort of dull, ever-looming thing that feels like there’s something you were supposed to remember to do but there’s no hope in remembering what it is. Like Neville with the Rememberall™️.
To distract myself from life’s responsibilities, I’m that friend that will always suggest we go see the latest chapter of a gory horror flick. It’s almost always gets met with very intense “Hell no” that’s almost insulting.
It’s fine.
I like going to the movies by myself anyways.
When I tell people that horror movies calm me, they look at me very confused and a little bit disgusted. Or even worse, they think it’s one of those “I’m just so weird and quirky” anecdotes that you say to create some intricate persona for yourself. It’s a rough life, really.
But really, few things bring more joy than a genuinely terrifying and well-thought-out storyline.