The mind is a wonderful and complex thing. It is like a vast garden and what you plant in it, for better or for worse, grows. You should be careful with what you choose to water or otherwise feed, for it may spread and take over everything else, if not just a significant area of it.
I’ll be the first to tell you that horror isn’t as bad as many make it to be. But, like anything else, there’s a limit on how much you can or should take. I’ve gotten carried away with it in the past and have experienced, first hand, some of the symptoms of consuming too much horror. Furthermore, I have witnessed more extreme levels of it in other people. So, I’m here to tell you when to stop.
It’s no surprise that different people have different capacities to carry horror within them. A tiny bit may be a lot to someone, while a lot may be a tiny bit to another. This capacity may develop throughout contained and gradual exposure. Or you may have periods in which you cannot take as much as you normally would or vice-versa. What this may imply, why and how it got that way, varies with the individual and their situation. But how can all of us tell when it’s time to take a break from horror?
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| You Should Have Left (2020) |
Symptoms
The following symptoms may be symptoms of other, more serious problems. But if you pay attention, and notice that they have a resemblance or can be traced to the horror that you have consumed, then that’s a clear sign that that’s what’s causing them. And even if not, cutting down on horror consumption if you present the following symptoms is still advisable. This is not a state in which you should indulge fear.
• You have nightmares.
• You have intrusive thoughts.
• You have visual and/or auditory hallucinations.
• You have an inclination to expect the absolute worst from others.
• You have an unfounded feeling that something or somebody is out to get you.
• You have a crippling fear of something horrible and irreversible happening to you or to others you care about, so much that you can barely function at all.
None of these symptoms are to be taken lightly. And if it’s not just the last few horror films or series you watched that left you in this state and you can easily recover by filling yourself with less threatening ideas to regain balance, then you should seek professional and expert help; something much more harmful could be at work.
Fret not, however, nowadays competent assistance for this type of issue is readily available and accessible in one way or another and you may be able to find it and receive it where you are, whether in person or via a channel of communication. Reach out and take it from there. And definitely avoid horror!
What about you? Have you experienced or witnessed any of these or other symptoms? If so, what helped?