Why Scaring Yourself Can Be Good for Your Health?

Sometimes we experience moments when our mind races and our heart sinks, be it through external or internal fear. Fear is such a powerful emotion, it can cripple a person’s ability to move, or think, and no matter how much we deny it, we all are petrified of something.

Evidently, getting scared keeps you healthy and keeps your brain active in more ways than one. Sociologists believe that with a few doses of fear every week, your body can be more aware and more responsive. Here is what happens:

Ever feel a bit numb when you get scared? Have you ever just stood there and felt like things went in slow motion for a couple of minutes? Your brain is triggered; its fight or flight response gets elevated and puts you in an energized state. In this state, you become a person that feels no pain, your brain focuses completely on the high of the scare.

This is all perfectly normal. Scaring yourself can also boost your self-esteem. How? Well, when you are scared and you get through it, how do you feel? Most people feel relief and then feel proud of themselves for going through something scary and making it. Your brain tackles fear the same way it tackles challenges or accomplishments. When you get through it, pride fills your heart more than the fear filled it earlier.

Scaring yourself with your friends and family actually helps you bond with them. Think about it, going together to a haunted house or on a scary ride, you remember the screams and the laughter. Hugging and touching when scared can also form bonds that you never expected. This enhances metal health and feeling of belonging.

A recent study has also shown that watching horror movies can actually burn your calories. When you watch these horror movies, you are scared for the character’s fate and how the scenes might shock you. Your heart is beating faster and therefore pumping more blood to your body. Watching horror movies like the Shining and the Ring while exercising can actually be a double cardio session. It can give you the same satisfying high of running a marathon. Try it and let us know what you think in the comments.

Obviously too much of something is bad for you, we need to understand that not all scares are healthy. Risking your life or the life of others “for fun” isn’t fun for anyone. Fear will consume you even if you are a daredevil or an adrenalin junkie. Lots of people talk about how it feels to risk their lives in cool stunts or dares, some of them speak of a rush of energy that makes them float, other sadly, talk about the regret they had for not being careful enough.

Too much of a scare for children can lead to them wetting themselves or fearing an object or location for the rest of their lives. For elderly or even anyone, a scare could literally stop your heart, or make you choke on your own spit. You don’t have to scare yourself to be in danger of being too scared. Fear comes in different forms.

Scaring people can lead to their injury, so please don’t take this as an excuse to actually go around scaring people. Make people aware of the benefits of scaring themselves in small doses of course. Scare yourself first to test the theory.

Let us know how you plan to scare yourself and if it really