Do you think that experiencing fear in a "safe" setting, by watching horror movies, participating in Hallowe'en or reading scary books, promotes mental resiliency and provides some protection against PTSD?
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I grew up in a very stressful household and used to enjoy horror books and movies.
Since I've been through therapy and been able to control my life more I'm much less interested in these. I much prefer not to be scared and upset, it's a personal preference I suppose, but a psych. once said that we all have a bucket of stress that could be filled but due to my childhood my bucket was already partially filled, so not to seek out stress basically.
girlwithsmiles
Level 8
July 31, 2018
1
I'm glad reading helped you cope with your childhood. Sounds as if you have a good plan for the present and future. There are definitely more pleasant entertainments in other genres..
I would be very very hesitant to say there is anything that can "protect" against PTSD. The effects of stress are so unpredictable from one person to another, as well as different kinds of stress affecting people differently, that I should think it's next to impossible to insulate against stress in advance.
However, this may be a therapeutic tool that's been tried to help treat PTSD. It sounds like something someone has done somewhere, probably. Whether it works or not... well, I'm no doctor.
Paul4747
Level 8
July 31, 2018
2
I've always wondered if the horror/fear genre had a use other than entertainment.
@pixiedust Therapists use desensitizing techniques for many types of phobia. Gradual exposure to the source of the fear, along with reinforcements when the patient doesn't exhibit fear reactions, can help the patient learn to control their phobia and eventually unlearn it. For example, I hate snakes. So I would be taken to the zoo's reptile houses, have longer exposure to the snakes, eventually even handle them, until I overcame my fear... that is, if my fear of snakes interfered with my daily life to the point that I needed this therapy.
Maybe horror films could work the same way to treat PTSD, gradually desensitizing patients to shocks and scary moments. After all, there are plenty of things jumping out on the screen at unexpected moments, plenty of stressful situations... but it bears no resemblance to the real life situation that brought on the PTSD.
On the one hand, here's someone who says scary movies helped him get over the trauma of a house fire... [vice.com] and on the other, a psychiatrist says they can actually cause it. [ottawacitizen.com] So I guess it's inconclusive? 
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