Controlled Fear Cures: The Surprising Reason You Enjoy Being Scared

Why That Rush of Fear Actually Brings Us Joy

“That feeling of fear gives me a huge rush… When I was about 8, my dad showed me a black-and-white movie about a swamp monster. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ Over time, I grew to love everything dark… The feeling of being scared makes me happy,” says Ilona from Rzeszów.

Moreover, this phenomenon goes beyond individual accounts. The entire world seems to confirm the theory: we crave fear, want to feel the adrenaline rush, but absolutely must maintain control. This surprising human paradox, which remained unsolved until now, has finally come under the scientific microscope. Specifically, researchers investigated controlled fear in the context of clinical depression.

Depression: Unexpected Brain Reactions Revealed

Scientists from Ningxia University and Shandong First Medical University in China set out to unravel this mysterious contradiction, aiming to discover why people enjoy feeling scared. They found that controlled fear psychology helps to reset certain brain connections tightly linked to depression. So, what did the study involve?

Psychologists recruited 216 individuals with varying stages of depression. They gave participants two tasks. The first was a visit to a specially prepared haunted house. Researchers measured their heart rate, stress levels, and emotional responses. The immediate effect was striking.

The Brain’s Response to Horror: A Surge in Pleasure

The feelings of fear and pleasure are undeniably linked, but only up to a point. The study showed that an increase in anxiety was accompanied by a corresponding increase in satisfaction, but only until participants crossed a critical threshold. Crucially, once the fear became too intense, the level of pleasure plummeted sharply.

Interestingly, the researchers observed significant exceptions among the subjects. Individuals diagnosed with moderate depression required much stronger stimuli and a greater thrill than those in the initial stages of the illness. It appears their brains demanded a larger dose of extreme experiences to achieve the same level of satisfaction as the rest of the participants.

Why Did People with Depression React Differently?

The scientists explain that minds preoccupied with depressive thoughts must fight a greater “internal battle” against the illness. Therefore, when these individuals succeed in overcoming fear or a sense of emptiness (for example, in reaction to a strong external stimulus), their emotional reaction is stronger—which directly relates to the higher stress and effort they experienced beforehand.

The second part of the study was even more compelling.

Depression Quiets Down When Brain Reactions Are Highly Active

In the next task, volunteers watched segments of horror films while researchers measured their brain reactions using an EEG scanner. Why is this important? Because when the screening finished, something surprising happened: their brains functioned completely differently. They no longer resembled those struggling with depression. Quite the opposite.

The connections between the default mode network (responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thought) and the salience network (which responds to important stimuli) significantly weakened. In other words, this translated to less unnecessary worrying and increased presence “here and now.”

The results, published in the scientific journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management, also showed that the participants with the most significant brain changes reported feeling better after the viewing. It was as if the fear they experienced in the movie had cleared their minds and brought a sense of peace. Paradoxically, fear provided relief.

Controlled Fear: A Short-Term Brain Training

It is simple, yet fascinating: controlled fear can act as a form of training for your brain. It’s like a quick reset for the thoughts that can often overwhelm you day-to-day. Importantly, this state is short-lived, so people regularly return to what gives them pleasure or relief. However, avoid overusing this mechanism.

If you constantly look for increasingly new impulses, your body might be signaling a need for intervention. You should not continually provide this type of intense stimulation. Why? Because the brain will eventually get used to the familiar habit, causing the standard, well-known mechanisms to lose effectiveness.

Consequently, your brain will seek increasingly dangerous behaviors and activities to bring the well-known relief. Before you know it, you might take a risky leap, missing the thin line between what is safe and what is merely pleasant. Instead, look for the underlying cause of this craving.

Love Horror? It Might Be a Sign of Depression

A frequent desire to watch horror films and visit haunted houses could be an early symptom of depression. Therefore, it is essential to take a closer look at yourself and check if your body is sending other alarm signals.

Key Symptoms of Depression to Remember:

• Long-term feelings of emptiness, sadness, or irritability.
• Problems with concentration.
• Changes in appetite and sleep disturbances.
• Loss of energy, fatigue.
• Headaches, gastrointestinal issues.
• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

The impact of horror on the brain is clear: fear forces the brain to focus on experiencing the here and now, and this quiets depression. The role of emotions in mental health is vital.

Read this article in Polish: Kontrolowany strach leczy. To dlatego lubisz się bać