I have a problem. It is kind of ridiculous, but maybe someone can really give me some advice!!
Apparently I can't read or watch anything remotely suspenseful, intense or scary. I was reminded of this again last weekend. I was watching part of a Masterpiece Theater show called Daniel Deronda (rated PG). Masterpiece Theater, people. It wasn't scary, just really intense. I got so engrossed in the show that when it was time for me to go to sleep, I couldn't. I was so high strung that it seriously took me hours to fall asleep, and then I tossed and turned all night.
This isn't new. I tend to get so wrapped up in what I'm reading/watching that I lose sense of reality. I feel the emotions of the characters acutely. Sometimes I feel like things actually happened to me and the sadness, anger, fear, etc. feels like my own. I cry and laugh out loud a lot while reading books. To give you a taste of what I mean, I'll give you some examples. I close my eyes the entire time of Terror Ride at Lagoon or Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. I conveniently take a bathroom break during parts of Pirates of the Caribbean and Muppets' Christmas Carol. My freshman year of college, the institute was showing Watcher in the Woods (Disney, PG) for Halloween and I could not watch it. I didn't want anyone to know I was scared, so I looked at something next to the screen and thought happy thoughts the whole time! Oh and last time I watched a movie that was really meant to be scary was The Sixth Sense. I was a teenager and the night after I watched it, I begged my mom to sleep with me in the family room. I had nightmares for years--seriously, years. It's really kind of embarrassing. I can't watch exciting movies like National Treasure before bed or I won't sleep. I read and loved The Hobbit, but when I tried to read the rest of the Lord of the Rings series, I couldn't get past the first few chapters because I was already too scared. Hunger Games gave me nightmares. I made my husband read parts of Harry Potter #6 out loud to me in the daylight because I couldn't do it.
So do I just give up on reading or watching anything intense? What am I supposed to do? Is anyone else like this??
11 comments:
I am kinda that way too. I'm okay of PG movies, but I do not watch "scary" movies and any PG-13 action movie is really hard for me to watch. Dave rally likes action/adventure/intense movies so I suffer through them. We watched "inception" a few nights ago and I couldn't get to sleep for a long time afterward and I am still dreaming about it. I also cry and laugh out loud in books and get really emotionally involved in anything I read or watch. I'm not scared after movies, but it gets my mind going in a way that is really hard for me to calm down from. And when I get into a series of books or tv shows or a movie or anything I think about it constantly for days after I finish.
I don't know what to do about it either. And the problem is that my daughter who is 4 is the same way. She gets so scared she cries during Finding Nemo and Toy Story. I don't know what to say to her because I don't know what to do about it myself.
I'm that way too! I don't see anything wrong with it, I just don't watch scary movies. I think it means that you're very connected to your emotions, which is good, right?
OK, I'm probably just romanticising being emotional, but still.
I have the same thing! I was once told by a rather new-agey person that I'm an "Empath" and that it is a gift to be that in touch with people (real or fake). For fun I just googled Empath... like I said it does sound new agey, so I'd take everything with a grain of salt,but here is #3 from a list of 7 ways to know you're an empath...
"3. Do you feel overwhelmed when watching something horrible in real life or even on television?
This one sounds silly, but viewing the news or depressing commercials designed to induce sympathy and open wallets can debilitate an Empath for several hours. While most people get upset over homeless dogs and cats, an Empath will often feel like their hearts have been lanced. That’s a literal definition, by the way. It’s not something as shallow as sympathy or even ordinary empathy. It’s a feeling of guilt and moral empathy that cannot be easily assuaged. Crying is very common, and not just during that time of month when all the emotions are out of whack!"
I remember going to Watcher in the Woods with you and we thought it was so funny that you got so scared. Sorry, I didn't realize just how serious it was and didn't have more sympathy for you! I'm the same way with PG-13 scary movies, I refuse to watch them. I figure there's no sense in enduring a scary movie that I'm not enjoying anyway when I leave with such an awful feeling! You really are such a sympathetic and understanding person and that's not a bad thing at all! It's a great thing! I have no words of advice though! :)
I'm not nearly that bad, but I understand where you're coming from. I don't like scary movies at all and won't watch them! I can handle intense movies, but I do have to remind myself several times that it's just a movie. I can't even handle Dark Knight because it's so dark and evil. I just won't even watch it and Nick likes to tease me about that one :-) Books can string me up for a couple hours and keep me up at night worse than movies can.
I don't think there is a fix, and while it's inconvenient, I think it's also a blessing. On the flip side, you probably have a lot more understanding and empathy for people. You have the freedom to experience a wide range of emotions just through hearing about them without having to suffer through the experience personally.
Every weakness carries with it a blessing, and every good trait we carry also inherently has a weakness. We just have to learn how to use those weaknesses as our strengths.
I think it's a breath of fresh air that you, and so many others cannot take scary, or even intense movies/stories. It seems so many are numb to so much, and unaffected by watching, or reading something horrific.
As for what to do, that's something only you can decide.
Although I do not have such a strong response to intense stories, I have nightmares for a few nights if I read, or watch something scary.
I've learned it's better for me if I just turn it off, or close the book, never to open it again, rather than battle the nightmares and insomnia that will come if I persist in my reading/watching.
I've also found I'm more sensitive to those things at certain times in my life.
I too avoid those things near bedtime, or completely depending on it's nature. The insomnia just ins't worth it to me.
I'm not sure there is a cure-all, but let me know if you find one!
I loved reading what you have been up to! Sorry to hear about Tyson's car. We are still driving the car we got when we first got married and it now has 235,000 miles on it! It's funny how you get so attached to a car! Kudos to Tyson's artistic skills and good luck with your reading/watching movies! I also loved the hobbit but couldn't read the Lord of the Rings and I remember you telling me in high school how scared you were after you watched the 6th sense! Sorry it stuck with you for so long!
I'm not as extreme as you, but I definitely won't watch scary movies. I'm still scarred for life in the shower from Psycho when I watched it as a kid (PS-I still love that movie though, just can't watch the shower part). I regularly get freaked out when I take a shower. And Watcher in the Woods really scares me because she's possessed.
This reminds me of what I always said as a kid--after watching something scary or intense, we'd always say, "Let's watch a happy movie now." We would regularly turn on a Disney movie following another just to fall asleep.
Now you have two kiddos who will sleep with you in the living room!
Wow, impressive artistic skills by Tyson! I only can do stick people, too! I also don't like scary things. I avoid scary movies and books altogether. I don't like them. I'm fine with missing out on them!
So we were in IF for a couple of days for Drostan's week off, but we had too much family stuff going to call you! I'm sorry! We hope to meet up with you next time we come! We've got to meet Kadri.
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