Why We Like To Be Scared | Do You Enjoy Fear? This video will scare you. 😱

Humans are weird, animals were terrified of ghosts, monsters, snakes, spiders, all kinds of other things, both real and imagined, and that's normal, that's healthy even. So why do we actually enjoy being afraid by experiencing these things on purpose? Then there's a science behind fear that explains why being frightened can be fun, at least for some people. Let's find out why. Welcome to the wire files were cool nerds like us laugh and learn, do you like to be afraid?

I hope so, because at some point in this video, I'm going to try to scare the crap out of you. Well, what? You know, warning nothing. Well, if I warn you, it won't be a scary. Oh, I don't like this one bit. You want me to stop? No, see and join. Fear seems like a contradiction, but horror movies are a billion dollar business and throw in horror TV and horror gaming. That's billions more. Halloween spending is about eight billion a year. And roller coasters, the scarier the ride, the longer the line. So we're definitely fascinated by being afraid.

But why? Well, we're going to cover five reasons. But first, let's try to understand what fear actually is. Is it a certain heart rate for a period of time or sweaty palms or dilated pupils hyperventilating? Well, these are really just our reactions to fear. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, fear is defined as the emotion of pain or uneasiness caused by a sense of impending danger or by the prospect of some possible evil. So fear is an emotion that you feel when you sense danger. Fine. And if you take a look at the things you're most afraid of, you realize that they could pose some danger to you in one way or another.

Now, of course, every person is different with their own set of fears are unique, and sometimes common fears are driven by our personality as well as the experiences we've had. in our lives. However, not all fear is rational, like why everyone isn't afraid of clowns is beyond me. You have issues true and we have a video coming up on weird phobias. So hit all the buttons to be notified. Shameless Plunge.

A number of psychologists and neuroscientists have tried to figure out the answer to why people like to be afraid. Let's get into the five reasons reason. Number one, safety net. The safety net is when we intentionally put ourselves into potentially frightening situations while simultaneously understanding there's no real danger, such as a haunted. house or watching a scary movie. Did you say or maybe standing on top of a tall building or walking over a bridge of glass? Oh, no, no, don't go.

Would you like to watch those all day? Me too. Oh, well, I despite being terrified, our brains do realise that we're actually safe. And because we're not in any real danger, we're able to enjoy these experiences. Well, some of us are. On the other hand, if we were to have similar experiences without knowing there was a safety net, our reactions would be very different.

We are not going to enjoy those situations at all. And we would immediately go into fight or flight mode. We would literally be in a survival situation and do anything possible to ensure our safety. And as you would expect, this is not the case with controlled, fearful experiences. So what causes the actual feeling of pleasure? When we put ourselves through controlled fear? You can't control your fear. That's what Dr.

Marjie, Kyra, spent 10 years investigating fear, her research showed that when people experience fear and momentarily experience the fight or flight response, there's a. cascade of chemicals released into our brain. And these chemicals are associated with the threat response as a movie ever made you jump or scream and that immediately after you started laughing, that's the flood in action. We experience a rush of adrenaline and a release of endorphins and dopamine. The biochemical rush can result in a sense of euphoria and heightened awareness.

Then when we remember that we're safe, the experience of fear quickly subsides, and we're left with a gratifying sense of relief and subsequent wellbeing. And that ebb and flow of neurotransmitters feels really good to some people. And when our metabolism increases so quickly, we put all our energy and focus on the moment where we can just take a break and enjoy being fully present and primal. When you're terrified, there's no time for anxious rumination about the future or why you're soon to be ex hasn't texted you back or how many subscribers you have.

There's no thinking about past events, regrets or how many subscribers you have. Yes, sorry. The human bodies fear response is very well-designed and highly evolved. And it needs to be, if you think about it, any Kaif people who are really chill and like not afraid of anything. Evolution was not kind to them. They're not here because they were sabertooth tiger food. But the cave people who had the good sense to run away from danger and cower back in their caves, well, that's us.

No, never apologize for an effective kill circle. So if we're in a situation where we know we're safe, like a haunted house or scary movie or a scary ride, we can hijack the fear response and actually enjoy it. It's sort of a way to hack your brain chemistry. The chemical signatures of happiness and excitement are similar to those of when we're scared. It's just different context.

Satisfaction, another reason why we love being afraid is self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement, and I'm sure you've experienced this, how did you feel after doing something. that you were really afraid of or after pushing yourself to do something difficult? Didn't it feel good and give you a sense of power and a feeling of accomplishment? It's a similar sense of accomplishment. You experience after killing a boss in a video game or skydiving for the first time, enduring a stressful activity and then purposely putting ourselves through them gives us a.

rush of dopamine. And our brain tells us that we can do things we're afraid of and we can push ourselves beyond our limits because we can do that was inspiration. By being close, bonding develops with the people that are present with us, sharing a scary experience. And if you think about it, doing frightening things is much more fun when you're with friends or family. I mean, when we go as a group into a haunted house, we're taking on challenges together.

And in doing so, we create stronger bonds, stronger memories and feelings of closeness. If you watch people coming out of a scary ride or getting beers after a day of skydiving, you'll see a lot of hugs and high fives and everyone's in a good mood. And this burst of emotion is due to raise the oxytocin levels. And during the time we're doing these activities, our bodies and minds are in a heightened state of emotion, energy, focus and consciousness. And everyone present is experiencing the same feelings. So we scream, laugh, hold each other's hands, run sometimes even cry.

When we experience these things while having a great time, it helps us bond with each other. And these intense emotional experiences help us create unforgettable memories that you remember the times you were really frightened, but everything worked out OK. I mean, we all do. Those become memories that we cherish for our entire lives, and that's why we seek them out. Do yes, people are curious about the dark side of humanity, especially people who watch this channel. I mean, whether it's true crime or ghosts or zombies or an alien invasion, the fear of the unknown is one of the most instinctive fears we have.

For the most part, we like our worlds to make sense. We like life wrapped up in a nice, neat little package. Our world is just easier to engage with when things make sense to us. If we look at our daily lives, they're pretty predictable, right? We have our set of routines and we know what to do, what to expect. We go to work or school. We come home, maybe watch TV, hang out with friends and then go to bed. And just like Groundhog Day, we repeat that routine over and over again without much deviation.

We rarely experience anything unexpected. Even if we do something that's not part of our routine, we're still familiar with the consequences. We know how everyday things work and we know what happens as a result of everyday actions, even if they vary a little bit. So when we put ourselves through frightening experiences like watching a horror movie or playing a scary game, there's an element of surprise. Every twist, turn and scare that comes our way surprises us. And before we fully grasp the situation, there's anticipation for more.

The thrill and excitement that we feel is unlike anything we experience. On a typical day, our routine is disrupted and we can't help but seek out novel experiences that depart from our everyday routines. That makes a lot of sense. But not everybody enjoys being afraid. Every brain experiences fear and anxiety differently, and you may be more vulnerable depending on how your brain is shaped. Your amygdala, the part of your brain connected to and just behind the prefrontal cortex is in charge of what makes you afraid and how you choose to express it.

The people who suffer from anxiety already have prefrontal cortex that look a little different than other folks, and different types of anxiety disorders will restructure. brains differently. For example, people with panic disorders and PTSD have an underactive prefrontal cortex. Those with worry based anxiety like OCD and generalized anxiety disorder usually have an overactive prefrontal cortex. People who enjoy fear may have a different number of auto receptors than others. The auto receptors are pre synaptic nerve cells that control how much dopamine and other neurotransmitters are released in your brain.

People with fewer dopamine receptors may get more dopamine from a scare. Animals love dopamine and humans are no different. So those with few dopamine receptors need more of the chemical in order to feel that sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. And because they have fewer dopamine receptors, they lack the ability to put on the brakes in a dangerous situation. And that's what leads to an addiction to thrilling situations. These are your typical adrenaline junkies, but it's not really the adrenaline they crave.

It's the dopamine. We also perceive fear differently based on our life experiences. People who prefer rom coms or comedy over horror, that's probably because their personality and their temperament are different than those people who do like it. Now, if you've had bad experiences with a haunted house or a horror movie, you're more likely to associate all things fun, scary with feeling bad, or if you were never. exposed to fun, scary as a child, maybe your parents weren't into horror movies or whatever. You don't really have a frame of reference for why or how something scary can be fun.

People like this don't even really understand how being frightened can possibly be enjoyable. I'm one of those people that regardless of which personality type you are, there's no escaping fear. It's as natural as breathing. But learning more about why you feel fear and what triggers you have can help you figure out how better to face your fears and not let them control you. And that's a pretty good reason to every once in a while, get out of your comfort zone, push yourself and just have the scared out of you.

Thanks for hanging out with us today. My name is AJ. That's Hagfish. This has been the why files. Do you enjoy being afraid? What scary things do you find fun? Let us know in the comments. They will do video about it. Now, if you had fun or learned anything today, do us a favor please. Like subscribe, comment and share. I hate to give you homework, but you know, we're holding up our end until next time. Be safe, be kind and know that you are appreciated.

You can't get rid of fear. It's like Mother Nature, get beater out runner, he can get through it. You can find out what you're made of.