Panic triggered by a movie???

[JungleJulia 235]

Does anyone else carefully choose movies in case they induce panic? I find that movies that are real mind twists or psychological thrillers, tend to make my anxiety heighten. Shutter Island made me really anxious and a bit panicky, I think because its based in a mental institution. The preview to Black Swan gave me a panic attack in a cinema! So I didn't watch that one haha. I also was very agitated after watching The Aviator because the main character had OCD and agoraphobia that became very bad and I felt like "oh no, this is going to happen to me!". I felt sick for days after that. I also avoid medical or very violent tv shows because they give me anxiety. Does anyone else experience panic from this sort of thing??

[Gilly 1086]

Not at all, its fantasy, escapism, not reality. The darker, creepier, gorier, idk the worse the better for me, love disaster movies and dark and disturbing thrillers.

[shaun 6]

I've never had a panic attack watching a film but I do think what we watch can affect how we think. I avoid depressing programmes or films, tragic films about illness etc. If you know certain types of films can be a trigger for your anxiety, it makes sense to avoid these films.

[Mrs. Rogers 2]

They stress me out and have me on edge but I'm able to put in my head that it's 'just a movie'. Now my dreams however, are definitely affected. I watched a show last night where a mother lost her children and this morning I awoke from a dream where my kids got out of my sight and I found my nephew 20 feet high climbing on a ladder.

[Quirky Jessi 2]

I have a friend who made the mistake of watching one of the Final Destination movies several years back and still has issues because of it. He'll sometimes freak out because he imagines something and then goes out of his way to try to make sure it can't happen, even though he knows he's being irrational and obsessive.

[Tecca_Nina 3]

The only a way a movie makes me panic is if something happens in the movie that reminds me of something that makes me anxious. That has happened a few times but normally I'll be able to control it well enough that I forget about it as soon the scene changes.

[Cattycrunch 0]

I actually find that the more tense, scary, or gory a movie is, the more it relaxing it ends up making me feel later (aside from maybe nightmares later about zombies under my bed...ha ha). It's almost like those kind of movies work all that emotion out of me, so that real life just suddenly becomes calm and cool. Watching the news, on the other hand, that makes me tense and gloomy.

[kingusama92 0]

I suppose it depends upon how far you engross yourself into the movie. If you watch the movie with the mindset that this is all fake and nothing to be worried about, you will not panic.

Each person is different.

There are some movies that could make any person feel uncomfortable. It truly depends on the types of movies you are watching. Horror movies can be quite effective in inducing a panic attack.

[farrah 2]

I haven't had a Panic Attack from a movie per say, but even stranger I have woken up in a panic attack from a dream. It has even happened more than once. It takes me a little while to convince myself that it was only a dream, and that I am really not in that situation.

[Mystique 1]

I can't think of any movie that triggered my panic attacks. However, hospital scenes especially where families cry over their dead family members - well, that will get me bawling like a baby within seconds!

[Paris94 0]

I know I'm 5 years late to this aha, but for the past few years I haven't been able to watch thriller films without fastforawarding past the tense scenes; the scenes that have most people on the edges of their seat. I just can't do it...if I'm at the cinema ill close my eyes, if I'm not too shy with the group I'm with ill cover my ears. Its as if for those seconds/minutes of intensity are making my heart stop & my lungs no longer function, if I don't turn to avoid viewing that scene. When I do try to watch them my heart is practically beating out of my chest, and I can pretty much bet money the look on my face is of pure horror, as if I'm experiencing it as well. I can't say it affects what movies/tv shows I watch, but it does stop me from seeing all of the program.