Are You Serious?! Want more of this ?! I could just...scream!!!

A sudden departure, an exercise in screamology...

Not enough anxiety in da' house, eh? I started writing to you about the increase in fear and anxiety I knew was coming along with the forces of the pandemic. Based on previous professional and personal experience, I knew that the onslaught of major life changes (that was associated with "Stress Management" when I first entered the field in the mid-70's), "Changes in Direction" (see July 6th, 7th, 2020 posts), and other such vicissitudes (see original title plus intro to blog) would bring with them a corresponding increase in what we all refer to as ANXIETY. Many posts dedicated to this character from "Inside Out" (subsumed under the character of "Fear" in the movie) as you well know if you have been a follower here. Including how it's part of all our lives, sometimes showing up as an intruder, unwelcome, a drain, a pain, while at others, such as in the case of those aspiring to achieve greatness in any venue, may find this character an effective team member, reminding one to practice harder, prepare more, study harder..."PSYCH UP!" But too much, too often and it can lead to burn out...and "Sad" ("PSYCH OUT"!). Or, in the occasional situation where we are heading into danger, anxiety can, of course, yell "Get out of the way, run, it's a saber tooth tiger!" Well, lately, the tiger has taken on different forms, but anxiety continues to serve us this way up to this day, when needed. But now, after so many months spent trying to support you in coping with a higher-than-average level of anxiety, millions of you are actually setting yourselves up for more of this, sort of another kind entirely? Just for fun, just to take a break...an even more sudden onset, the kind you experience when someone jumps out from behind a door and your first inclination (a reflex, almost) is to SCREAM and then, when you get your wits about you, to YELL back at them. But this time, you are more likely to simply experience JUMP SCARE!!!

All in the science, expecting the unexpected...but you'll still likely JUMP, scream! That's what researchers in our subfield of psychology known as psychophysiology investigate, a discipline which pursues grants in order to study such scary stuff, the science behind fear and anxiety. Some studies of which have demonstrated that, despite movie goers, those paying good money to enter haunted houses, and even some going into 'fun houses' (depends on your definition of fun, I guess), let alone grave yards (OMG!), anticipating that someone (or some THING) is going to jump out, drop out of a tree (haunted forest), or jump up from a trap door in the floor, it does not apparently give you a leg up, as you still end up screaming! These researchers point out this is largely due to not only good timing but neural circuitry -- yep, we're hard wired for being natural screamers -- neural circuitry which ultimately produces the startle reflex, an evolutionary holdover we share with other mammals, including lab rats and mice (which, of course, have been the props, antagonists in many scary movies). When you find yourself being 'hypervigilant', you have already activated your amygdala, which us the part of the brain that specializes in fear and anxiety. Not that knowing any or all of this will make you any less vulnerable, so I don't even have to include a spoiler alert!

Risky Business: If you insist on setting yourself up for more of this, ANXIETY!, in the form entering anything with "HAUNTED" as the lead word, don't say I didn't warn you...Okay, I even dare you or, as the boy called another out in "A Christmas Story", I triple dog dare you ! (Defcon 3 in dare levels, reaching high levels of seriousness here), but in any case, "Enter at Your Own Risk, Caveat Enpter!" 

HAPPY HAUNTING EVERYONE