Film Triggers

[janemariesayed]

It doesn't mean we are soppy, and it doesn't mean we are weak. But sometimes if we watch sad films they can have an effect that triggers emotions and we end up crying about it.

I am a great lover of animals of all kinds, so when I watch 'Gorilla's in the mist' for example, I end up bawling my eyes out because in places it is so sad. This, though, is in no way due to my emotional problems. It is just because I care and to see an animal in distress touches my heart.

The film, 'Empire of the Sun' however, always gets me in tears every time I watch it. The bit I cry at is the part where the boy meets up with his Mum and Dad again at the end of the war. I cry because I relate to it and it hurts. Even after tens and tens of times that I have watched it I cry at that part each and every time.

What do you think? Are there films that trigger your depression, or maybe not so much a trigger, but a reminder of the reasons you are in the mental state that you are currently in? Or are there films that you purposely avoid because you know that they would have an adverse effect?

 

[Alex]

Films, books, television shows and newspapers can all be triggers. While many are made for artistic reasons some are commercial. Watching films on murder, torture and rape are never good, and ones where they depict bullying can make me sad.

Can these films help change perceptions or do they encourage others? I do avoid some films or media these days as there is so much choice. I would rather watch some old films than some of the newer offerings.

 

[Natasha0717]

It doesn't mean we are soppy, and it doesn't mean we are weak. But sometimes if we watch sad films they can have an effect that triggers emotions and we end up crying about it.

I am a great lover of animals of all kinds, so when I watch 'Gorilla's in the mist' for example, I end up bawling my eyes out because in places it is so sad. This, though, is in no way due to my emotional problems. It is just because I care and to see an animal in distress touches my heart.

The film, 'Empire of the Sun' however, always gets me in tears every time I watch it. The bit I cry at is the part where the boy meets up with his Mum and Dad again at the end of the war. I cry because I relate to it and it hurts. Even after tens and tens of times that I have watched it I cry at that part each and every time.

What do you think? Are there films that trigger your depression, or maybe not so much a trigger, but a reminder of the reasons you are in the mental state that you are currently in? Or are there films that you purposely avoid because you know that they would have an adverse effect?

Like you, I love all animals. I love them so much that they actually contribute to my anxiety SO MUCH because I am constantly worrying about my cats and fish (I've been a fish hobbyist for over 20 years now. More like a fish rescue, I buy all the sick ones from stores and rehabilitate them...and then eventually end up keeping them.) I cannot watch sad animal movies. Not even sad animal commercials where they show how cats and dogs are neglected and mistreated. I change the channel.

But I will admit that sometimes I watch movies that trigger my anxiety, usually movies about people that are dying from one thing or another. I don't seek them out, but when they're on TV, I cant resist watching them....and that's when the hypochondria starts. Can't figure out why I do it. Maybe a part of me likes to worry about illness and symptoms.

 

[janemariesayed]

Can't figure out why I do it. Maybe a part of me likes to worry about illness and symptoms.

I am a great believer in reincarnation and karma. I even have this amazing thought that I know who I was in my previous life. Without going into who I think I was, when I looked into that persons life I found many comparisons to my own. For example, if I was that person who I was in my previous life, then it is possible that I was murdered by an air bubble injected into my arm. I never found out about this person until a couple of years ago. Yet all through my life, ever since I remember, I have been scared of injections in case of an air bubble inside it. Even my Dad told me that when I was a toddler, if he touched my arm I would scream and shout and throw a tantrum. In my juniors, I couldn't do the next level on the biology card because I had to prick my finger to get a small bit of blood to look at under a microscope. I was scared if I pricked my finger that an air bubble would go up my finger and kill me.

If reincarnation is real, and I say if because none of us actually know the truth of what happens after death. But if reincarnation is real, maybe you were sickly in a previous life? Or, maybe you were a nurse or doctor? Maybe somehow, you have witnessed extreme sickness, somewhere, somtime throughout eons and your energy has never let it go.

 

[Natasha0717]

I am a great believer in reincarnation and karma. I even have this amazing thought that I know who I was in my previous life. Without going into who I think I was, when I looked into that persons life I found many comparisons to my own. For example, if I was that person who I was in my previous life, then it is possible that I was murdered by an air bubble injected into my arm. I never found out about this person until a couple of years ago. Yet all through my life, ever since I remember, I have been scared of injections in case of an air bubble inside it. Even my Dad told me that when I was a toddler, if he touched my arm I would scream and shout and throw a tantrum. In my juniors, I couldn't do the next level on the biology card because I had to prick my finger to get a small bit of blood to look at under a microscope. I was scared if I pricked my finger that an air bubble would go up my finger and kill me.

If reincarnation is real, and I say if because none of us actually know the truth of what happens after death. But if reincarnation is real, maybe you were sickly in a previous life? Or, maybe you were a nurse or doctor? Maybe somehow, you have witnessed extreme sickness, somewhere, somtime throughout eons and your energy has never let it go.

I'm not a doctor or nurse, but I do play one in real life. (Or at least I did.)
My Grandpa suffered a severe stroke back in 1998 and I cared for him for 14 years at home (his home, and my Grandma's.) I would go there every day and help him with his tube feedings, changing clothes/linens, turning him from side to side to prevent pressure sores, reading to him, talking to him, playing music for him, you name it, I did it. So maybe seeing illness on TV or in other people just seems very familiar to me, almost..."comfortable." (?) You know what I mean. Even the hospital where he spent 4 months on the rehab floor trying to get his motor/speech skills back (unsuccessfully ) will always feel like home to me, since I practically lived there with him for such a long time. Spent lots of time there with my Grandma as well.

 

[janemariesayed]

I'm not a doctor or nurse, but I do play one in real life. (Or at least I did.)
My Grandpa suffered a severe stroke back in 1998 and I cared for him for 14 years at home (his home, and my Grandma's.) I would go there every day and help him with his tube feedings, changing clothes/linens, turning him from side to side to prevent pressure sores, reading to him, talking to him, playing music for him, you name it, I did it. So maybe seeing illness on TV or in other people just seems very familiar to me, almost..."comfortable." (?) You know what I mean. Even the hospital where he spent 4 months on the rehab floor trying to get his motor/speech skills back (unsuccessfully ) will always feel like home to me, since I practically lived there with him for such a long time. Spent lots of time there with my Grandma as well.

That is why it is then @Natasha0717 The care you have given in the past has made you aware of medical health and it's problems. It seems that your subconscious is worried about this kind of life happening to you. Your subconscious has realised, correctly so, that it can happen to any one of us. Don't be afraid. You are young yet and have plenty of healthy years in front of you. Try to keep away from medical programmes and articles. Try to keep away from hospitals if it makes you feel that way. Instead, feel great that you do have good physical health and was able to care for your grandparents. It must have made them feel so special to have you care for them. You did a good thing and have a good heart.