{"id":1911,"date":"2021-10-10T14:00:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-10T20:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/?p=1911"},"modified":"2021-10-10T08:46:43","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T14:46:43","slug":"your-true-crime-obsession-could-be-hurting-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/?p=1911","title":{"rendered":"Your True Crime Obsession Could Be Hurting Your Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Your True Crime Obsession Could Be Hurting Your Mental Health<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Claremont\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tAfter a year on high alert, flooding your system with nerve-wracking entertainment may exacerbate problems in other areas of life.
<\/b><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tOver the past few years, America\u2019s fascination with true crime has blossomed. Series from the podcast \u201cSerial\u201d to Netflix\u2019s Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel have garnered huge followings due, largely, to audiences\u2019 morbid curiosity and the taboo of it all: Why did they do it? How did they do it? What drives them? How were they able to move about society undetected? There\u2019s also the desire to understand the dark side of the human condition. Women\u2014who are often the primary consumers of true crime, according to a 2010 study\u2014tend to view true crime as an educational tool, providing a framework on how to detect potential abusers and avoid dangerous situations. Plus, an unsolved mystery can be entertaining as hell.

\nOf course, there\u2019s nothing wrong with a daily true crime habit, but if you\u2019re feeling depressed, anxious, or paranoid, you may need to re-evaluate how much you\u2019re taking in. Recent research showed that when people actively consumed crime news, whether through news outlets, radio, or television documentaries, they reported being more fearful of crime\u2014regardless of actual crime rates. The same can be said for true crime fans. It\u2019s important to monitor how you\u2019re feeling as you\u2019re listening, reading, or watching\u2014which is easier said than done\u2014and be aware of how these stories may negatively impact your mental health.

\nFor starters, overconsumption of murder podcasts can give you the overinflated sense that serial killers are constantly lurking around us. (According to the FBI, serial murder accounts for less than one percent of all murders in a given year.) \u201cI\u2019m convinced I\u2019m going to be killed on a daily basis and I know logically that is probably not going to happen,\u201d Amanda Vicary, the chair of the psychology department at Illinois Wesleyan University and author of the 2010 study on true crime fan demographics, told VICE. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to keep logic in mind when you’re watching and hearing these stories all the time.\u201d

\nAnother problem is that the stories depicted in true crime series hardly represent the full scope of crime in the U.S. country. The cases that tend to be shared are ones that captivate an audience due to their uniqueness and even then, they tend to be sensationalized, psychologist Erica Rojas told VICE. \u201cAsk yourself: Are they accurate depictions of the average event that happens? Not really,\u201d she said. \u201cOn the one hand, it\u2019s certainly healthy to prepare ourselves for this dangerous event out there, but on the other hand, living in this state of alertness can really lead to unnecessary paranoia sometimes.\u201d

\nVicary, who is currently studying people\u2019s anxiety levels after they listen to a true crime podcast, said she has heard anecdotes from people who acted more cautiously because of true crime content. This caution becomes a problem, she said, when you\u2019re unable to leave the house because of your fear, or when you\u2019re hesitant to exchange small talk with strangers in public (something that has been shown to make you happier and feel more connected to your community).

\nA constant state of high alert, paranoia, and hypervigilance is helpful when we\u2019re trying to protect ourselves from threat in a genuine crisis, Jessica Micono, a forensic psychology professor at Regis University and co-host of the podcast Psychology After Dark, told VICE. But persistent hypervigilance that stems from a diet of true crime can lead to increased overall stress. \u201cThat increased stress can subsequently lead to stress-related illnesses, things like cardiovascular disease or hypertension,\u201d Micono said.

\nProlonged exposure to true crime can activate the sympathetic nervous system, the part of the nervous system responsible for the fight or flight response, Rojas said. \u201cWhat happens when that\u2019s activated is it produces these heightened levels of stress hormones,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, they’re good in the moment, they get our adrenaline running, they make us run or avoid that physical threat. Where it can get tricky is if there’s long term and chronic exposure to this, it can lead to mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, and physical health problems, like a decreased immune response or medical issues.\u201d

\nAfter a year on high alert because of the pandemic, flooding your system with nerve-wracking entertainment may exacerbate problems in other areas of life. \u201cIf you’re going through day-to-day life at this heightened level of fear as your baseline, how are you able to manage other stressors that might happen normally in your day-to-day life, like living in a pandemic?\u201d therapist Erin Parisi told VICE. \u201cOur baselines are already pretty high at that point. You have a bad day at work or you maybe have an argument with your partner and then it can quickly become too much. Everything piles on.\u201d

\nAdditionally, overexposure to terrifying stories, especially before bed, can permeate our subconscious and cause nightmares. Prolonged sleep deprivation can result in high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, obesity, depression, and more.

\nIf your true crime habit is inhibiting your ability to leave the house, get work done, or live without an overwhelming sense of paranoia\u2014feeling like you\u2019re constantly being followed, assuming every noise you hear at night is a murderer breaking in, incorrectly assuming every stranger you encounter will harm you\u2014experts suggest seeking help from a mental health professional. Especially if you already experience anxiety and depression, these stories could compound your symptoms, Vicary said, so a therapist can help you work through your triggers and trauma.

\nAnd, like most good things, it\u2019s a good idea to enjoy your true crime in moderation. When you feel the weight of murder and deception bogging you down, switch up your entertainment to include some comedy or mindless reality TV to lighten the mood. \u201cSome of us enjoy that little adrenaline dump from true crime, and others like playing armchair detective, and that\u2019s all fine, that\u2019s entertaining,\u201d Micono said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to honor those dark interests; it’s also important to engage in light activities as well.\u201d


\nContributor: Allie Volpe – Vice.com<\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your True Crime Obsession Could Be Hurting Your Mental Health After a year on high alert, flooding your system with nerve-wracking entertainment may exacerbate problems in other areas of life. Over the past few years, America<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1911"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1915,"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911\/revisions\/1915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/claremontcoloniccenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}