Play Undead: The Hidden Healing Power of Self-Triggering
For trauma survivors, triggering yourself might be good for you.
A year after my mom died, I started binging horror films. I did it late at night, after my family had gone to bed.
I wasn't sure why.
It started with The Ring, a movie I'd been avoiding ever since it came out. Something unexpected happened.
I slept better.
My horror binge happened to coincide with Halloween season, so I made a ritual out of it. A few times a week, I watched a horror movie. I marched my way through all of the Paranormal Activity franchise. I watched the Insidious and The Conjuring movies. I worked my way up to Sinister and The Babadook, widely regarded as the scariest movies ever made.
The next day, I always woke up feeling more relaxed. Things didn't bother me as much. Painful memories started to resurface, but my brain could deal with them. It could process them. It was prepared for the flood of emotions. It was ready for the catharsis that followed.
Horror movies helped me grieve an abusive parent.
It jived with the rest of me.
I'd always been attracted to dark art…