# data[].attributes.body
My husband loves playing video games. But sometimes, I'd like to spend time with him while he's playing games, but I'm not in the mood. Fortunately, there are a ton of games that are just as entertaining for the watcher as they are for the player. Here's my list for (in no particular order) the best 5 games to play and/or watch with your significant other!

Resident Evil series - Perhaps the most recognizable horror video game franchise (Guinness 138), the Resident Evil games give the player a fun challenge, while the tension is engaging for the watcher, just like a horror movie. 8-12 hours each

Persona 5 Royal - Persona 5 Royal mixes turn based RPG with social simulator, alongside vibrant anime-inspired visuals. Anime fans will love decision making and experiencing a Japanese High School life, but the combat may be too slow to enjoy watching. 100 hours

Yakuza series - Yakuza is possibly the strangest game on this list, presenting a serious story with wild and funny characters. The combat is similarly wild and over the top, and when paired with the incredibly vibrant environments, is like candy for the eyes. 20 hours each

Papers, Please - Still one of the most recommended indie darlings, Papers, Please has the player working as a border immigration agent for the fascist nation of Arstotzka. Its graphics may be simple, but the decision making and clue finding are incredibly engaging for the player and the watcher. 5 hours

Wildermyth - Wildermyth is a turn based, grid strategy RPG where characters can die permanently. In fact, every decision has incredible weight, and the characters, though at first appearing bland and generic, develop beautifully and have deep back stories. Being turn-based, the watcher can join in on the fun and take over a character. 40 hours

When picking out games to play together, it's important to pick ones that fit your situation. Does the watcher like to take breaks every once in a while? Maybe a game with dungeons like Persona 5 Royal is for you. Do you both like horror? Play Resident Evil together. There's so many games these days, with a little searching you're sure to find something fun!

Works Cited
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2016. United States, Guinness World Records, 2015.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard - Story Trailer [PS4]

# data[].attributes.body
My complicated relationship with the chewy little bears began when I was six years old. At the corner convenience store, the teeniest, tiniest packets of gummy bears were just 25 cents, well within my first-grader budget. So when my mom stopped to get gas, she’d often let me scamper inside to buy a packet of HARIBO’s Gold-Bears, a plastic pouch of 12 new friends with arms outstretched awaiting my embrace. Adorable and delicious, gummy bears easily claimed the top spot in my heart.

Halloween candy pile? Ruled by King Gummy Bear.

The best ice cream topping? I called them Polar Bears.

The greatest wash of jealousy to take hold of my young body? When iCarly got an entire gummy bear-themed bedroom.

So, yeah, gummy bears matter to me. The trouble is that those delightful little bears hide a disturbing secret. The gelatin used to make the ooey, chewy delight comes from...wait for it...horse hooves. Or, at least that’s what the internet tells me.

After a little research, it seems that’s not entirely true. Gelatin is made from all manner of animal parts, including skin and bones. So, technically, my little gummy friends could be made from pig hooves or horse knees or cowhides. Whatever the actual source, this means one of their main ingredients was actually once alive.

After a little research, it seems that’s not entirely true. Gelatin is made from all manner of animal parts, including skin and bones. So, technically, my little gummy friends could be made from pig hooves or horse knees or cowhides. Whatever the actual source, this means one of their main ingredients was actually once alive.

The cause of my angst is gelatin, a substance derived from animals by “boiling collagen, a protein found in bone, cartilage, and other connective tissue” (Lencki). Depending on the country Smith 1 where the gelatin is produced, the collagen can come from any livestock in the food supply chain. So gelatin made in the U.S. and U.K. would be from cows and pigs, while gelatin made in countries where horse meat is also consumed, like Germany and Japan, could also contain horse bits.

Learning this, I faced a decision. Was it time to say goodbye to my sweetest friend? After long consideration, I’ve decided we’re sticking together. Turning away from gummy bears, it turns out, would mean I’d have to foresake all gelatin products, including:

Jell-O (obviously)

marshmallows

yogurt

sour cream

jelly

Cream cheese

whipped cream

cake frosting

chewing gum

some types of sausauge

throat lozenges

the coating on pills that makes them easier to swallow (Brinson)

Gelatin is also used in a lot of non-edible products, such as cosmetics, hair styling gels, glossy photo paper, matches, sandpaper, and even playing cards (Brinson). Life without these items seems extreme and even pretty wasteful when you realize that gelatin manufacturers are resourcefully using every part of an animal that’s already been butchered for its meat.

Sure, I could switch to vegetarian gummy bears made with plant-based proteins or kosher bears that come from fish-gelatin, but even HARIBO admits those options are less-than-satisfying for most customers. On their website, the company explains,

“Each different gelling agent (gelatin, starch, agar-agar, etc.) results in a different consistency. Many HARIBO fans particularly appreciate the consistency of those of our products that contain gelatin - they have often done so for several generations - and do not want this consistency to change” (“Help for the Curious”).

HARIBO has been in business for more than 90 years and its 15 factories collectively produce about 100 million gummy bears each day (Oltermann). These staggering numbers make me think the rest of the world has made its peace with the gummy bear’s grizzly origin. I guess I have, too.

What do you think? Does this information change the way you view gelatin-based products? Should it? Leave your thoughts in the comments section!

Other/Print Sources:
Lencki, Robert W. “Gelatin.” The World Book Encyclopedia, no. G 8, World Book, 2016, pp. 76-77.

# data[].attributes.body
UNFINISHED POST:

Intro: I have been both an avid fan of Horror and a victim of anxiety/depression nearly my entire life. It may not make much sense to most people why I would want to "torture" myself with frightening experiences when my brain is already a cesspool of stress.

Strangely enough, horror films appear to actually help me to deal with the horror inside. Although I will admit that after decades of being a horror aficionado, the genre has lost some of its ability to truly terrify me, it does, however, act as a sort of comfort or stress relief. This phenomenon is actually experienced by many (though definitely not all) horror fans and can even be traced back to science!

Body Paragraphs:

In another blog written about a similar topic, author Wong-Shing, a lifelong sufferer of anxiety and night terrors discovers that horror, specifically zombie films, helps alleviate their anxiety and nightmares.

Horror movies trigger a "fight or flight response" similar to real stressful events, filling our bodies with stress-inducing hormones preparing us for survival. For some with anxiety, horror can exacerbate these issues, while for others with anxiety or trauma,

"the fight-or-flight response has a bit of a glitch. Our brains react to normal, everyday occurrences as if they were a major threat to our lives. And because there is no real threat, just a general, vague sense of doom, we rarely get any sense of resolution or relief... horror can help provide relief from pent-up tension. They're a way to practice feeling scared in a safe environment, refocus your brain away from real-life anxieties and enjoy the release that comes after the movie's over" (Wong-Shing).

2. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-do-horror-movies-affect-your-mental-health

Notes: In an article on Healthline, "Are Horror Movies Bad for Your Mental Health" we see that horror films do not have the same effects on everyone with anxiety, or the general public for that matter. Although some may feel a sense of release or calm after watching a horror movie, for others,

"the post-horror euphoria some feel is activating, not relaxing. Thus, even for those who enjoy the emotional roller coaster, horror and suspense films can make it harder to sleep,” says Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center.

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/updated-scary-movies-for-people-with-depression-and-anxiety

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-horror-movies-can-help-overcome-trauma-and-relieve-stress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Deagreez/Getty Images

Years ago, when I was a mega-fan of The Walking Dead, I only had one rule: never watch right before bed. I've had trouble sleeping since I was a kid, and my nightmares are bad enough to outdo even the most gruesome TWD scenes. (In fact, I've been told that I should write them down and turn them into movies.) I assumed watching before bed would only exacerbate the problem.

But this July, I discovered a new zombie show that I couldn't help but binge all night: Netflix's Black Summer. Breaking my own old rule, I watched it right before going to sleep, and unintentionally discovered something strange: I slept better. The show made my heart race and filled my mind with scary, violent images -- and yet, such images were conspicuously absent from my dreams.

Hopeful, I continued watching zombie shows and movies every night, marking my biggest foray into the genre yet. I watched Kingdom (so, so good), Army of the Dead (meh), I Am Legend, Aliveand many more. And I didn't have a single nightmare.

As a lifelong anxiety sufferer, I hold many calming tools close to my heart: , weighted blankets and Zoloft alike. I just never expected to add zombies to the list. As it turns out, there is a scientific basis for this phenomenon, and I'm not the only one to experience it. Horror movies, from zombies to beyond, can help alleviate anxiety for many people. With anxiety rates through the roof because of COVID-19, a surprising number of people have turned to horror to cope -- and it's working.

Read more: All 20 horror titles Netflix is releasing across Halloween

Horror and anxiety: An unlikely duo

"You might expect that everyone with anxiety would avoid horror -- after all, why would someone who feels anxious want to watch something that is created specifically to induce fear or anxiety?" says Coltan Scrivner, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago who studies horror and morbid curiosity. "However, my research finds that, on average, people with anxiety are more likely to be horror fans."

To be sure, horror movies don't feelvery relaxing. The brain doesn't always clearly distinguish between fantasy and reality, so when I watch a zombie movie, parts of my brain react as though it's me being chased down by the shambling undead, as an August 2020 study in NeuroImage showed. That means that horror movies can trigger your nervous system's fear response, also known as the "fight or flight" response, in some of the same ways that a real-life scary event can.

The fear response is the system that our ancestors' bodies evolved to survive threats, like a bear attack. Your body is flooded with stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, and your , blood pressure and breathing all start to increase, allowing you to act quickly. When the threat is gone, the fear response is followed by the "rest and digest" response, which prompts your body to calm down and return to its baseline state.

But in people with anxiety or trauma, the fight-or-flight response has a bit of a glitch. Our brains react to normal, everyday occurrences as if they were a major threat to our lives. And because there is no real threat, just a general, vague sense of doom, we rarely get any sense of resolution or relief.

For some viewers who have anxiety or trauma, horror movies only make matters worse. But for others, horror can help provide relief from pent-up tension. They're a way to practice feeling scared in a safe environment, refocus your brain away from real-life anxieties and enjoy the release that comes after the movie's over.

Netflix

Making friends with fear

When my nightmares are especially bad, I start to get nervous around bedtime because I never know what will happen to me in my sleep. Zombie movies, on the other hand, are a nightmare that I have the power to press pause on. That may be part of what makes them so enticing.

"Horror movies have a long history of providing a kind of reassurance," says Margaret J. King, director of the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis. "Viewers can immerse themselves in a harrowing narrative yet at the same time be perfectly safe, able to control the stimulus by turning it off or shifting attention to the surrounding space."

Horror movies also teach you that, despite what it feels like sometimes, fear can't kill you, as Lana Holmes, a clinical psychologist in Decatur, explains on the podcast Therapy for Black Girls. "When you expose yourself to something you're afraid of, even a horror movie, over time, you realize -- oh, I can survive this," Holmes says.

Not only that, but there's a joyful "comedown" effect after you've finished watching something scary, according to Scrivner. That feels great to someone like me, whose brain often seems to forget about that "rest and digest" bit after panicking.

An escape from real life

In real life, the triggers for anxiety often feel inescapable, and it's easy to get caught up in an endless cycle of worry. Often for people with anxiety disorders, there may not always be a single clear trigger, making it impossible to "fix."

But in horror, there's a clearly defined threat with a definite end. The fairly predictable plots provide a reassuring roadmap, yet they're absorbing enough to keep your attention glued to the screen (and away from your own thoughts).

"If someone is feeling anxious, they may find that horror helps them stop ruminating about other things in their life," Scrivner says. "Horror forces the viewer to focus -- the monster on the screen pulls us in and focuses our attention."

And, importantly, what happens with the zombies on the screen has absolutely no consequences on your life. In most cases, Scrivner says, people are drawn to horror content that has nothing to do with their current real-life fears. "Horror that hits too close to home might be too repulsive or triggering," he explains.

Headfirst into your worst fears

Sometimes, rather than a way to escape real-life worries, horror can be a way to dive headfirst into them -- almost like a form of exposure therapy.

"Horror fans score very high in a trait called morbid curiosity, which can be defined as an interest in learning about threatening situations," Scrivner says. "Interestingly, anxiety and morbid curiosity seem to stem from similar psychological roots -- a central aspect to both anxiety and morbid curiosity is an increased interest in gathering information about threats, even if it may be unpleasant to gather that information," he explains. "This may be part of the reason why many people with anxiety are horror fans."

The same can be true on a larger scale. "Horror as a genre often speaks to the real world horrors of the time in which it is created," says Scrivner. For example, he says, torture films like Saw and Hostel "became popular around the time the torture of Guantanamo Bay prisoners became public," though it's not clear if there's a direct link.

This may also have something to do with the popularity of horror content with race themes among Black viewers, like Get Out and Lovecraft Country.

And it almost certainlyhas something to do with the sudden explosion in pandemic horror movies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cavan Images/Getty Images

'Quar-horror' and the COVID-19 horror boom

During the COVID-19 pandemic, horror's ability to soothe anxiety and stress was put to the ultimate test. In a December 2020 survey from the US Census Bureau, more than 42% of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, as compared to 11% the previous year. At the same time, 2020 was a "boom year" for horror even as other genres failed to perform as expected.

It seems that many people have been drawn to horror films as a way to cope -- at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, the pandemic thriller Contagion became one of the most-watched movies on iTunes. Data from the digital movie app Movies Anywhere showed significant spikes of interest in "escapist movies such as horror and thrillers," general manager Karin Gilford told Insider. In May 2020, horror sales on the app were up 194% from the previous May.

Did all that horror really help people cope? Yes, apparently. Scrivner was the lead author of a January 2021 study that found that horror fans were more psychologically resilient during the pandemic, with movies like Contagion serving as a sort of practice simulation for the real thing.

The pandemic has even left its own mark on the horror genre, giving birth to a new subgenre called "quar-horror." As one quar-horror director, Nathan Crooker, told NPR, "horror can be a way to process our worst fears."

In order for horror to be truly helpful for anxiety or stress, the content has to hit that sweet spot: scary enough to keep your attention and stimulate your fear response, but not so scary that you feel overwhelmed or retraumatized. That will vary based on your own individual threshold and background, and there are so many different monsters to choose from. Some of my own favorite horror movies and TV shows for anxiety are:

Black Summer: A Netflix zombie series that consists of brief vignettes, so you get that "comedown" effect several times throughout each episode.

Train to Busan: A South Korean zombie movie that remains one of the most compelling zombie movies I've seen yet.

The Haunting of Bly Manor: I'm usually too spooked by ghost themes, but this one had just the right atmosphere and narrative to hook me in.

A Quiet Place: This movie is, well, quiet, which makes the constant high tension and suspense much more bearable for me (I often mute the gruesome stuff in horror anyway).

Even if you don't have anxiety, the COVID-19 pandemic is the sort of situation that can cause you to feel constantly on edge in a similar way. The threat of the coronavirus is very real, but largely out of your hands and with no clear end in sight, making it hard to ever feel truly at ease. Other stressors, like climate change or racism, can have the same effect.

Horror is one way to regain control of your emotions when so much of life feels out of your control. And at a time when the apocalypse is on many of our minds, it makes sense to find horror a bit soothing. Right now, real life is complicated and hard. In zombie movies, the threat is simple, and the solution is straightforward: aim for the head, and don't get bit.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How horror movies can help mental health, according to science

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Years ago, when I was a mega-fan of The Walking Dead, I only had one rule: never watch right before bed. I've had trouble sleeping since I was a kid, and my nightmares are bad enough to outdo even the most gruesome TWD scenes.