# How can I unscare myself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196 "2003-03-30T09:07:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![foxfiregrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3da27b/32.png) [@foxfiregrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxfiregrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/1 "2003-03-30T09:07:37Z")
I’ll admit it. I’m a wimp. I watched _The Ring_ today, and now sleep is failing me. That movie had a lot of creepy images that are just staying with me. It’s not that I’m terrified, just uneasy. And I have a tv in my room, which makes things a little bit weird. How can I unscare myself? I was thinking about settling back and reading one of my comfort books that I’ve read ten times before. But I thought I’d ask you all if you had anymore suggestions. Preferably ones that involve me actually going to sleep sometime this night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/2 "2003-03-30T09:17:36Z")
Turn on the TV. Find something funny and watch that. Or watch an infomercial. Although now that I think about it, watching an infomercial and watching something funny can be one and the same, depending on the infomercial that you watch. I suggest one that says something along the lines of “This 6 inch tall oven can roast 387 bison in 3 minutes flat!” ---
**Author:** ![Seamonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Seamonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seamonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/3 "2003-03-30T09:21:55Z")
I saw this movie at the theater. I still get random flashbacks. I don’t have any advice, just lending support. BTW, I loved the movie, how sick is that? ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/4 "2003-03-30T09:23:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sqube \* > **Turn on the TV.** You didn’t see _The Ring_, did you? Not really an option…just ignore the TV, **foxfiregrrl** , dear. I always recommend a nice hot cup of tea. Being scared seems silly if you’re sipping Earl Grey. ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/5 "2003-03-30T09:24:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Einmon \* > \*\*You didn’t see _The Ring_, did you? Not really an option…just ignore the TV, **foxfiregrrl** , dear. > > I always recommend a nice hot cup of tea. Being scared seems silly if you’re sipping Earl Grey. \*\* My momma always said face your fears, dontcha know. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/6 "2003-03-30T10:16:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sqube \* > \*\*My momma always said face your fears, dontcha know. 😉 \*\* Well, maybe you’re right. The longer I’m thinking about it there’s probably nothing that diffuses your fear of the TV as quickly as seeing that good ole George Forman grill. 😃 But I think that’s for the long run…when I came home from the movies, even thinking that I might see a bit of static would give me the heebie-jeebies. Maybe hot cocoa? Nothing that can’t be helped with hot cocoa.\* \*I’ll stop here and just note “assorted hot beverage of your choice” for future reference ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/7 "2003-03-30T11:29:31Z")
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that movie had this effect on…two weeks and counting. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/8 "2003-03-30T11:43:14Z")
My darling wife waited until I’d finished watching _Ring_ on DVD, then called the house phone with her cellphone, and hung up when I answered. I went white and she nearly wet herself laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/9 "2003-03-30T11:51:04Z")
This movie creeped me out a lot, too. The weird imagery just stuck in my mind, and it made me leery to no end–I lost a lot of sleep for the next couple days, and it was in the middle of my workweek, too! What made it worse was that the movie made me curious about the original Japanese movies–which I researched. Which then made me curious about some of the real-life historical figures the movie was based on, which made me want to read more about them–and then that made me more curious about: MINOR SPOILER AHEAD: (Don’t know how to use the Spoiler VBcode, sorry.) ‘Nensha’, the art of creating images through telekinesis–in Samara’s case, creating images on the magnetic reel of a video tape. And then Nensha-cursing, the art of hexing people through said images. (i.e. Pictomancy) END SPOILER Very creepy stuff. The effect wore off of me after a few days, though–like Sqube mentioned–I actually just turned on the TV and channel surfed for awhile each night–and once I got out of that frame of mind, it was easier to just relax a little more. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/10 "2003-03-30T11:53:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cerri \* > I’m so glad I’m not the only one that movie had this effect on…two weeks and counting. You have to admit that you rest slightly more easily after the first week, don’t you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/11 "2003-03-30T15:13:51Z")
After watching that movie, I got a nosebleed the next day (remember, this happened to the characters in the movie after they had seen the video) and that _really_ freaked me out. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/12 "2003-03-30T15:30:11Z")
Spraying ice water on my face has always helped me when I felt anxious. Better still is inserting my head into a basin of ice cubes and water. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/13 "2003-03-30T16:29:54Z")
Can you get any company? That generally does the trick for me. However, it’s often not possible. I’d say just tell yourself ‘I will ignore this,’ and try and bull your way through it. ---
**Author:** ![Rosebud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rosebud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosebud)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/14 "2003-03-30T18:26:32Z")
jjimm, I think I like your wife 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kerrigan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/49beb7/32.png) [@Kerrigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kerrigan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/15 "2003-03-30T18:32:40Z")
What I find sad: I read the title of this thread and already knew what it was about. I saw _The Ring_ over a month ago, for crying in the mud! I don’t have a TV in my bedroom, so I’ve had to just be happy with an irrational fear of the dark… but it stuck with me pretty hard until recently. ---
**Author:** ![firagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@firagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firagon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/16 "2003-03-30T20:20:31Z")
Watch the movie over and over again until you’re so sick of it that it just doesn’t scare you anymore. Ok, maybe that won’t work, but I watched it for the second time a couple of days ago, and I didn’t find it that scary the second time around. Not even the Katie corpse. I think some sort of laughter or humor would be a good way to get rid of some dread. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/17 "2003-03-30T20:33:16Z")
I’ve found that the classic Bugs Bunny cartoons are a certain way to cure the blues, fear, frustration and angst. They’re than any prescription. ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/18 "2003-03-30T21:05:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by firagon \* > \*\*Watch the movie over and over again until you’re so sick of it that it just doesn’t scare you anymore. > \*\* That is advice which works for me. I thought about buying a copy of The Ring on DVD to do just that, but ended up buying a few others instead. In the meantime, it’s been 1 1/2 weeks and I still have problems falling asleep and find myself pulling back the shower curtain several times to make sure everything’s jake. ---
**Author:** ![foxfiregrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3da27b/32.png) [@foxfiregrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxfiregrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/19 "2003-03-30T21:25:55Z")
… you guys are still scared after a few weeks? Damn. I did end up falling asleep last night… eventually. I think I might have to watch it a couple more times to see if it helps. But I’m afraid to. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196/20 "2003-03-30T23:01:24Z")
Try watching for errors, or concentrate on how certain shots were filmed. Try to be a harsh critic! Works for me. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-unscare-myself/165196.md?page=2)