There is a thriving business in horror movies and other such media that depicts violence and mayhem.  I’ve never quite understood why, and generally go out of my way to avoid them.  My imagination is way too active to sit there quietly watching, and I’m usually squirming in my seat knowing that the axe is about to fall.

Of course, that’s why people watch them.  That’s the thrill.  But is it the vicarious thrill of feeling that life is lived by the edge of your seat, or is it something else?

In a new book called Panicology by Simon Briscoe and Hugh Aldersey-Williams, they speak about the box office popularity of disaster movies and thrillers, but they also warn that there are serious emotional, social and economic costs to panic.

Witness the swine flu panic that has recently gripped the globe.  The same was done with mad cow disease and bird flu which was billed (excuse the pun) as something that could wipe out a large proportion of the Earth’s population.  In the end, the bird flu killed less than 300 people worldwide.  As noted in a previous blog post, the regular flu claims more than 30,000 people each winter.  Hardly worth a sneeze, is it?

As the author of the book point out, “modern life has greatly reduced many of the risks that humankind face, and yet it is modern life that seems to spawn most of our fears – fears of chemical, biological, and nuclear war, pollution, terrorism, climate change, and less directly, fears associated with immigration, aging, loss of cultural diversity, and much else besides.”

People have a tendency to overlook the things they should be paying attention to, like smoking. The authors say perhaps public health messages would get more attention if they really scared people, but i’m not so sure about that.  On the NY subway right now is a woman whose missing several tops of her fingers.  It says in the ad that she wished she’d stopped smoking earlier.  In Los Angeles, there is a huge billboard on Santa Monica Boulevard that announces the number of deaths from smoking.  Does it make a difference?  I’m not so sure.  People don’t really think it’s going to happen to them. Until it does.

The authors also point out that in the category of risks, obesity ranks highes.  One third of American adults are obese and are at much greater risk for heart disease and cancer as a result.  Do the people who are obese believe they will die from their disorder?  Many don’t.  It’s an acceptable risk.

We worry, stress and over-inflate the drama of threat and risk in our lives.  Why?  Does it give us a thrill?  Does it give meaning to our lives?  What do people love about being scared all the time?  Do you feel more alive?  Are we so numb in our lives, that any thrill is better than none?

I don’t know the answers to this, but I do agree with the authors of Panicology that all too often the panic levels far exceed the actual risk involved.  In many cases, the risk could be reduced or eliminated by exercising personal control.  But that would be asking too much, wouldn’t it?

To learn how to get beyond your fears (if you want to) go to The Fearless Factor and pick up your copy of the 4 Easy Steps to Overcoming Your Fears today.