We all enjoy watching movies. Apart from the entertainment aspect, we like watching movies because we tend to put ourselves in the place of those characters on the screen. The 1-3 hrs movie will make us feel a range of emotions that we feel over a course of time. We will find ourselves crying, laughing, fearing, getting excited, etc just as the characters are portraying those emotions on screen.
Hence, as a psychologist, I would like to point out the importance of adding a trigger warning in the trailer itself.
This incident was flagged by one of my clients, who was diagnosed with Claustrophobia and Cleithrophobia.
(Anxiety disorder ; Specific Phobia; Situational fear; DSM V).
It was after watching the trailer of the recently released movie ‘ Mili ‘ starring Janhvi Kapoor, that the client had a panic attack due to the phobia being triggered.
The movie shows the events of the character Mili being trapped in cold storage.
Since we are creatures thriving on our survival skills, we may enjoy the portrayal of the ‘survival mode’ being kicked in. The performance and the plot of the movie can be appreciated as well. However, even though this movie is exciting to some of us, many with a fear of being trapped (Cleithrophobia) or the fear of confined spaces (Claustrophobia) will get triggered and may be affected badly.
Many movies like Mili, Helen, Trapped, Phobia etc., may be filmed to give you the creeps and to take you on a deep dive into emotions. The individuals working on the film are doing a good job, too good of a job, in fact.
If you can induce fear in someone who is not fearful of such situations, one can only imagine what a person with that particular fear may be going through.
What is a panic attack, and what does it feel like?
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions. Anxiety or Panic is caused by a fear stimulus even when there is no real danger. When panic attacks occur, you might think you’re losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.
The physical symptoms of a panic attack would include shaking, feeling disorientated, nauseous, rapid and irregular heartbeats, dry mouth, breathlessness, sweating, and dizziness.
To minimize the occurrence of panic attacks triggered due to a phobia mymindgains, uses desensitization techniques are carried out in a systematic manner, which is conducted by a mental health professional.
In the case of someone with Claustrophobia and Cleithrophobia, a conventional desensitization session would have a layout like this:
1. Talk about the feeling for a few sessions
2. Show pictures of a confined space for a few sessions
3. Show a video of someone in a confined space for a few sessions
4. Imagining being in a confined space for a few sessions
5. Going to a confined space and watching it from the outside for a few sessions
6. Standing in the confined space with the door visibly open
7. Standing in a confined space with the door visibly open with people in it
8. Standing in a confined space with the door closed
This is so that the individual no longer fears or gets a panic attack while entering a confined space or doesn’t feel like they are getting trapped.
All of the above-mentioned steps are done in the presence of a therapist or a psychologist in case they go through a panic attack.
These trailers and movies act as the 3rd and 4th step of the desensitization technique when the individual hasn’t even gone through the 1st and the 2nd. This is like forcing a child who can’t walk to start running. They will hurt themselves.
Someone with a phobia may not watch the movie, but the trailer itself can trigger a panic attack. (They can feel the above-mentioned symptoms of a panic attack when they watch something related to their phobia).
Someone with Claustrophobia or Cleithrophobia will get triggered watching even the trailers of movies like Mili, Helen and Trapped. Hence, it is advisable that a trigger warning on such movie trailers should be mandatory.
About the Author:
Rita Mendonca
Clinical Psychologist.
Founder of My Mind Gains, a mental health and education service provider.
Specialized in child counseling and guidance, CBT, REBT and desensitization techniques.
Instagram handle : @mymindgains