Is your favorite TV show spiking your blood pressure? 4 signs that your viewing habits might be stressing you out too much.

Yahoo

23-03-2025

Diving into your favorite TV show or movie is the ideal way to unwind after a long day. At least it is in theory. The effect is a little different when your go-to series is a plot-twisting thriller like Paradise, the intriguing murder mystery of Traitors or the gorySquid Game. In those cases, you may end up feeling more stressed out than you did before turning on the television.
'Certain topics on TV shows, like death, loss or drama, can trigger anxiety in us,' Jaime Zuckerman, a licensed clinical psychologist based in Pennsylvania, tells Yahoo Life. But some people are impacted by this more than others.
'Many people have a little bit of fun watching these intense shows or movies — they get a heightened experience, and then they'll get back to their mood baseline,' Aaron Brinen, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. 'But sometimes we'll watch something that gets under our skin, and it takes longer to come back down from that.'
You probably have a solid sense of how you feel after watching these shows, but it can be hard to know whether you're reacting in a typical way or if your viewing habits are throwing off your mental health. Ahead, therapists break down how these intense shows and movies can affect your stress levels — plus the major signs that it's time to turn on some lighter fare.
At baseline, these shows are designed to affect you in some way. 'All media we consume can impact our mood — music, video games, news programming, movies and TV,' Hillary Ammon, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety & Women's Emotional Wellness, tells Yahoo Life. Depending on what you see, you may end up feeling happy, relaxed, sad, angry, comforted or fearful, she says.
In fact, having some kind of emotional reaction to a show or movie is usually a sign that it's good content, Brinen says. 'These are designed to change our mood, and that's what makes them great,' he points out.
But intense or dramatic shows can affect you differently than, say, a comedy — and they can have a lingering impact on your mood, Thea Gallagher, clinical psychologist and co-host of the Mind in View podcast, tells Yahoo Life. 'They could potentially trigger memories of the past, which may not be good,' she says. 'The content can also just get stuck in your head.' Storylines that could happen in the real world can also be especially tough to shake, Gallagher adds.
These intense shows and movies can even activate your fight-or-flight system, according to Ammon. 'You might notice your heart racing or feeling a little restless while watching intense shows,' she says.
There's also this to consider, according to Brinen: 'There are some shows that push the boundary and are objectively disturbing. Those can be hard to shake.'
Experts emphasize that you shouldn't watch TV or a movie before bed for good sleep hygiene, regardless of what you're viewing. But between work schedules and other activities of life, before bed is usually the only time people can watch screens. Unfortunately, watching intense shows before bed can counteract your ability to wind down before you go to sleep, Brinen says.
'You need sleep momentum. Your brain needs to be at rest in order to sleep,' he says. 'Anything that works against that, such as a TV show that gets your mind going, is not going to be helpful.'
Shows with violence or that bring on feelings of fear can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body too, Zuckerman says. 'That can also interfere with your ability to fall asleep,' she adds.
But even if you don't watch these shows before bed, Gallagher says the themes may stick with you and rattle around in your head when your brain quiets down for the night. 'They can make you feel worried or scared or have a new fear unlocked,' she says.
True crime documentaries have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Some people even watch them as a way to unwind, which is a curious response given how disturbing the topics can be.
'Some people like that there's justice and a legal process in place that works — it gives them a sense of safety,' Zuckerman says. 'I hear this a lot from female patients especially. It gives them plans, strategies and ideas on how to look at relationships differently, especially since these often involve intimate partner violence.'
But these shows also tap into a certain part of human nature that some people love. 'We're nosy,' Zuckerman says. 'We like to know what's going on and to try to figure out the crime on our own.'
A love of true crime shows can even tap into a level of stress that you're used to, Zuckerman says. 'For some, it may feel normal to bring up feelings of a high-stress environment because that's what they're used to or they grew up in a chaotic environment,' she says. 'People can mistake that for comfort.'
Therapists recommend being on the lookout for certain signs and symptoms that intense shows are stressing you out. 'Collect good data on yourself and pay attention to what you find,' Brinen says. These are the biggies to look out for:
That includes having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and Gallagher says it can be linked to watching the show before bed or any time during your day. 'If you watch one of these shows and you can't sleep afterward, that's a major sign that this is not good for you,' Brinen says.
A good show will be on your mind after you watch it, Brinen points out. But if you keep coming back to thoughts about disturbing scenes, especially over the course of several days, he says that's concerning. 'It should not be sticking with you longer than you want it to,' Brinen says.
While you're probably not going to feel elated after watching a series like Squid Game, it shouldn't bring your mood down and keep it low for hours or days. 'Some shows can trigger intense feelings, like sadness or fear, that can be hard for some people to shake,' Gallagher says.
This sounds slightly extreme, but it ties back to new fears. If you find that you're suddenly scared that someone is going to break into your home after watching the latest true crime series and you can't sleep, or have trouble focusing at work because your mind keeps going back to a show's disturbing plot, Zuckerman says that's a major sign this type of content isn't for you.
In general, Zuckerman recommends being mindful about when and how you watch these more intense shows. 'If it's already a high-stress time, like during the holidays, maybe avoid them for a bit,' she says. It can also be helpful to balance your viewing with other things, like watching with friends so you can dissect the plot, or having a full day outside of your home and not just binge-watching a thriller. 'Everything in moderation,' she says.
But if you enjoy watching intense shows and it doesn't seem to have a negative impact on your mental health, Brinen says you're just fine to keep watching them. 'I never yuck someone's yum,' he says. 'If you like figuring out a true crime or watching an intense show, bless your heart.'