How to Get Over a Scary Movie You Saw

Calming Down

Relax your body. The stress and anxiety experienced after a scary movie can be combated through deep breathing, meditation, and other relaxation exercises. Try to relax your body as soon as possible if you're feeling scared. If you’re new to these practices, you can find guided relaxation exercises for free through Google and YouTube.

Turn the lights on. Sitting in the dark after a scary movie will only add to a frightful mood. Before bed, turn night-lights on in your room and/or bathroom in case you get up in the middle of the night.

Talk to a friend or family member. If you're feeling scared, have a conversation with someone who can reassure you of your safety. If you're alone, pick up the phone and call someone.

Get some fresh air. If it's not too late, try taking a walk outside. Altering your physical environment can help take your mind off the scary movie, and spending some time outdoors is a great way to relieve feelings of stress.

Do something fun. Call a friend to see if they want to hang out, spend some time playing a favorite game, or pick another form of play. Whatever activity you choose should be sufficiently enjoyable - the main point is to distract yourself from the scary movie.

Treat yourself to a relaxing activity. Taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, listening to calming music, and practicing some light yoga are great ways to wind down.

Watch a funny movie or TV show. Use laughter to help distract your mind and forget the scary movie. Be sure to find something that is really hilarious though; it needs to totally counteract what you just watched.

Avoid scary films in the future. If your current experience with a scary movie is a cause for significant grief, it’s best to steer clear of horror films and monster flicks to avoid feeling frightened! There's no shame in suggesting a drama or comedy the next time movie night comes around.

Separating the Scary Movie from Reality

Watch behind the scenes footage from the making of the film. You can find this footage by searching on IMDB, Google, and Youtube. Look for explanations about how the movie makers created scary creatures and scenarios with special effects, costumes, and make-up. The more concrete knowledge you can gain about the movie, the easier time you will have separating the film from reality.

Read film reviews. Reviewers will deconstruct the special effects and screenplay behind the scary movie, which will help you separate the movie from reality. In particular, negative reviews can make some scary movies seem silly in retrospect, which can help to further distance yourself from the film. Rottentomatoes.com is a great place to start.

Humanize the cast. Find photos and videos of the cast in real life in order to further separate the scary film from reality. Look up the head shots of the main actors to see how they look without crazy costumes and fake blood, and remind yourself that the monsters from the film are regular people in real life.

Watch footage of the same actors in different genre movies. Go to IMDB.com and search for the movie you saw, once you click it, find some of the scary characters and click on their actor's names. Find some lighthearted films on their bio page and check out the trailers. A serial killer is never quite as scary when the role before that was a cashier in a low-budget comedy.

Find humor in the horror. Comedy can help you further distance yourself from the scary experience, and you can find a wealth of parodies and scary movie satires online that will make horror films seem ridiculous. Utilize Google search, Youtube, and/or the movie’s IMDB page to get started.

Watch the gag reels. Search on the internet for footage of cast members screwing up and laughing during suspenseful scenes, or for the slip-ups in the production process that aren’t edited from the final product. Finding these goofs will make scary movies seem ridiculous, and further separated from the real world.