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Short Stuff: Why does it feel good to be scared? · Stuff You Should Know

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Ay, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh, and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: there's Chuck and Jerry's here too, sitting in per day
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  Speaker 1: and this is stuff you should know. And we're here
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  Speaker 1: to answer a perennial question that everyone wants to know,
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  Speaker 1: just why in the gosh darn heck do we make
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  Speaker 1: ourselves scared on purpose?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Here, scary, real quick, do something. Let's do a
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  Speaker 2: little exercise.
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  Speaker 1: You're starting to look old.
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  Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, really scary, say boo or something.
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  Speaker 1: Oh okay, that's gonna scare you more. Yeah, yeah, okay, boo.
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  Speaker 2: Oh my god, oh boy. As it turns out, that
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  Speaker 2: was really exhilarating and I feel great now.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well you overcame a fear, a real threat.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. It is an interesting question though, And thanks to
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  Speaker 2: our old friends at housetf works dot com as well
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  Speaker 2: as Psychology Today and the American Brain Foundation, who have
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: all as well as other places, looked into that weird
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  Speaker 2: question of like you were talking about, like why would
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  Speaker 2: anybody pay to go into a truly terrifying haunted house
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  Speaker 2: or a truly terrifying movie.
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  Speaker 1: And like, yeah, we all know anecdotally or personally why,
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  Speaker 1: but like if you step back and look at it
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  Speaker 1: from you know, a rational standpoint. It makes zero sense whatsoever,
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  Speaker 1: Like we're purposefully stimulating a what's meant to be like
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  Speaker 1: an unpleasant experience, a pleasant response in ourselves.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, you know. We'll get into that in
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  Speaker 2: a second. We need to sort of delineate though, like
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  Speaker 2: what we're talking about. We did an episode on fear
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  Speaker 2: a while back. It's a long time ago. I think
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  Speaker 2: it was pretty good on if I remember correctly. But
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  Speaker 2: we're not talking about anxiety, Like there's anxiety and there's fear.
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  Speaker 2: Anxiety is the stuff that keeps you up at night,
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  Speaker 2: like existential threats or am I getting old? Or is
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  Speaker 2: our country being ruined? Or is there illumining war coming
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  Speaker 2: to our country? Like things that haven't happened yet that
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  Speaker 2: you're truly upset and anxious about. Is not the same
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  Speaker 2: thing as as of something that is like somebody jumping
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  Speaker 2: out and saying boost something that happens right in front
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  Speaker 2: of your.
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  Speaker 1: Face, exactly right, So you got that, And fear is
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  Speaker 1: about something jumping out right in front of your face.
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  Speaker 1: It's about like an immediate threat to your well being,
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  Speaker 1: maybe your life, and it triggers the fight or flight response.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah for sure.
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  Speaker 1: So a little more about that. When you have the
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  Speaker 1: fight or flight response, your pulse increases, your blood pressure increases,
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  Speaker 1: you just get ready to run or fly, which is
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  Speaker 1: the only time you can fly is when you're scared.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. There have been people that research this stuff.
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  Speaker 2: There's a book that we want to shout out called
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  Speaker 2: Scream Scream with an exclamation point from Margie Key and
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  Speaker 2: her colleague doctor Greg Siegel, who is director for the
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  Speaker 2: Cognitive Neuroscience Program at University of Pittsburgh. But they their
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  Speaker 2: description of what we're talking about, like paying to go
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  Speaker 2: to a haunted house or something or a really scary movie,
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  Speaker 2: as voluntary engagement with negative high arousal stimuli. So in
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  Speaker 2: other words, it's like, yeah, I'll give you my hard
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  Speaker 2: earned dollars to go into nether world in October and
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  Speaker 2: because the thrill of getting the doo doo scared out
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  Speaker 2: of me is like I enjoy that experience.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, So yeah, that's a great, great term for it.
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  Speaker 1: I say, we take a little break, Chuck, and then
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  Speaker 1: we come back and we go step by step how
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  Speaker 1: this whole thing goes.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, let's do it, okay, Chuck.
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  Speaker 1: So we're talking about fun scary, not fun anxiety. I
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  Speaker 1: don't think there is such a thing really as fun anxiety.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I guess it's like an existential or elevated
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  Speaker 1: horror movie like that develops a sense of dread. Yeah, okay,
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  Speaker 1: but it so rarely pays off in a good way.
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  Speaker 1: It's yeah, I don't know there's a good version of it.
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  Speaker 1: So we're talking like scary the fun version, right. And
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  Speaker 1: one of the main reasons why we do this, it
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  Speaker 1: turns out, is because we feel a sense of mastery
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  Speaker 1: over this thing that overwhelms us, because we're choosing to
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  Speaker 1: do this. That's step one. We're choosing to experience this
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  Speaker 1: scary thing. And by saying like I'm choosing to do this,
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  Speaker 1: although of course you don't do this step by step,
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  Speaker 1: it just kind of happens. You're saying like, I'm in control,
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  Speaker 1: I'm in charge. Yeah, I'm going into the scary haunted house.
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  Speaker 1: But it's on the premise that I'm not actually going
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  Speaker 1: to be stabbed. This rating guy, he's just going to
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  Speaker 1: come up like he's about to say me, but he's
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  Speaker 1: not going to follow through. Some part of me knows.
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  Speaker 2: That, Yeah, I mean that's always in the back of
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  Speaker 2: your head. When you walk into a situation like that,
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  Speaker 2: you're like, I'm gonna be fine. It's not like the
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  Speaker 2: thrill that you get when somebody jumps out of the
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  Speaker 2: shadows to you know, with a gun to mug you.
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  Speaker 2: Not what we're talking about. So that's the first step,
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  Speaker 2: is you're like acknowledging that you're choosing to do this
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  Speaker 2: head on, so you've got some mastery. And then then
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  Speaker 2: the scare happens, whatever that might be, whether it's a
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  Speaker 2: movie or you know, a haunted house. I'm trying to
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  Speaker 2: this seems like the obvious ones. I'm trying to think
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  Speaker 2: of other ways. I guess maybe a scary roller coaster
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  Speaker 2: or something. If that's a big fear.
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  Speaker 1: Sure.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So that's when the fight or flight kicks in
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  Speaker 2: and you're just flooded with you know, some really eventually
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  Speaker 2: feel good stuff that dopamine and oxytocin and endorphins start firing,
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  Speaker 2: and our our heart rate increases obviously, and our breathing
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  Speaker 2: and our blood pressure and everything. So that's it's like
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  Speaker 2: an exhilarating experience like biologically for your body, right.
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  Speaker 1: So, yes, like you're you're amped I guess is the
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  Speaker 1: way to put it. You know.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, what did the kids say these days today? Digg
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: any toilet, skivitty toilet. By the way, I like diggity toilet.
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  Speaker 2: Let's start a new thing, right boy? That six seven
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  Speaker 2: thing went away like quicker than I've ever seen anything
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  Speaker 2: go away.
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  Speaker 1: I was reading a book last yesterday. It was Crime
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: and Punishment. And I'm not just saying this just to
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  Speaker 1: show everybody. I'm reading Crime and Punishment, But somebody mentioned
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  Speaker 1: something being like sixes and sevens and I couldn't tell
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  Speaker 1: from the context what they were talking about. Still, I
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  Speaker 1: think it was kind of positive or something like that.
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  Speaker 1: But I was like, is that where that came from originally?
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  Speaker 1: Or is it just coincidence?
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  Speaker 2: That was coincidence because they coincidence because they know where
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  Speaker 2: it came from, which I want for you to tell
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  Speaker 2: you that.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it was a basketball play being interviewed. But where
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  Speaker 1: did he.
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  Speaker 2: Get Yeah, oh, I think it just came out of
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  Speaker 2: nowhere and it just caught on. But my whole point
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  Speaker 2: was that thing went away like in a matter of weeks.
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  Speaker 2: I think as soon as all the parents started doing it,
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  Speaker 2: like every small child. Like I'm talking people my daughter's
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  Speaker 2: age and younger were like, no, like I did it
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  Speaker 2: one time. She was like, ah, no, one does that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. I feel like that's a valuable lesson. If we
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  Speaker 1: are ever all annoyed by something that the younger to
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  Speaker 1: get into it, I think we just start saying it
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  Speaker 1: our stuff just adopted ourselves for a week.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, I love it. That's a good We
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  Speaker 2: should test that out. But the next stupid thing comes along. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: you got it all right? So where were we? Fight
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  Speaker 2: or flight? Yes?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, so we're in fight or flight mode. I feel
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  Speaker 1: bad for the poor person who were describing because they've
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  Speaker 1: been stuck in fireflight mode the whole time we were
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  Speaker 1: talking about Yeah, toilet's true. But we're back, person, so
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  Speaker 1: don't worry because now your body, your parasympathetic nervous system
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  Speaker 1: kicks in. Is like, cool out, everybody. Let's just mellow out.
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  Speaker 1: Nothing actually happened. The threat is gone, and you can
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  Speaker 1: just feel great. You can feel relaxed, you can feel
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  Speaker 1: maybe even a sense of giddiness. You know, yeah, because
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  Speaker 1: you're experiencing something that you still it's a it's a
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  Speaker 1: transition between still having your fight or flight response going
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  Speaker 1: and the parasympathetic things starting to kick in and take over.
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  Speaker 1: And while they're kind of those levels are adjusting, it's
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  Speaker 1: a very specific, unique, fun kind of feeling.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. And you can see that step literally
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  Speaker 2: coinciding with the next benefit rather, which is like you know,
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  Speaker 2: you're almost always doing this with like friends and family
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  Speaker 2: or something like you're out to have a good time
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  Speaker 2: with a group maybe or a small group, so you're
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  Speaker 2: building like a bond of an experience that will scary
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  Speaker 2: that you share together. And like you see it when
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  Speaker 2: people are exiting nether World or when they're coming off
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  Speaker 2: of that roller coaster, this almost euphoria of the shared
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  Speaker 2: experience that everyone has and you're all talking about it like,
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  Speaker 2: oh my god, that one part, that one room where
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  Speaker 2: the guy had the chainsaw and I saw like on
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  Speaker 2: your face like you were about to dodo in your pants,
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  Speaker 2: and it's like it's exhilarating. It's a it's like a
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  Speaker 2: high that you can see everyone like reliving the experience
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  Speaker 2: together in this bond that they created that's just like
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  Speaker 2: super fun.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is that guys. I mean you mentioned oxytocin
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  Speaker 1: being released. That would explain that bonding, you.
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  Speaker 2: Know, Yeah, for sure.
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  Speaker 1: And also sometimes you'll like press your face into the
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  Speaker 1: chest of the whoever.
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  Speaker 2: You're with, hopefully the person that you're with, right, Sometimes
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  Speaker 2: those places are dark.
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  Speaker 1: For sure.
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  Speaker 2: You don't want to you don't want to do that
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  Speaker 2: to a perfect stranger.
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  Speaker 1: No, you're like, oh, you smell like onions. You're not
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  Speaker 1: my friend.
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  Speaker 2: My friend smells like cheese, so.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, foot cheese.
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  Speaker 2: Oh god.
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  Speaker 1: So there's that feeling of catharsis. There's another I think
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  Speaker 1: great point too, in addition to that whole feeling of
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: catharsis that comes from going through that rigormarole, and that
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  Speaker 1: is like you're in a that scare place that you
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  Speaker 1: put yourself in on purpose, right, the voluntary engagement with
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  Speaker 1: negative high arisal stimuli. It's a place where you are
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  Speaker 1: it's socially acceptable to do something like scream your head off, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and just let out stress. And that's a huge function
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  Speaker 1: that those play as well. That's scaring ourselves play as well,
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  Speaker 1: especially say like a roller coaster.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, Like you know, there's primal scream therapy.
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  Speaker 2: But a lot of people would say like, well that
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  Speaker 2: seems pretty weird. But that same person might go to
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  Speaker 2: a haunted house and scream their head off because it's
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  Speaker 2: like a socially acceptable thing to do. And if you're
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  Speaker 2: someone who is, maybe you have like real life anxiety,
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: or maybe you have work in a place or in
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: a situation in your life where you always have to
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: maintain like a very high level of decorum. Yeah, and
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: you know, go to another world. They should sponsor this thing,
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: by the.
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  Speaker 1: Way, I think so too. That's a great idea.
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  Speaker 2: We should re release this in October and see if
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: we can get another world on board. I don't go
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  Speaker 2: to those. Did you go to those? No?
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  Speaker 1: Too scary for me?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I haven't been to a real haunted
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  Speaker 2: house like that. I don't think ever. I think the
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  Speaker 2: last haunted house I went to was in la Like
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  Speaker 2: these people got together and did these really really high
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  Speaker 2: quality ones in the neighborhood a couple over. But I'd
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  Speaker 2: never paid to go into like the truly horrifying ones.
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  Speaker 1: I haven't either, But it's not because I'm too scared.
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  Speaker 1: I was kidding about that.
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  Speaker 2: Why is it, you know, walk around in the dark
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  Speaker 2: with a bunch of strangers that might put their head
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  Speaker 2: in your chest? I don't.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: There's one either, let's go to one this year.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Okay, there's one here if you're willing to come down
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: some Universal Horror Nights. I think it's supposed to be
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  Speaker 1: really good.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Is you me into that kind of thing?
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  Speaker 3: No?
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: No, she doesn't like Peters Emily. All right, they can
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: wait outside while we go through.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Yes, that's fine. They'll have fun doing that.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, totally.
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  Speaker 1: They'll drink lemonade out of those big giant novelty plastic linens.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
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  Speaker 1: I guess that's it for short stuff.
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  Speaker 2: Hun Yeah, I think that means we're out. Stuff you
• 12:05
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