Is There a Danger To Watching Too Many True Crime Docs? Psychologists Say It Could Be an Insidious Form of ‘Numbing'
Psychologists explain what might be behind your viewing habit.
Sometimes life can be too much to deal with and you just need to check out for a little while. Maybe that means going out for drinks with your friends after work instead of going home to see your partner—even though you know you should really talk through the argument you had that morning. Or it might look like taking a few days off of work because you can’t deal with arguing with a difficult boss anymore, even if it's just over Zoom. Or perhaps you’re one of the whopping one in three Americans who loves true crime documentaries, watching them at least once a week.
At times, all of these behaviors can be healthy. But therapists say that they can also be a form of emotional numbing, a mental and emotional way to shut out feelings. For example, in one TikTok video, certified coach Jemma Rane shares that she realized that she was watching true crime docs as a way to try to feel something because she had become chronically emotionally numb in the wake of her marriage ending. Wow, right? Here, therapists explain when emotional numbing can be helpful and when it’s actually detrimental to mental health.
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What Is Emotional Numbing?
Before we get into how watching true crime docs as a form of emotional numbing can affect mental health, it’s helpful to know more about what emotional numbing actually is. Psychotherapist, relationship expert, and mental health expert Babita Spinelli, LP, JD, explains that it’s a state of being where an individual is either not feeling or expressing their emotions. “They’re shut down and in a form of a dissociated state,” she says.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Kruti Patel, PhD, says that symptoms of emotional numbing can include not accessing one’s true feelings, feeling distant or detached from others, experiencing an inability to fully participate in life, or feeling flat physically and emotionally. “People with emotional numbness might use strategies to resist confronting their emotions,” she says. Dr. Patel says that the activities someone may do to emotionally numb themselves vary greatly. Some examples include mindlessly scrolling social media, drinking alcohol, staying “super busy,” online shopping, and yes, watching true crime docs.
"These types of behaviors can be connected to avoidance," says Dr. Thea Gallagher, PsyD, the Director of Outpatient Clinical at the Center for the Treatment Study of Anxiety at UPenn. She explains that doing things that are mindless can be a way to take someone out of emotions that can feel distressing or overwhelming. It's the opposite of mindfulness, which Dr. Gallagher says is about being actively present and engaged.
Spinelli says that emotional numbing is often a coping mechanism after experiencing trauma. “Because [the experience] was so painful, there’s actually a need to shut down feelings until they can be unpacked in a safe way,” she says. She says that it can also happen as a result of grief. “Sometimes, people emotionally numb because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to make the funeral arrangements and do the other things that need to get done,” she says. She says that people in abusive or toxic relationships may also emotionally numb. “You start to detach from your feelings [as a way to cope],” she says.
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All three experts say that there are times when emotionally numbing is actually helpful. “Sometimes, immediately after a traumatic event, it is biologically helpful to numb or wait to feel feelings because it means we can survive the moment,” Dr. Patel says. Spinelli says that it can also be necessary to just get through the day. She gives the example of having a lot of stress happening at home but having to give a big presentation at work. Someone may emotionally numb themselves from their home stressors so they can focus on getting through their presentation.
Dr. Gallagher says that it can be helpful when there is something stressful happening in a relationship too, like an argument with a partner. "Sometimes, it's helpful to take a little space instead of responding in anger," she says. But she says that it becomes a problem when it's used as a way to not deal with the problem at all.
Dr. Patel adds to this by saying that emotionally numbing long-term is detrimental. “The longer we keep engaging in this behavior, the less helpful it becomes because it starts to become less about surviving and more about avoiding. We can’t avoid our feelings forever, they’re going to show back up again,” she says.
"It comes back to the intention and the long game," Dr. Gallagher says. "If you feel overwhelmed and need to separate from your emotions for a short time to then get back to a healthy place, that's not necessarily bad. But if the long game is to avoid uncomfortable feelings for the rest of your life, that's a problem."
What Watching True Crime Docs as a Way to Check Out Can Do To Your Psyche
In the aforementioned TikTok video, Rane says that she realized that she was binging true crime docs as a way to activate her amygdala (the part of the brain that processes fearful and threatening stimuli) as a way to feel something after becoming chronically emotionally numb due to problems in her marriage.
Even if you love geeking out on true crime, you may want to rethink immersing yourself in them as a way to cope with life’s stressors. “Watching crime shows often lead to increased fears of leaving the house, feeling fear around people, and higher anxiety,” Dr. Patel says. In other words, you’re already feeling anxious. But now you’re engaging in an activity that’s putting the body on high alert, making you feel even more anxious.
Spinelli also says that watching true crime shows can heighten anxiety, but she says that it’s also true that they don’t affect everyone the same way. For example, one person may feel their heart racing when they’re watching them, but for someone else, it doesn’t have this response; they’re more drawn to the psychological aspect of the shows and simply find them intriguing. Dr. Gallagher agrees, saying that it can be interesting to learn about people.
Spinelli even conjectures that perhaps one reason why Rane found herself drawn to watching true crime at the end of her marriage was a subconscious attempt to gain insight into how someone she didn’t understand thinks. “People are fascinated by pathology and want to know why people do certain things.”
What To Do If You Think You’re Emotionally Numbing in an Unhealthy Way
If reading about emotional numbing has made you realize that you might be chronically engaging in certain behaviors as a way to not process your emotions or confront problems in your life, you’ve already taken a step in the right direction: recognizing your behavior. As you might expect, all three experts say that the next step is talking with a therapist. “Processing why you’re emotionally numbing yourself is important,” Dr. Patel says.
Dr. Gallagher says that it can be helpful to put limits around emotionally numbing activities; for example, actively deciding to only scroll social media for 15 minutes and that's it. She also says it's helpful to have a range of coping methods, including some linked to supporting mental health such as going on walks, meditating, or spending time with people who bring you joy.
Spinelli says that it can also be helpful to actively ask yourself what you’re feeling throughout the day. Maybe you spend the mornings and evenings journaling for five minutes about this. Doing so serves as a way for you to get in touch with your feelings and let them surface, which is the complete opposite of numbing. She also says to think about how your body is feeling. Often, she says, our bodies communicate how we're feeling to us. Do you find that your breathing is shallow? Are you experiencing digestive distress? Are you having trouble concentrating? These could be physical symptoms of anxiety.
Once you recognize why you’re emotionally numbing, Spinelli says you can start taking steps to confront the circumstances in your life that are causing you to emotionally numb. Again, working with a therapist can be helpful here. Maybe you have unresolved grief you need help working through. Maybe you’re in a relationship that you should reevaluate. The key, Spinelli says, is to face whatever it is instead of avoiding it.
Sometimes, putting a true crime doc on is a way to relax, plain and simple. But if you’re already anxious or stressed, it may not be the best activity to engage in. Hey, that’s what animal videos are for, right?
Next up, check out these 25 writing prompts to try when journaling to support your mental health.
Sources
Babita Spinelli, LP, JD, psychotherapist, relationship expert, and mental health expert
Dr. Kruti Patel, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist
Dr. Thea Gallagher, PsyD, psychologist, anxiety expert, and the Director of Outpatient Clinical at the Center for the Treatment Study of Anxiety at UPenn
