You Can Usually Tell What Kind Of Childhood Someone Had By The Shows They Watch To Relax, According To Experts
PeopleImages | Shutterstock According to a psychology expert named Caroline, comfort TV shows are directly linked to viewers' childhoods. In a nutshell, she claims the shows you watch when it's time to relax and unwind reveal what your early years were like.
The kinds of shows you watch to unwind at the end of the day are a subtle reflection of self-soothing behaviors from childhood. Considering a lot of the habits and behaviors that we exhibit as adults can be traced back to our childhood, it only makes sense that TV shows fall into that same category.
You can usually tell what kind of childhood someone had by the shows they watch to relax.
"The more relaxed you feel watching chaotic shows, the more likely it is that you didn't grow up in a calm environment," Caroline revealed in her video. "I observed an inverse pattern. People who grew up in stable, emotionally safe homes get really stressed out watching shows like 'The Real Housewives.'"
Caroline explained that people who grew up around constant tension, emotional unpredictability, or instability tend to feel extra calm when watching craziness unfold on screen while watching shows like "The Real Housewives." It's because their nervous system isn't reacting but recognizing a familiar pattern.
It's as if the dynamic playing out on the screen isn't foreign to them at all. And there's actually something regulating happening when they end up watching shows like that.
It's also a bit relieving to watch the chaos without feeling the pressure to manage it. What stresses one person out might actually be regulating to someone else depending on the kinds of childhoods they had and what was normalized or not.
Reality TV and true crime shows can be a form of escape for some people.
Chivonna Childs, PhD, a psychologist for Cleveland Clinic, explained, "Much like watching movies or true crime, reality TV is another form of escape. It allows us to envision what life would be like if we were in those situations."
But at the same time, it's definitely good to watch things like that in moderation. Research has even suggested that true crime can keep your mind in a heightened state of alertness even when you're not in any real danger, with chronic exposure to such stresses potentially leading to anxiety and depression.
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A 2021 study even found that people who actively consumed crime news reported feeling more paranoid about crime, regardless of local crime rates. The same study found that just listening to terrifying stories before going to sleep can cause nightmares and result in sleep deprivation issues.
"Know your limits. If you’re feeling triggered or the subject matter or the reality show becomes too heavy for you, it is time to watch something else," Dr. Childs continued. "Reality shows can get to be too much depending on which one."
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
