SAN ANTONIO — There are countless shows about true crime all over the TV. But in tonight's Verify we find out watching too much of it, could make mentally psychologically very unhealthy.
Many of us love watching real crime shows. Stories about actual crimes that have been dramaticized on television.
THE QUESTION
Can watching too much true crime could lead to true crime anxiety?
THE SOURCES
- Rachel Perez, a media relations associate with Northstar Inbound. A company that commissioned a study about true crime and anxiety
- Dr. Chivonna Childs, a psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic
THE ANSWER
TRUE
WHAT WE FOUND
Perez says true crime anxiety is actually very common.
"It's kind of becoming suspicious of other people, especially, you know, when you think about the patterns of behavior that you see on the show and then kind of applying them to your own life," Perez said.
In a recent article by the Cleveland Clinic Dr. Child's agreed and was quoted saying, "It can increase our anxiety because we become hypervigilant. We're always looking for the bad person. Every white van becomes the van of a killer or murderer."
So yes, it is true. Watching too much true crime could lead to true crime anxiety.
Both of our experts say if you think you've been watching too much true crime or your anxiety has increased and you're afraid to leave home because of crime, it is time for you to take a break from watching the bad guys.
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