Why do some people love to be afraid? Psychologists tell us we are pleasure-seeking and pain-avoiding creatures and yet many are drawn to scary movies and other hair-raising experiences:

Audience members of an effective horror film often appear to react in much the same way as they would if they were confronted with a terrifying and disgusting situation outside the theater. They grimace, cower, dig their nails into their armrests, cover their eyes, and plead in vain for someone to make it stop. When they leave…many of them speak of the experience they just had with great enthusiasm and express eagerness to return for more of the same.

We humans are a strange species indeed. Psychologists call the enjoyment of painful emotions like disgust and fear, the “paradox of horror.” It turns out happiness and horror can go hand in hand. This makes no sense at all…or does it?

Aristotle believed people are drawn to scary stuff because it provides a safe way to purge themselves of aggression and other negative emotions. A more modern interpretation is that artificially scary situations provide vicarious thrills, excitement, and an experience of being fully alive. Certainly some people are more arousal seeking than others and these adrenaline junkies are typically the same types who love roller coasters and bungee jumping. (Full disclosure: I would rather watch paint dry than sit through a Chuckie or Freddy Krueger film.)

Watching a scary film can also be a bonding experience and cultivate connections between moviegoers for “surviving” the horror together. Fright facilitates canoodling and removes barriers that might otherwise inhibit close physical contact. A scary moment is the best excuse to grab someone’s hand or literally jump into their lap. Perhaps this helps explain why scary movies are so popular with couples on date nights.

While there may be benefits to facing one’s fears in a horror movie, a study showed how watching a scary movie impacts subsequent decision-making. In the study, they showed half of the participants horror movies while the other half watched documentaries about Vincent Van Gogh and Benjamin Franklin.

Afterwards, they were all asked to participate in a stock market simulation experiment. Those who watched horror movies were far more likely to sell early. The belief is that a scary experience triggered lingering fear and that this fear was projected onto decisions later on.

Arthur Conan Doyle famously said:

“Where there is no imagination – there is no horror.”

Just don’t let your imagination run away with you.

Q: A recent breakup has left me struggling to move on. How do I get to a stronger place besides waiting it out?

Breakups are painful. In fact, a study by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Michigan showed that the regions of the brain activated by physical pain are the very same areas activated by the emotional pain of a failed relationship. The scientists concluded, “These results give new meaning to the idea that rejection hurts.”

While there is no quick fix for a broken heart, there are strategies that might help. In a series of experiments, Harvard Business School researchers Michael Norton and Francesca Gino revealed that people who engage in rituals—for example, burning photos—recover more quickly and report feeling better than those who don’t.

Whatever ritual you choose, make it deliberate, intentional, and actionable. The key is to engage in a behavior and take control, which mitigates sadness and increases well-being. Just believing that you are doing something to help yourself feel better will, in fact, help you feel better. You (and your brain) will be in less pain.

This article originally appeared in Marie Claire.

Ideas about the moon’s influence on human beings are ancient and widespread, so much so that even a majority of health professionals consider lunar cycles a significant factor in mental health.  There are stories from all over the world about strange and fantastic things that happen during the full moon beyond the bristling fur and snarling maw of the werewolf. In fact, the words “lunacy” and “lunatic” have the same etymological root as “lunar.”

Werewolf jokes aside, a study from researchers in Quebec, Canada, claims to debunk the myth that the full moon has an affect on people’s psychology and behavior. Scientists evaluated patients at a hospital in Montreal who came to the emergency room with the same complaint: unexplainable chest pains.  Many of these patients also had a history of panic attacks, anxiety conditions, or mood disorders, but when incidences of their problems were compared to a lunar calendar, the researchers could not establish a link.  Patients were no more or less likely to suffer from psychological imbalances when the moon was full than when it was a mere sliver or completely invisible.

The study’s director, Dr. Genevieve Belleville, hopes to re-characterize this folk wisdom as a “misperception” that “could, on the one hand, color [health professionals’] judgment during the full moon phase; or on the other hand, make them less attentive to psychological problems that surface during the remainder of the month.”

It isn’t completely ridiculous to believe that the moon influences our lives, even if we aren’t sprouting hair and dodging silver bullets once a month. We know the moon’s gravitational pull is responsible for the movement of our oceans’ tides and some scientific research shows there may be a relationship between the lunar cycle and earthquakes. Still, the Quebecois scientists’ point is clear: leave the great silver orb to her night sky and focus your attention here on earth.