im really very upset because i am fascinated by horror, why it works, why we pursue it, but i cant watch horror movies bc they spike my anxiety too high,,,, anyone faced a similar problem and found a solution? id really like to be able to enjoy horror films, so any advice would be appreciated

While I usually wouldn't advocate for someone to push against their anxiety like this, I can understand why you'd want to. Maybe try with something that's less horror and more just suspense and work your way through till you reach true horror movies? Depending on what causes anxiety about the movie, you can also try and avoid that particular genre of horror, for example, avoid movies with excessive gore, or concepts you find anxiety inducing like hauntings or kidnappings, or gradually try to incorporate those into regular media to try and condition yourself?

There's also some websites that help identify what things in certain movies can be potentially triggering, like, doesthedogdie and unconsenting media.

Hope it helps!

thanks man, gonna be honest, wasnt expecting a concise response since i just kinda word-salad-ed the post into existence in a tired stupor, so like... thanks :)