So I saw the thread yesterday about how Martyrs made someone extremely uncomfortable. The person who posted it was really responsive and explanatory about why, and the comments there were really awesome.

While reading them, I realized that I feel there's some correlation between watching scenes in a film that make you EXTREMELY uncomfortable, and your ability to interact with people who have experienced very severe trauma.

Now, before I go further, some disclaimers:
-I'm not trying to say you're likely to run into someone tortured to the brink of death by a cult
-I'm also not trying to say that if you watch thought-provoking films you should approach trauma like it's something you "get" and understand
-probably most importantly, everyone is different, it's already a touchy subject and I'm DEFINITELY not suggesting that if you watch something about physical torture then you should apply how you felt to someone who was psychologically abused by someone, etc

So, with that out of the way, I'm someone who's survived a very severe experience that should have killed me. Without wanting to get into specifics, I was in a state of psychosis from the suicide of a family member, and leapt from my ninth story balcony. I'll spare you the damage details and the lengthy hospital visit, but needless to say, it wasn't a common experience, and though I've found the best way for me to deal with it is to confront it as is and not shy away when people ask, I've spoken with a LOT of people who ask, then have no idea what to say. Usually it's "wow that's fucked up dude" *awkward silence* Fully understandable, it's not an experience people can relate to.

What I find fascinating is that people I later find out are (maybe coincidentally) into horror, and have watched things that made them extremely uncomfortable, are the ones most likely to find something comforting to say (note: NOT "God must have a plan for you", yikes), and often ask questions in a way that's very respectful.

If I had to make a spectrum for myself and my relation to people who have given me comfort, it's like:

(me <== someone else who's been through trauma <== certain horror fans <== naturally kind people <== people who have stereotypical "easy" lives <== people I'd describe as sociopathic)

I'm curious if anyone else has ever felt this way, or if anyone who's experienced trauma feels that certain movies at least scratch the surface of what they've experienced.