I may be watching a romantic comedy movie as I write this article and I may have also watched this same movie over 30 times. However, I can confidently say is that I know I am not the only one who does this. Many people watch these types of movies over and over again. Romance movies latch onto our lonely hearts and keep reminding us what we don’t have: Love.
Okay, let me start over. That’s a bit brutal.
Some of you may have a significant other, but I cannot say the same. So, this article is geared towards those of us who sit alone at night trying to create scenarios to fall asleep.
Romance movies are the best. They make me want to cry, laugh, smile, cry again, and then cry some more. I have always wondered, though, why I go back to my Amazon Prime Account and watch Pride and Prejudice for the millionth time again rather than watching some other movie. Here, right now, I am going to try to make sense of why that is. I think it comes down to 3 points.
1. Rom-Coms Release Stress
Yeah, this is not a joke. Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert actually reported that watching these movies release stress hormones. So next time you have that Chem exam in the morning that’s filling you to the brim with stress and anxiety, turn on Love, Rosie!
2. Rom-Coms make you believe in love
Seeing all of these common place people find love makes you think you can too. For example, vAnastasia Steel was just a girl trying to graduate college with her English Lit Major, but then on some fateful day she interviewed her future husband (who is very handsome, very rich and very kinky might I add). We think we can have a chance at this too, because it looks so easy in the movies!
3. We want what we don’t have
There are 16 million people (ages 16 or over) who are currently single. Those of us who do not have the courage or looks to join the Bachelor stay this way for a long time, maybe ever forever. The grass is always greener on someone else’s lawn! I cannot stress this enough. We want what we do not have. I want a loving boyfriend who can run with me in the rain, but it is not the same for everyone. I have lived 18 years of my life without any sort of “fling” and I am still here. This brings up another really important point I want you all to leave here with…YOU DO NOT NEED A SIGNIFICANT OTHER. Men are like desert. I love a nice slice of chocolate cake after dinner but I will still feel satisfied without it. With that being said, in life, once we are satisfied with who we are, we won’t have that empty feeling anymore.
So next time you are stressed, feeling lonely, or just need to kill time, turn on your favorite rom-com.