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Kiran Nayager ed. Linette Koh
During the holidays, our publications subcommittee decided to test our teamwork and attempt an escape room. Trying to keep with the theme of being part of Medsoc, we chose a hospital-themed challenge – with the only compromise (or bonus, depending on whom you asked) being the inclusion of horror.
While in the waiting area, our heads all snapped to the room’s entrance, screams echoing from within. A few nervous bathroom trips later, the group prior to us emerged into the waiting room, looking slightly dishevelled and panting. When it was finally our turn to enter the challenge, blind-folded, we grasped onto each other’s shoulders, forming an execution line of sorts, as we were led, shuffling, into an abyss (by the lovely staff member). Only able to feel the panting of the person behind me and the cascading tremor of everyone’s hands on each other’s shoulders, my own heart pulsated violently in my chest.
Though most of our feelings are independently controlled, our brains automatically amplify other people’s fear. We are wired to respond to social cues, especially those we perceive to be associated with danger, through a phenomenon called emotional contagion. When we observe an action performed by another individual, mirror neurons in the amygdala, the brain’s emotional centre, fire and ‘mirror’ the observed action internally to better process what others are doing. This causes us to essentially ‘catch’ emotions from others, particularly fear and nervousness. So when we each felt the slight alarm from each other, our hearts all raced. We all huddled slightly closer in the line. We had, in essence, become trauma bonded.
Another psychological phenomenon which acted in bringing us closer together was fear’s stimulation of oxytocin release. While oxytocin is synonymous with the love hormone (and a parturition hormone for my Year 1 peers), it also has been modelled in animal studies to mediate and dampen fear. This is most likely due to its role in reducing hyperactivity in the hypothalamus and amygdala as well as inciting our ‘tend and befriend’ responses, such as holding hands or increasing proximity to trusted individuals. These behaviours were definitely exhibited throughout the escape room where we hovered in packs as we navigated our way through each challenge, especially during puzzles where we were paired up.
One of the weirdest, yet most relieving and memorable moments was during the middle of the escape room. We had been locked into a small consulting room with a patient bed and an array of organs scattered across the floor, poorly illuminated by a ghostly blue light and a five dollar crystal lamp. While we waited for our next instructions, we did what all medical students would do. We began to do a practice OSCE.
“Hi, my name is Kiran and I am a first year medical student. Could I please ask how you would like to be addressed?”
Humour is one of the experiences I would rank last as something to happen in a horror escape room, but these experiences are actually quite common during stressful situations. Psychologists describe humour as a coping mechanism through its incongruity with fear. Humour, laughter and amusement are ways to release endorphins and dopamine, which counter fear and reduce the intensity of our stress response. We were also singing (think Taylor Swift’s Love Story), which helps to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and lower stress.
By the end of the escape room, we all left with tachycardia, hypertension and dysphonia. At least, that’s what I had diagnosed myself with after two terms of medical experience. Following a humorous debrief and recapitulation of our worst and best moments, I think we could all sense a newfound camaraderie. While horror may not be everyone’s favourite emotion, I believe its value does not lie in the chance to be jump-scared or run for your life, but rather its powerful facilitation of connection and bonding.
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