Psychologist has ‘red flag’ warning for anyone who enjoys watching true crime

Many of us love nothing more than cosying up on the sofa with a piping hot brew to get our dose of some proper good true crime.

In fact, true crime lovers have been spoilt for choice as of recent after rattling through Netflix's Worst Ex Ever and American Murder: Laci Peterson.

However, fans of the genre have been warned over their somewhat peculiar tastes after a psychologist shared a 'red flag' warning for anyone who enjoys and even finds it relaxing watching the stuff of nightmares.

A psychologist has shared a 'red flag' warning for any true crime lovers out there (Getty Stock Image)

Speaking on the The Mel Robbins Podcast, Dr Thema Bryant explained the pretty fascinating reason why some of us like watching and listening to such violent and, at times, downright traumatising content.

The expert says the bizarre phenomenon all comes down to one thing - trauma - and how we as individuals process it.

"If your idea of relaxing before you go to sleep is to watch three episodes of Law and Order, [then] I would encourage you to think about 'why is trauma relaxing to me?'" Dr Bryant said.

The psychologist continued: "That’s what it is. It’s harm, crime, violation, attacks, and that’s what is going to soothe me into my bedtime."

Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer (Netflix)

It could mean, Dr Bryant carried on, that some people even find shocking content about serial killers and heinous crimes 'normal and familiar' which could be a sign that you need counselling to work through such responses.

She explained: "Some of us grew up in high stress, so people mistake peace for boring.

"To come home to yourself you have to lean into the discomfort because it’s gonna feel unfamiliar."

Back in March, Tyla spoke to Helen Villiers, a psychotherapist whose specialist areas consist of women and toxic relationships.

The mental health professional claimed there are several heartbreaking and - quite frankly - disturbing reasons that women seemingly have more of an interest in disturbing, real life criminal cases than men.

Zac Efron as serial killer Ted Bundy in the 2019 movie (Netflix)

Firstly, Villiers claimed that the exposure to trauma - through on-screen/audio entertainment - in settings that women themselves are in control of - at their home, through a screen, on a podcast - is something that draws them in to the genre of true crime.

"One of the most difficult things about being a woman is that we never know where attack might come from," she said. "And so, quite often, as human beings - regardless of gender - we'll naturally look out for pattern recognition in order to be able to protect things in order to be able to keep ourselves safe."

Villiers added that, being that the vast majority of serial killers and sexual crime perpetrators are seemingly male - with women predominantly being victims - they naturally have a stronger instinct to protect themselves, and tuning into these horrific real life cases allows them to get as close to the crime without experiencing it themselves.

Zach Villa as Richard Ramirez in American Horror Story (FX)

"Being able to predict patterns of behaviour is seen as being a way to keep themselves safe," Villiers continued. "There is a deep protection and safety in a belief that you would be able to protect yourself from the likes of Ted Bundy.

"By true crime documentaries explaining how a crime occurred and how the killer did what they did, we are given a false sense of security that we will be able to spot the predator and keep ourselves safe."

Villiers added that there's a 'patriarchal entitlement' element to society that attracts female attention to true crime, compared to men's.

"There's complex in the fact that men are allowed to conduct those sorts of crimes," she told Tyla. "And maybe there's some kind of trying to understand that behaviour, that women would never behave in that way and so therefore, watching someone do something that you would never do is kind of fascinating and engaging.

Damon Herriman as Charles Manson in Mindhunter (Netflix)

"We want to understand the behaviour - the depths of depravity - that people could go to, the ways in which to keep ourselves safe, and the disbelief that people could be that entitled."

Check out psychotherapist Helen Villiers' upcoming book You're Not The Problem: The Impact of Narcissism and Emotional Abuse and How To Heal - as well as her weekly In Sight podcast - on her website.