People Are Talking About The Movies And TV Shows That Were Almost Painfully Stressful To Watch

"I was sweating, nauseous, and downright physically ill trying to get through it."

We all love a good thrilling, gripping, or tense moment when we're watching TV and films, but sometimes a movie or show can take it so far that it becomes genuinely stressful.

NBC

So, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the movies and TV shows that they found genuinely stressful, and they came up with some real pulse-raisers.

1. Euphoria

HBO

"Season one was too stressful, I almost didn't want to watch season two because of how much anxiety the first season gave me."

—jenstagram

2. A Quiet Place II

Paramount Pictures

"The first one was tense but had quite a bit of 'downtime' sprinkled in. I was stressed the entire way through the sequel – I had to stop it and walk away for a while because it was too much."

—emilyk81

3. Stranger Things S4 and Squid Game

Netflix

"After watching this season I don't know why I put myself in front of a TV for that long to endure that kind of stress."

—aries97

4. Squid Game

Netflix

"I literally just watched one episode and was so stressed out I couldn’t finish the rest. It was so anxiety-inducing!"

—birdlick

5. Whiplash

Sony Pictures Classics

"I saw it in theatres and thought the third act had to be a dream, it was too intense to be really happening. I also tried to get my husband to watch it with me again, but he couldn’t handle the first five minutes. Stress."

—ceawhite87

6. The Martian

20th Century Fox

"I have a really, really hard time with surgical scenes. I've given up on medical dramas on TV within two episodes because I just couldn't do it. The bit that got me in The Martian was when he had to staple himself up after being impaled by an antenna. I love the movie, but I think I must have gone white as a sheet in the theatre because both of my little brothers made fun of me."

—dingospleen

7. Chernobyl

HBO

"Specifically, the moment when the cleaners were only given ten seconds on the roof to clear away the debris. When one of them got trapped and I was shouting at my television for him to get the fuck outta there."

—hobbitgirl96

"When the divers went under the building and the radiation meters kept ticking faster and faster!! I almost hyperventilated!"

—emilyk81

8. 1917

Universal Pictures

"My heart was racing as the anticipation builds throughout – it’s all meant to look like one continuous shot so there are little to no pauses for you to collect yourself either."

—seabreeze75

9. Power

Starz

"That entire show made me so uneasy because you never knew who was going to die or who was going to betray who. It felt like no one was off-limits. All in all, it was a great show and it got like a gazillion spinoffs. I, however, will not be rewatching in the near future until my heart comes back to its normal bpm."

—laidedahunsi

10. The Lobster

Sony Pictures Releasing

"It's so bizarre, it made me feel uncomfortable even after watching it. I found myself talking in a monotone voice, and being very blunt like they do in the film for a full 24 hours."

—chloes4dd2f1b95

11. Blonde

Netflix

"I tried to watch it but within the first 15 or so minutes all these traumatic things start to happen and honestly, I just couldn't keep going."

—kate3

12. The Good Dinosaur

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I will never watch it again because I found it so stressful. The grief and separation themes that ran throughout were too intense, and the constant threats and dangers that Arlo faced on his journey back to his family had me on the edge of my seat, but not in a good way. I didn't even feel like the 'happy' ending made up for the turmoil of the whole film – it just left me feeling stressed and upset."

—emmaholiz

13. Hotel Rwanda

Entertainment Film Distributors

"This is probably very obvious and was intended to be stressful, but still. It's such a heartbreaking true story of what humans could do to other humans. I would have to pause or fast forward to decrease the anxiety I was feeling."

—anner9201

14. The Walking Dead

AMC Networks

"It's already such a stressful plot; who's going to live, get bit, get separated, will this group be nice or total jerks or not, but it just became too much for me. I haven't made it past season two since it really all just became 'get too invested in your favourite character just to see them die' in the end."

—morgan_le_slay

15. Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Netflix

"I love Evan Peters and Niecy Nash but I just couldn’t finish this series. I don’t understand how so many people were able to detached themselves from reality in a way that allowed them to view it. I was sweating, nauseous, and downright physically ill trying to get through it, and I just turned it off and will not be returning."

—mariejones1

16. Ozark

Netflix

"I started watching it at the beginning of the pandemic and I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth for that show at that time. Maybe I’ll come back to it at some point but at the time I switched to Schitt's Creek instead."

—thetimble

17. Game of Thrones

HBO

"I resisted watching for years because of how stressed my friends always were the day after a new episode aired. I finally broke and started watching during quarantine... I made it halfway through season two before I’d had enough. I watch tv to relax lol."

—kbhanson

"That bit in Battle of the Bastards when Jon is being suffocated under bodies. I was literally holding my breath."

—juliaw1

18. Uncut Gems

A24

"Mostly because everyone was just shouting over each other for the whole movie and everything felt so hectic. I ended up falling asleep halfway through from sheer exhaustion!"

—aboutturtle

19. Season 2 of Girl From Nowhere

Netflix

"I was surprisingly fine watching the first season but with Yuri's entrance my watch became more and more stressful and by the end, I was traumatised for life."

—tanyam44ab2253d

20. Kingdom

Audience Network

"The show with Nick Jonas as an MMA fighter. I’ve never had a show make me so anxious and I couldn’t even tell you why it did that to me."

—kimmyh4caf3b50b

21. The Handmaid’s Tale

Hulu

"I started binge-watching it with my mom and I couldn’t stomach seeing more than one or two episodes in a row. The anger towards the system of Gilead, the horrible situations the handmaids endured, and how I could relate certain aspects of the show to everyday life made me feel like I wanted to crawl out of my skin."

—phoebelyrac

22. Room

A24

"I watched it with my friends when I was in college. I sat in my chair staring at the exit counting down the minutes until I could leave. The emotional stress, the abuse, and the themes were so real I almost became physically sick. I finished the movie and had a headache the rest of the night."

—madisona445700694

23. The Terror

Aidan Monaghan / AMC

"It beautifully juggled 100 different characters and got me to care about every one of them as things go from bad to worse and the tension slowly becomes palpable. Just when you think you've seen it all there's another rug pull! Oh, and there's the fact it's inspired by a true story to make things even worse."

—emazinggrace12

24. Nocturnal Animals

Focus Features

"The ambiance of the movie from the beginning is really disturbing and off-putting even though it start pretty mundane. But when she's reading the story and they get to the part with the guys in the other car I had to turn it off and I've never finished it. I was borderline having an anxiety attack while watching it."

—regz123455

25. Breaking Bad

AMC

"It was probably the most stressful yet oddly rewarding show I have ever seen in my life. I felt every emotion to my core. Anger, euphoria, and greed from Walt's part and just frustration and despair from Jesse. What's worse is that I would scream whenever Skylar did something PERFECTLY REASONABLE because I rooted for Walt so much! Looking back, he was a horrible character. Genius and cunning, yes, but horrible!"

—jillywonker

26. The Haunting of Hill House

Netflix

"It remains a Halloween tradition in my house because I’ll never forget the way I felt dread, love, relief, and other crazy emotions at the same time because of this show. I’m a horror geek and to say that this is one of the best, but most agonising things to watch is an understatement."

—outoftoucholdwhiteguy

27. Midnight Mass

Netflix

"It was soooo good, but I had to keep pausing it to take breaks, because it was stressing me out! I did eventually finish it though, and I'm glad I did – it was excellent!"

—katemalvarez90

28. Wall-E

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I know it’s supposed to be a kids film but when they’re all fighting over the plant I can’t help but stress even if I already know the ending."

—carysh4eb0b807f

Don't forget to let us know the films and TV shows that you found super stressful in the comments below. Want to be featured in similar BuzzFeed posts? Be sure to follow the BuzzFeed Community on Facebook and Twitter.