The 11 Emotional Stages Of Binge-Watching A TV Show

All aboard the emotional roller coaster.

Phase 1: Curiosity

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Maybe you've heard some buzz about the show already, or maybe you're going in completely cold. Either way, much like the beginning of a new relationship, you start out your binge-watching journey with a hint of excitement and nerves. Will you like this show? Will it disappoint you? Will it text you back?

Wait, what are we talking about again...?

Phase 2: Excitement

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So, you've started the show and so far it's really delivering on everything it promised it would be. It's managed to grab your interest and totally hook you. You really just want to see where this goes. It fills you with hope and excitement for the future.

Phase 3: Infatuation

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You're in the honeymoon stage with your show. You spend all your free hours curled up in bed with it. Things are good. It's making you happy in that way you always hoped and dreamed a show would.

Phase 4: Disappointment

NBC

You knew things were too good to be true. Just when you thought things couldn't get better, your show betrayed you. Maybe it killed off your favorite character, or broke up those two lovebirds you were rooting for. Whatever the reason, you are starting to realize your show is much more complicated than you expected.

Phase 5: Investment

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You want to stop watching your show and put everything behind you, but you can't. You're too invested. You need to see what happens next. Despite feeling slightly betrayed by your show, you're too far in to walk away. You feel a cloud of anxiety over where things are going with your show. You can't help but research reviews and look at spoilers. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING.

Phase 6: Redemption

Netflix

You get a glimmer of hope when something really wonderful happens on your show. You start to remember why you started watching in the first place.

Phase 7: Dread

Warner Bros.

You realize how much you and your show have been through together. But you can't ignore that your time together is quickly coming to an end. You only have three episodes left! Three short episodes with your beloved show. Sure, you could re-watch it again. But will it ever really be the same? Will you ever feel how you did when you first started watching?

Phase 8: Bliss

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You're down to the last episodes and you're on a roller coaster that only goes up. You don't leave your bed for days because you're so caught up in your show. Why does it have to end?

Phase 9: Rock Bottom

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That's it. The show is over. There are no new episodes left to watch. You'll have to wait for the next season – or god forbid you finished the series and there is no "next season." You think back to all the ups and downs you had with you show. And while you know it wasn't always sunshine and roses, you can't help but only remember the best times.

Phase 10: Obsession

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You can't stop talking about your show to your friends/family/that stranger on the bus. Anyone with ears knows just how much you loved your show. You encourage others to watch it, but can't help but feel a slight hint of jealously that they get to experience your show for a first time. What you would give to go back to the beginning...

Phase 11: Hope

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It's been weeks since you finished your show. You've watched all the outtakes and cast interviews you can find to try and hold on to whatever piece of your show you have left. But it's not enough. You need a new show. You need to move on. And just when you're not sure if you'll ever be able to do that... a new show comes on Netflix. All is right in the world.