Theme Park Therapy: If The Thrill Is Gone, Just Go Get Scared

If your relationship is feeling old, do something young.

If the thrill is gone, go get scared.

If you're looking for that Certain Someone, get in line.

Go to an amusement park.

Those are some of the basic principles behind what Dr. Judy Kuriansky calls "Theme Park Therapy."

Or "Love at first fright," she says.

Sheesh. Is nothing safe from pop psychology?

Dr. Judy, as she is known to her fans, is one of the reigning queens of pop psychology. Her radio show, Love Phones, is the No. 1-rated call-in show in New York City. A clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at New York University, she also has the distinction of having been on more talk shows more times than any other guest.

Now she's helping promote Universal Studios theme parks with this Theme Park Therapy nonsense.

Except it's not exactly nonsense. Silly, but not ridiculous.

There's even research to back it up. Well, not exactly theme-park research, though Dr. Judy did do some informal interviews at Universal Studios in Orlando.

But research about fear and body chemicals such as adrenalin, oxytocin, phenylethylamine and endorphins. Any kind of scare, such as a thrill ride, can get these things flowing, causing a sort of glow of excitement that lights up everyone around.

Nothing like fear

Dr. Judy cites a study in which men were asked to walk across bridges. One group went over a sturdy bridge, one over a shaky one. Afterward, the men were shown photographs of women. The men who had gone over the shaky bridge found the women more attractive.

"They associate them with the excitement," says Dr. Judy.

So despite the fact that your hair is a mess, you might look better to your main squeeze after a good fright on the roller coaster.

Although, Dr. Judy hastens to say, she's not talking about the most drastic, triple-upside-down loop-the-loop rides.

"It's not about getting your stomach in your mouth," she says. Or your lunch in your date's lap.

It's about a nice little thrill, a bit of a tingle.

People who like the real screamer rides are T-types ("T" for thrill), who thrive on pushing themselves to the edge. "That's more of an internal, individual thing," says Dr. Judy.

Don't lose your lunch

Of course, for some people, any ride is too much ride. Dr. Judy stresses that no one should be forced to do something that terrifies him or her, no matter how much the relationship needs spice. Too much fear, she says, "paralyzes you. It's almost like being anaerobic."

Getting back to Universal Studios (she's good at that), she cites the Jaws ride as a perfect combination of thrills and safety. In fact, she says, there's a curve to choosing rides at Universal Studios.

She suggests you start with E.T., which is sort of touchy-feely like the movie; move on to Jaws, for the "little psychological jolts"; then Back to the Future, for the action adventure; then, all warm and tingly from those, the group experience of Murder She Wrote.

Fear is only one aspect of theme-park therapy. For couples in a rut, there's also the break in the routine.

"It's an excellent pattern interrupter," says Dr. Judy.

And there's the fun of letting your hair down.

Think, for example, of the teenage boy who takes his date to the amusement park in the hope that when the rides get scary, she'll throw herself into his arms. (And the teenage girl who pretends to be scared so she can get away with throwing herself into his arms.)

"It's not politically correct to play the damsel in distress or Prince Charming anymore," says Dr. Judy. "A theme park gets you back to the child. There's permission to be a kid, and you can repeat the teenage experiences."

And, finally, what of the unattached, the people looking for love?

Theme parks, says Dr. Judy, are a great place to meet people. They have all the proper qualities: They're places where people are involved doing something they enjoy, they're physiologically exciting, and they provide an instant topic of conversation.

"It's such clean fun in these days of horrifying experiences," she says.

You can talk about the ride you're about to go on. About how hot it is. About how irritating it is to stand in line.

"I'm a fan of lines," says Dr. Judy. She recommends them highly as places to meet people.

And if all this fails to add zing to your love life - well, at the very least, you probably had a good time.

Beats hanging around the frozen foods at the supermarket.