A pretty pic, an ugly topic

I stayed up way too late last night watching 12 Years a Slave. I had avoided that movie like the plague for its entire run in the theaters, and then on DVD, and then on the movie channels. But then last night, for whatever reason, a couple seconds intrigued me enough to watch the last 90 minutes. And let me tell you, it was as brutal and horrifying as I thought it would be, and  I definitely should not have watched it. 
Certainly, it's important to understand and know our country's history. Especially the bad stuff, so we know that we can learn and grow from the foulest aspects of human nature. And I appreciate the movie for its beauty, and bravery in the story it told.
But the brutality of the story, and the advances in movie magic, made the story just too real for me, and my heart can't take it. It was forever before I was able to go to sleep last night. And I've had visuals and thoughts about it all day today.
I'm in one of those movie loops where it's just sitting at the front of my brain, and not even Thanksgiving decorations could do anything about it. It's just a matter of time before I get caught up in something else, I suppose.
To clarify, the movie was super good, and incredibly well acted and made. But my heart just can't handle evil like that.