Scream your way to happiness? Maybe not, but scream clubs promise some relief

With a heartbreaking wail spreading from her body, Amber Walcker joined a dozen screaming people in West Seattle who let their frustrations soar over the Puget Sound.

It was only the beginning. The two group screams that followed, each longer and more intense, released the pain caused by Walcker’s recent job loss. The added stress of raising two young children dissolved as it mixed with the sound of lapping water, and a deep sense of calm fell over her.

“I had such a sense of feeling grounded. In that same moment, all your senses are heightened,” Walcker said. “From that moment on, I was hooked. »

That September day was the first meeting of the Seattle chapter of the Scream Club, one of 17 chapters that have sprung up in less than a year across the United States, including Austin, Texas; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Atlanta; Detroit; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The first chapter, in Chicago, began following a difficult period for a couple.

Co-founders Manny Hernandez and Elena Soboleva had recently moved in together after a long-distance relationship for a year and a half. They were walking along Lake Michigan when Hernandez, a breathing practitioner and men’s trainer, suggested they vent all their frustrations by letting out a shout at the end of a pier.

When they asked permission from the few people present, everyone decided to scream together, their raw emotions echoing across the water.

“After we did it, some people were crying, including Elena,” Hernandez said. “That’s when we looked at each other and said, ‘This is probably something we should start.'”

Depending on the chapter, Scream Club meetings may be weekly or monthly, but they are always held in a park or near a body of water to minimize disruption. Sessions usually begin with participants writing down what they want to publish on biodegradable paper.

This is followed by a series of collective deep breaths and vocal warm-ups, such as humming while inhaling and exhaling.

“You can really clear your throat if you just do it,” said personal and business branding mentor Soboleva. “So it’s gradual, breathing from your diaphragm and carefully starting slowly and warming up harder and harder.”

Everyone shouts together three times, taking several deep breaths in between, and throws their paper into the water.

“That third scream, you have to feel it in your body,” said Walcker, who started the club’s Seattle chapter. “Get down, be in a primal position, whatever you feel at the time.”

Scream Club techniques descend from primal scream therapy, a theory developed by Los Angeles psychoanalyst Arthur Janov in the 1960s. Janov believed that childhood trauma created neuroses in adults, which could be treated by harnessing pain and releasing it through screaming and crying under the supervision of a therapist.

However, research in the decades since has not shown cry therapy to be an effective treatment for mental health problems, said Ashwini Nadkarni, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Still, it’s a fantastic pain reliever.

Nadkarni said that screaming itself engages circuits in the amygdala and hippocampus – “the oldest part of our brain” responsible for processing stress and emotions. Screaming also activates the sympathetic nervous system, or fight-or-flight stress response. Once the screaming stops, the parasympathetic system kicks in, signaling the body to rest.

“It’s the same regulatory cycle that happens when you exercise,” she said. “Your heart is racing, you’re out of breath, and then you relax and you feel this calm. »

Besides the physical release, there are benefits to simply coming together to do something with others.

“The idea of ​​people coming together to improve the community in a way that helps them blow off steam is incredible,” she said.

Hernandez said it’s not a common practice to publicly share why they’re here, but many people then linger and talk about their issues. Some members of the Chicago chapter recently lost a loved one, someone was battling cancer for the second time and many were struggling with relationships.

Walcker noted that some people even come and shout with joy. Whatever the reason, the Seattle chapter usually meets just before sunset to then watch the sun dip underwater.

“It’s a bit like everything has been put to rest,” she says. “And that everyone knows that this is the end and we can all start fresh.”

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Albert Stumm writes about wellness, travel and gastronomy. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com.