Are you so stressed out you could scream?
explores the potential benefits of just letting rip when life gets too much
I’m standing in my bathroom with a towel plugging the gap under the door, while I tentatively yell into a pillow, eventually building up the confidence to belt out a scream at the top of my lungs.
Aside from hoping the neighbours don’t call the police, I’m trying to find out whether screaming has any benefits for relieving lockdown stress.
The concept that screaming could have therapeutic benefits was popularised in the 1970s by psychotherapist Arthur Janov, who was notable for having two famous patients: John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Dr Janov believed screaming is a primal urge that takes us back to our childhood state, where we might be holding onto repressed trauma. By taking part in so-called primal scream therapy, we can revisit and release these pent-up emotions through giving voice to them.
In recent years, many psychologists have questioned the effectiveness of the therapy, and it’s not widely considered as an accepted form of psycho-social intervention. But that doesn’t mean it’s completely useless, and there may be benefits to practising it alongside evidence-based therapies like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy).
But why do we need rage and anger as emotions? “I think it’s important that we differentiate between the two terms,” says Dr Rebecca Semmens-wheeler, senior lecturer in psychology at Birmingham City University (bcu. ac.uk). “Anger is a basic human emotion, whereas rage is the expression of that anger through physical aggression or violence.”
Although we don’t enjoy feeling angry, she says it’s actually a very useful feeling that can prompt us to make healthy changes.
“Anger can be a really motivating emotion, and temporary, shortterm increases in blood pressure aren’t a bad thing, as they help to kickstart the fight-or-flight response” – which occurs in response to a perceived
John Lennon and Yoko Ono
LET IT OUT: harmful event. Essentially, she believes it’s a necessary emotion for maintaining our wellbeing – and while we might not need to spring into action to fight lions, tigers and bears in the modern world, anger can alert us to when our emotional boundaries have been crossed.
There’s no doubt screaming can feel good. Much like having a good cry when everything gets a bit too much, my scream session is cathartic and leaves me feeling self-soothed afterwards.
“There is some research from the University of Derby that found that when people experience physical pain, shouting out loud can help to relieve the hurt,” says Dr Semmens-wheeler, although she adds there’s not enough scientific evidence on rage rooms – dedicated spaces where people can pay to smash up household items – to back up their benefits.
She does, however, add that it could provide short-term stress relief, and some people also believe screaming might trigger endorphins like dopamine, causing a natural high.
“I think these kinds of practices would be of most benefit to people who supress their emotions and struggle to express anger,” she adds. “It’s not the healthiest way over the long-term to express emotion, but to be invited to explore these emotions in a way where there won’t be negative consequences, could feel empowering to some.”
Experiencing long-term anger isn’t good for either the body or the mind. Dr Semmens-wheeler says you need to start looking at the underlying issues that are causing you to feel this way.
And if you’re struggling to address what’s actually causing you to feel angry? “It might be that you struggle with communication and you need to work with a therapist on speaking about your feelings, so I’d advise speaking to your GP,” she says. “Through practising things like mindfulness, you can become aware of the triggers that are causing these repeated episodes of anger, which is a better long-term strategy for managing it.”