Just Scream

Do you ever just want to scream? When I was little, on those “tough” days my mom used to joke with us (I think she was serious, though.) that she wanted to scream. I remember thinking, “Then do it!” For some reason screaming is not seen as age-appropriate for adults. If you’ve been close to a playground filled with kids recently, you will soon remember how kids have no problem screaming. At the beginning of the summer, I took full advantage of the opportunity to scream at a local theme park, while enjoying the big drops on some rollercoasters. It felt great!

I guess I’m not the only one who finds relief in a good hearty scream. An article came out the other day entitled, “Scream to relieve stress.” It said…

According to research published yesterday, work-related stress can be cut by up to one-quarter by letting out a loud scream. Stess is the common cold of the psyche. But, while a good old-fashioned sneeze may make you feel better if you have a cold, screaming in public can relieve stress.

We’ve talked about the strategy of laughing to relieve stress, why not try screaming?

The other day Jason put on a program for a group of early childhood educators. The specific group of people he spoke to care for children ages 6 weeks to 6-years-old. We were talking about it on the ride home and I commented on how important it is to support, encourage and inspire this group of people. They have such an impact on the next generation of kids. Most of these kids spend from 35 to 55 hours per week at this childcare facility. Depending on the ages of the children and how early their bedtimes are, many of these kids will spend just 12-25 hours during the week with their parents. These numbers show us just how important of a job these early educators have. We need them to be stress-free!

One of the activities Jason facilitated not only invited but required the teachers to scream. It was very fun to watch. He basically set up a situation that when something specific happened they had to scream. It was fun to see a room full of people given permission to scream. The stress levels dropped quickly.

So, next time you are feeling a little stressed, find a place to scream.

Just a tip… your car might be a better choice than your cube.