People afraid to vent to their friends are meeting new ones through `scream clubs’

Life can be incredibly stressful and overwhelm a person with anxiety, stress, and burnout. It could come in the form of an argument with your kids, an unforeseen bill, dealing with a bad boss, or anything else. You don’t want to burden your friends with constant moaning about your life’s troubles, but it can get to the point where you just want to scream. If that sounds like you, join the club. No, seriously, you can join a literal screaming club.

A new trend is emerging worldwide, from Austin to Chicago to London and beyond. Meet up with others who are also having a rough time and scream as loudly as you can. These are called “screaming clubs,” and they’re forming new chapters in various communities to meet weekly to monthly, so locals can give a loud, cathartic scream together in public. Even if the screaming itself doesn’t solve a person’s problems, it seems to be bringing people together to make new friends who are also having a tough time.

“Even in that short walk to the point where we go scream, there is already communication and community being built,” said Manny Hernandez, co-founder of Scream Club Chicago, to People. “People are having conversations about where they’re from, how they got there, and how they’d heard about it. Everyone gives high-fives and hugs after, and it’s beautiful.”

Is screaming a good stress-reliever?

It’s not unheard of that screaming, whether it’s among a group, alone in your car, or into a pillow, can make you feel like something's been unloaded off your chest. But are screaming clubs truly good for your mental health? Or are they just a reprieve from inevitable stress or depression?

“Psychologically, these group scream sessions or events blend elements of community, somatic release, and primal therapy,” licensed therapist and clinical director Candace Kotkin-De Carvalho tells GOOD. “Screaming activates the sympathetic nervous system to be followed by a parasympathetic reset, which provides a temporary relief in stress, similar to exercising or crying. In moderation, the physical expression of stress can reduce muscle tension, lower levels of stress hormones, and create a sense of permission to express these emotions.”

So it does seem to be helpful, but Kotkin-De Carvalho warns that while screaming could help a person’s stress, it’s more of a supplement rather than treatment.

“Without reflection or integration of feelings and coping mechanisms, discharging these emotions may begin to feel repetitive rather than restorative,” she says. “Sustainable, long-term healing comes from combining expression with emotional insight and behavioral tools for regulation.”

Scream clubs bring people together

That said, Kotkin-De Carvalho thinks that scream clubs themselves are positive and could be helpful for a person’s overall mental health, for the social aspects alone.

“For many that participate, the laughter and human connection afterward may be more therapeutic than the scream itself. Overall, scream clubs can serve as a symbolic exhale for those who are overstimulated and overwhelmed in a safe, communal setting. The healthiest role of scream clubs is their complement to therapy to release pent-up emotion," Carvalho says.

So if you feel the need to scream all the time, it’s best to seek professional help and therapy to best address and manage those feelings. However, along the way, you may want to see if there is a screaming club in your area. It won’t solve the overall cause of your stress, but it’ll provide brief relief and let you make friends for screaming and non-screaming events alike.