Icelandic Scream Therapy

Scream Into Your Phone and Have it Played on a Speaker in Iceland

Author: Elizabeth Yuko
Source: Lifehacker

Have you been so angry, frustrated and/or stressed lately that you just want to scream as long as you can into the void? Us, too. But as it turns out, we now have the option of having our blood-curdling wails echo throughout the land—specifically, Iceland. The small island country, and place where you’ve been meaning to visit for years but something keeps coming up, is sacrificing its soundscape for the greater good.

Iceland’s tourism board operates the new program—called “Let It Out”—which gives people around the world the chance to scream into their phone, tablet or laptop, and have it played outside on a loudspeaker in Iceland. According to Zoë Aston, a UK-based therapist and mental health consultant featured on the site, scream therapy has been around since the 1970s, and is used as a way to let out pent-up emotion. Screaming can be especially effective when you’re able to release a loud noise into a wide-open space, she explains. “This literally allows your amygdala to release the stress stored there and move forward,” Aston adds.Where to Find Free Mental Health Resources During the Pandemic

How to participate in Icelandic scream therapy

If you want to give this scream therapy a shot, here’s what to do. (It’s pretty straightforward and does not involve leaving your home/couch/bed). Just go to the site, and click on the yellow circle that says “Tap Here to Scream.” Then, your browser will likely ask permission to access your microphone (which is necessary to record your scream). Once that’s done, click and hold on the yellow circle with the old-timey microphone and scream until the green border of the circle appears. And that’s it! You can have them play your scream back to you and send it to Djúpivogur, East Iceland (or other locations throughout the country that the site selects for you) where it will be blasted from speakers outside. Happy screaming!

And of course, get help from a mental health professional if you need it. Here’s where to find free mental health resources during the pandemic.

Dr. Elizabeth Yuko is a bioethicist and adjunct professor of ethics at Fordham University. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, CNN & Playboy.