Record yourself screaming and your screech will be played in beautiful, wide-open spaces.
An Icelandic tourism group has put together a fun campaign that encourages people to scream, holler, and screech as loud as they want.
Many people are frustrated by the current pandemic, some are irritated with their jobs and having to work from home, and others just want to scream — like me. The organization Promote Iceland announced the initiative on social media, writing the following:
"Looks like you've been through a lot. It looks like you need to let it out. It looks like you need Iceland."
I tried it out for myself and screamed into my computer's microphone. It was a lot of fun and I received some strange looks from my dog, but within moments I heard myself hootin' and hollerin' on the website. Shortly after, someone else's scream came bellowing in — nearly knocking me out of my seat.
Now, apparently they will play my recorded scream on a speaker placed out in "Iceland’s beautiful, wide-open spaces." I wonder how many wild animals heard me scream?
Hollering is actually therapeutic and good for the brain, according to therapist and mental health consultant, Zoë Aston, MSC.
"Screaming as a therapeutic tool was developed in the 1970s as a way to release pent-up emotion," said Aston. "What we don’t realize is that the psychological response to wanting to scream lights up a part of our brains called the amygdala. The amygdala activates when we are under threat, something we have all experienced in the past few months."
She also provided some tips to the screaming or "letting it out."
How to let it out:
Consider what your ‘scream’ will be. Some people will use volume, some will use words, some may even use breath.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a slight bend in your knees. Relax your shoulders. You may find it useful to put your hands on your hips or use your arms to help push out some of the pent-up emotion. Follow your instincts.
Imagine a baby when it cries and screams. The noise comes from the baby’s gut. This is where your scream should come from. If it helps, put your hands on your belly and take a few deep breaths before you begin.
"Part of the beneficial effect of screaming comes from being able to make a loud noise into a wide, open, undisturbed space. This literally allows your amygdala to release the stress stored there and move forward."
The Iceland organization hopes that participants will someday follow their hearts — and their scream — and then visit the country once people begin traveling to other countries once again.
If you want to scream your head off, let off some steam in the process, and have it blasted into the beautiful wide-open spaces of Iceland, visit lookslikeyouneediceland.com.
Maybe you'll be featured on the site if you're lucky enough to be chosen. Check out the strange noise I made in Tucson, Arizona, which then traveled its way to Iceland.
By Matthew Sterner
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