There are people out there who make all crazy things in order to get rid of the C0*VID anxiety! For example, a group of moms in New Jersey meets in order to scream out their fear and frustration about it. But does that really work? Is it worth the try?
Why would you need a screaming session?
We live in a society where half of the emotions that occur naturally in human beings (fear, anger, etc..), the so called negative emotions are considered just that NEGATIVE. We are taught from early childhood that WE SHOULD NOT scream (we should be quiet, not bother others), that we should not feel afraid, and we should not be angry. There is a big stigma in our society about anger actually. We have been raised to think that we are acceptable only when we are happy and shining. screaming, even in the intimacy of our own house when nobody hears us is a no go for most of us.
But what happens with the undesirable emotions?
Negative emotions are natural emotions, they occur in us no matter if we like it or not. Because of our education we became very skilled in repressing them. The problem with repressed emotions is that they do not go anywhere, they just stay there in a corner of the mind waiting for an opportunity to resurface. (These opportunities are called triggers in psychology). This repressed material fuels our anxieties, our overthinking, the over reactions to small issues in our life and in the last phase (if not released) they can give physical symptoms that have no apparent cause (somatisation).
So what to do? How to release negative emotions?
There are many alternative techniques of getting rid of negative emotions in a healthy way. For example, a group of mothers in New Jersey meet to scream their fear, frustration, anger about C0*vid and it really works! Why? Because they are just giving an output to these negative emotions that they cannot express in everyday life because of the way society functions.
It is a very healthy EMOTIONAL RELEASE. People tend to deal with these repressed emotions in very unhealthy ways like snapping at their loved ones, comfort eating, numbing them with alcohol.
Why does this function?
From a scientific perspective, this kind of technique functions because it resets our stress response system.
When we feel angry or afraid, our stress response mechanism (called the fight and flight system) is activated. Adrenaline flows into our blood stream in order to prepare us to face the challenge. Our body reacts the same whether the challenge is a bear in the middle of the road or the fear that a loved one might get C0*VID. What to say, our biology is far from being adapted to our overactive minds…so unknowingly we keep ourselves in stress mood with all our worrying over everything.
When the challenge is real (the bear!), we take an action (fight or run! I recommend run from the bear!). That action uses the adrenalin and the other hormones in the system and the message reaches the brain that the danger is over. We get in rejuvenation mood, we relax, our body starts healing the possible wounds.
When the challenge is only hypothetic (fear of getting C0*VID), there is no action, the brain never gets the signal that we are safe, the stress hormones keep flooding our system…you see the trouble…we never relax and our body never gets to rejuvenation mood.
Screaming, laughing, dancing, are all signals for the brain that the danger (real or hypothetic) is over. It switches the system from stress response to relaxation mood.
Laughing the C0*VID fear out of the system
So yes, screaming is good, laughing is also good. Laughter is by excellence the signal to our system that we are safe…a comedy movie can do the trick if we can really go with it, a good laugh with friends or a laughter meditation (yes, that exists!).
Dancing to fight back C0*VID Anxiety
Dancing is also a stress release technique (it consumes those stress hormones in the body and gives the signal of safety), so just put your dancing music on and give it all you have for 45 minutes. Close your eyes, not caring about how you look like, just allowing the body to move. At the end just lay down for 15 minutes not doing anything, just sitting silently. It allows your body to switch to rejuvenation mood. Enjoy!
Further resources
If you would like to know more about me, my stories and my work, check me out at Home – Dana Iliescu (dana-iliescu.com)
Reach out: Do not hesitate to leave a message below about this text, about your experience with the mystery of existence or with stress. I would love to read it!
Take the stress quiz: Stress is an insidious enemy, many times we realise we are too stressed only when it is too late. Assess your level of stress and get suggestions about how to cope with it.
Laughter Meditation – OSHO Laughter Meditation
