Whether it’s stressing about world affairs or COVID-19 social restrictions, some people might be experiencing an inordinate amount of frustration this week—which is why an Icelandic tourism company is offering up a strange, but fulfilling new source of stress relief.
People from all over the world are recording their yells of frustration so they can be broadcast into the wide open Icelandic wilderness.
The Looks Like You Need to Let It Out initiative, which was created by Promote Island, was launched as a means of helping people release some of their pent-up anxieties while also encouraging them to think about how they can enjoy traveling in solitude once travel restrictions have lifted.
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“You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out. Somewhere big, vast and untouched. It looks like you need Iceland,” reads the project website. “Record your scream and we’ll release it in Iceland’s beautiful, wide-open spaces. And when you’re ready, come let it out for real. You’ll feel better, we promise.”
Although the concept might seem a little far-fetched, therapist and mental health consultant Dr. Zoë Aston supported the psychological benefits of the project, saying: “Screaming as a therapeutic tool was developed in the 1970s as a way to release pent-up emotion.
“The psychological response to wanting to scream lights up a part of our brains called the amygdala,” she continued. “The amygdala activates when we are under threat—something we have all experienced in the past few months.
“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.”
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That being said, not all of the recordings are screams of distress—some people’s yells lean on the sillier side; others will use their ten seconds of sound to say hello to the beautiful landscape.
The website warns that anyone experiencing more pronounced mental health issues ought to seek professional help immediately—but for anyone else who may simply be feeling a bit overwhelmed during these turbulent times, a scream into the scenic Icelandic void might be just the pick-me-up you need.
(WATCH the amusing promo video below)
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