Every Sunday evening at Chicago’s North Avenue Beach, the sound of collective shouting echoes across Lake Michigan – not from protestors, but from Scream Club Chicago, a group gathering to relieve stress by screaming into the open air.
The club was founded this summer by Manny Hernandez, a life transformation coach and breathwork practitioner who recently moved to Chicago from Los Angeles.
“I think this is a good way for us to be able to, in a healthy way, release whatever we have going on inside out into the void, and then reduce that pressure that we have inside,” Hernandez said.
The idea began in June during what Hernandez described as a bad day.
“I was having a real bad day with my partner one day. We were walking by the lake and I just said to her, ‘Hey, do you want to go scream by the lake?’ And she was like, ‘Yes, let's do it,’” he said.
Hernandez said what began as a spontaneous moment soon attracted others. A few bystanders agreed to join him and his partner in screaming into the lake, and some became emotional during the experience. Afterward, he told his girlfriend they should turn the idea into something bigger – and Scream Club was born.
Hernandez leads participants through breathing exercises before encouraging loud, cathartic screams.
“Picture us like a pressure cooker, and cortisol builds up in our bodies all the time if you're stuck in traffic, if you are having relationship issues, if you're having financial issues, whatever it is, the political climate right now. And I think that if you don't find a healthy way to let it go, then what happens is when the pressure cooker gets too pressurised, right, it explodes,” he said.
Alexander Ruvalcava, a 31-year-old heavy metal musician, said the ritual has become an outlet.
“What's bringing me back out here really is that there are things I'm ready to let go of that I finally have an outlet where I can get it out of my system,” he said.
“After doing this, I become more happier, a lot happier. In fact, I get to meet a lot of people who are going through different things, and you know, there's no judgement here. It's just a few people getting it out of their system.”
Hernandez says he plans to keep growing the club as more Chicagoans look for new ways to relieve stress.
Calm, a respected meditation and wellness platform, notes that while scientific evidence is limited, the physical act of screaming may trigger the release of “feel-good chemicals” and help relieve tension, sometimes reducing stress and anxiety temporarily. However, some psychologists have said it could also increase aggression or worsen symptoms if overused as it doesn't address the core reasons behind the stress and anxiety.
The advice from experts is to seek professional help and advice to see if it's the right type of therapy for you.
U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the Strait of Hormuz part of U.S. territory have been mocked by Iran's Deputy Foreign Ministe...
Five years ago today, Taliban fighters entered Kabul, completing a rapid takeover of Afghanistan as the former government collapsed....
For fishermen along Pakistan’s southwestern coast, the consequences of the U.S.-Iran conflict are being felt far from the battlefield....
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Wildfires across England and Wales have reached their highest level on record, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council, as firefighters struggle to contain outbreaks following a spell of extreme heat.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the Strait of Hormuz part of U.S. territory have been mocked by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, who said the sea passage "cannot be seized by tweet."
At least 47 people have been killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia early on Saturday, triggering small tsunami waves and dozens of aftershocks, officials say.
The Democratic Republic of Congo says the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to nearly 4,500, including more than 2,060 deaths. Delayed detection, weak surveillance, funding shortages and conflict have allowed the virus to spread faster than in any previous epidemic at the same stage.
Australia warned on Monday (3 August) of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first confirmed mass mortality event among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast of South Australia, south of Adelaide.
Cancer patients in Sudan are struggling to access life-saving treatment as soaring medication costs, power shortages and damaged hospital infrastructure deepen the country's healthcare crisis after more than three years of war.
The world risks a resurgence of the HIV epidemic after international funding fell by nearly a fifth last year, according to a new report from UNAIDS, which warned that decades of progress against the disease could be reversed without renewed global support.
A global shift towards healthier diets, more efficient farming and reduced food waste could cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture-related land-use change by 85% by 2050, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment