UNITED STATES—When was the last time that you screamed? How about the last time you just said exactly what you felt without any repercussions? For many Americans that is a rarity and I don’t think it’s because we are afraid to do it, it’s because we wonder how people will perceive us. Yes, we are a society where everyone has an opinion on everything and if they don’t like it, you can bet you will hear ALL ABOUT IT!

Does that make it right? Nope, but sometimes you just have to say, I don’t care what everyone else thinks. I need to focus my energy on me and only on me. With that being said, you sometimes have to unleash your emotions or frustrations to the world or to yourself. I know there are people who write in a journal to express their feelings and if that is your go to method, more power to you. I know some people who listen to music, some who exercise, some who scream or yell, and there are others who spill the tea to the rest of the world. I’m not the biggest fan of the talking cure and I have my reasons for it. It just forces you to drudge up something that you might not want to talk about. That sometimes leads to you constantly focusing your energy on the negative versus the positive.

I’m a firm believer that taking a negative and turning it into a positive is way more productive then just talking about the negative and doing nothing with it. However, I think a scream once in a while is a great cathartic release because you’re allowing that bad energy or frustration to be emitted from your body. Now is it a great idea to do it in a public sphere? Not so much, you might raise plenty of flags for other people, which I would not suggest.

However, doing so in your own home, with the music loud or screaming into a pillow to prevent everyone else from knowing what you’re doing is completely up to you. There are some people who even unleash an epic cry and that is sometimes a good thing. A cry is a great way to unleash the emotions and even I’m guilty of it, after having a frustrating conversation with my parents where they just didn’t get my plight. Sometimes people don’t understand your inner turmoil until you force them to realize it, even if they don’t see it, but you’ve said it a trillion times.

If you are frustrated about something in your life, you NEED TO LET IT OUT AMERICA! Do not keep it bottled in its not healthy. Scream, cry, yell, write, journal, read, listen to music, exercise, hit a punching bag, but don’t allow your frustration to build up to a point where you cannot control it or you do not know how to handle it.

Written By Kelsey Thomas