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We rarely think about what sounds and why fly out of our mouths when we hit a cabinet wall or steel leg. Meanwhile, the body’s self-help mechanism works flawlessly — the pain seems to subside, it becomes easier. Why is this happening and how can the same scheme help to alleviate not only physical pain, but also mental pain?
Any cry is a response signal to a physical or psychological impact. Shouts are divided into six categories. Which ones, — explains the candidate of psychological sciences Natalia Lebedinova.
1. Cry of fear
If you are frightened and scream at the moment of danger, instinct kicks in, and this scream is a call for help and a way of self-defense. Psychologists at the Universities of Geneva and New York have found that the acoustic signals of fear cries respond in the amygdala, which activates the expression of emotions of fear and aggression.
2. Cry of anger
It is associated with an instinctive desire to dominate, and often with a lack of so-called soft skills. Anger must be released. Heart attack, stroke, hypertension and bile stasis are the most obvious consequences of accumulated anger from the point of view of psychosomatics.
Shouting will save during an acute fit of anger. However, then you need to act constructively and, of course, learn to “work out anger” before you “boil”. The ability to negotiate, communicate your thoughts, demand, be open to experience, not be submissive, be able to say “no”, express your intentions, negotiate can help.
3. The cry hurts
In this case, yelling is a powerful stress reliever. Think of women in labor — that’s where you can hear the whole spectrum of screaming in pain, which manifests itself instinctively.
4. The cry of burning
It makes it possible to relieve the pain of the psyche, to release suffering outside. Therefore, when supporting a person who has grief, we often offer him to cry.
5. Scream of Pleasure
When we get pleasure, such a hormonal cocktail of dopamine, endorphin, adrenaline, serotonin, oxytocin is formed in our body that we want to scream and yell. At this moment, we experience a sensation of tickling in the solar plexus, and if we do not scream, it may seem that we can be torn apart from emotions.
6. A cry of unbridled joy
Rapture and joy make our body jump and scream, as well as squeal, clap and hug.
Scream and pain: what is the connection?
Is there any scientific evidence that crying helps with pain? Exist. So, in one of the Western universities, a study was conducted in which participants were asked to put their hands in ice water twice. During the first dive, they were allowed to express their emotions and swear at what the light stands, during the second, the subjects had to be silent.
“The result of the experiment was amazing: while swearing, the subjects could keep their hands in ice water almost twice as long as when they were silent,” says Anna Dunaeva, lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Synergy University. “The condition sensors also showed that when the participants in the experiment used obscene words, their heart rate increased and their perception of pain decreased.”
The researchers came to the conclusion that swearing really increases a person’s pain threshold, but is it possible to work with mental pain in this way?
If you shout correctly and at the right time, then shouting is really able to solve some of the internal problems. However, in addition to the right place and time in order to shout, you must also choose a good target. “If you shout at subordinates, work colleagues or friends and relatives, then this will not help, but will only make it worse,” Anna Dunaeva is sure.
How to shout?
Sometimes, when we feel the urge to yell, we extinguish this impulse in ourselves, because we are embarrassed or embarrassed. We think that someone will hear us. We worry about what they think of us. These barriers contribute to the formation of constrictions in the throat and chest — they are the ones that prevent the free flow of energy in the body.
In this case, it is worth overcoming yourself and your embarrassment — especially if it is at the peak of mental pain. According to Natalia Lebedinova, yelling, moaning, roaring out loud, screaming on the exhale, will definitely help relieve the severity of the experience and avoid unnecessary muscle clamps and mental blocks.
“When crying therapy, take a deep breath, filling the lungs and stomach with air, and then release the air with a cry so that it passes through the throat as freely as possible,” advises Anna Dunaeva. — At this moment, you need to focus on the negative situation, accumulate all the negative energy, live, feel the negative thoughts and images, and release them together with a cry.
By giving free rein to your voice, you will definitely feel relief and relaxation. And the problem will no longer seem as scary and large-scale as it used to be.”
Is it necessary to scream?
However, not only screaming helps to get rid of negative energy. Moaning or «hissing» also allows you to relieve tension in the body and psyche and «let off steam.» “Sick people are often recommended to moan “out loud,” says Natalya Lebedinova. “Some people do it intuitively, and some studies suggest that those who yell have about 20% less headaches.”
In other cases, according to the psychologist, you can’t get off with a single cry: a cry as a struggle with a symptom, and not with a cause, will not solve the issue. Temporary relief will indeed come, however, to solve the psychological problem, you need to find its source.
“Before, psychologists recommended that their patients, starting from childhood, beat a pillow and scream during anger,” says Natalia Lebedinova. — Now this technique is a big question precisely because it is superficial — you shouted out, you felt better, and the problem turned out to be cemented in the bowels of the subconscious even deeper. Therefore, sometimes one cry is not enough — and in this case it is important to contact a specialist.