'How screaming at the sea in Cork saved my sanity'

Daily pre-dawn trips to the sea to shout away her frustrations led Ciara McDonnell to set up Cork’s women’s group Scream Club

"Screaming at the sea every day saved me."

"Finding community in screaming may seem surprising to you, but once you’ve tried it, you may never bite your tongue again. 

It all began on a freezing beach. In January 2013, I found myself standing on Garrylucas beach near the Old Head of Kinsale. There was a gap in the weather between the daily storms that had been ravaging us continuously.

With two kids under three, a freelance career barely hanging on by a thread and a move from Dublin to Cork under my belt, I felt as though I was suffocating from my own stress.

As my bare feet burned with the cold on the sand and the wind howled in my ears, overcome by everything going on in my life, I opened my mouth and I screamed and screamed and screamed.

As my lungs filled and my vocal cords hummed with the roars of my malcontent I began to feel surprisingly better. So, I did it again.

And again.

Ciara McDonnell founded Cork's women's group Scream Club

Soon I found my ‘scream therapy’ starting to become an essential part of my mental health toolkit.

Screaming at the sea has saved me more times than I can think. When I am so angry I feel like I could burst, or the tears of sorrow threaten to overcome me, I hop in my car and make a beeline for the shore.

Sometimes I shout expletives, sometimes I sing, sometimes I let rip with a scream that the Banshees would be proud of.

And I’m not alone.

The idea of scream therapy has been around for decades. In the 1960s a Dr Arthur Janov pioneered Primal Therapy, based on the idea that screaming would release childhood trauma.

Screaming with purpose is said to release endorphins just like you would release during a cardio workout, and many screamers (myself included) attest to feel more relaxed after a good shouting session.

While I don’t know a great deal about the science behind it, I do know that screaming at the ocean has been one of the most helpful ways for me to release tension, grief and anger over the past few years.

It is also what led me to set up Scream Club, a monthly women’s only meet up on Garrylucas beach – the scene of that first primal yell.

On a Saturday morning, just before dawn, we gather around a fire to set our intentions. It starts with a guided meditation before we walk to the shore and face the horizon.

We let rip our pent-up emotions, we open our mouths and express what's sometimes impossible to express elsewhere.

When we are spent, we return to the fire, unburdened. There’s tea and slices of cake and bonding over chats across the salty air.

We are women. Hear us roar."

• The first Scream Club takes place later this month. For more details, email [e-mail] or head to @and_so_we_rise on Instagram