International Moment of Frustration Scream Day: Let It Out!

Never has a year needed a day like International Moment of Frustration Scream Day, which falls on October 12 every year, worse than 2020. Because we’ve all pretty much had our moments when we wanted to scream this year, haven’t we? (Don’t leave me hanging. I know I’m not alone in having found this a trying year.) Maybe you even did let out a scream or two? I know I have.

Before 2020, the idea of one giant collective scream all at once seemed a little cuckoo to me. And noisy.

But, like I said, 2020 happened. That’s all you really need to say anymore, isn’t it? No explanation needed beyond, “2020.” It’s like 2020 took the idea of “Go big or go home” both to heart and as some sort of challenge.

So if you’ve had your fill this year and are looking for a way to let it all out, International Moment of Frustration Scream Day may be just the weird and unusual day for you.

But what is it? Who created it? Why? And when is it? I already stated it happens on October 12, but is it all day long, or only at a certain time? Let’s take a look.

What is International Moment of Frustration Scream Day?

It’s just what its name implies: a day to release all your pent up angst with a scream.

Why is there an International Moment of Frustration Scream Day?

According to Checkiday.com, Ruth and Thomas Roy of Wellcat Holidays created International Moment of Frustration Scream Day. There’s no explanation why they created such a holiday. All it says about the day is:

To share any or all of our frustrations, all citizens of the world will go outdoors at twelve hundred hours Greenwich time and scream for thirty seconds. We will all feel better, or Earth will go off its orbit. Co-sponsored by Low Thresholders of the Earth League.

So I guess it’s just a time to literally blow off some steam in an effort to feel better.

When is International Moment of Frustration Scream Day: At any time of day or at a certain time?

International Moment of Frustration Scream Day is supposed to happen at twelve Greenwich time.

Which translates to what in the States?

• UTC -4 or 8 a.m. ET
• UTC-5 or 7 a.m. CT
• UTC-6 or 6 a.m. MT
• UTC-7 or 5 a.m. PT
• UTC-8 or 4 a.m. AKDT (Alaska)
• UTC-10 or 2 a.m. HT (Hawaii)

That means that by the time I’m sharing this post, the time to let your scream rip with others will have already passed for 2020. We’ll know better for next year.

However, I also think we can make some exceptions for this year since that’s also been the theme of 2020. I say, scream at will!

What would happen if the whole world screamed at once?

Wouldn’t that get noisy? Seems like it. And based on the time zone calculations above, which are just for the U.S. not everywhere in the world, some people would have to either stay up late or get up early.

No wonder the day’s creators theorize one of the other consequences might be that the “Earth will go off its orbit.” Because surely not everyone would participate, and for those who were sleeping, that might make them roll out of bed in fright. Would enough startled slumberers doing that all at once be just enough to tilt the Earth?

Maybe it’s better International Moment of Frustration Scream Day isn’t wildly popular. Especially this year. Because if ever oh ever there was a year a collective scream might shake the Earth off its orbit, 2020 has the potential, right?

Check-In

Have you ever tried screaming as a therapeutic technique? Did it help?