Scream Therapy
Jason Schreurs
Flex Your Head Press (2023)
ISBN: 978-1738921409
Reviewed by Lily Andrews for Reader Views (09/2023)
Jason Schreurs faced significant challenges dealing with childhood sexual abuse and an undiagnosed mental health condition. These experiences led him to discover the comforting and healing power of punk rock music, and he swiftly became an active member of its tight-knit community. In his new book, “Scream Therapy: A Punk Journey through Mental Health” he uses memoir and literary journalism to connect punk rock’s nonconformist ethos to proactive health management.
In the context of this book, punk is not a music genre, but a way of being. It has offered haven to numerous traumatic individuals who have not only been attracted by the intensity of the music but also by the undeniable therapeutic results it gives. The phrase “It saved my life” is common in the mouths of many punk rockers, who have found the scene a great place to work out their stress, particularly the biting stuff such as childhood sexual abuse.
Inspiring personalities have been featured such as Bianca, who lives with borderline personality disorder, a cognitive disorder in which individuals suffer drastic emotions and traumatic flashbacks. She unapologetically allows people to see her tears, as she screams out things that she has gone through. Her story sustains the author’s dream of telling the world how people can use punk music as a qualitative mechanism to confound trauma. Schreurs has seen the melodies help numerous people heal and recover quicker, to take back the lives they have always deserved.
“Scream Therapy: A Punk Journey through Mental Health” has beautifully unveiled a world where it’s okay to not be okay. In a warm and definitive style, the author will leave you looking at mental health challenges differently as well as the little-known healing power of punk music. Readers will also find themselves examining their diverse issues and yearning for associations in groupings who share similar circumstances, for quicker comeback through impartial conversations and other creative therapeutic ideas.
The text is adult-themed but will most definitely benefit everyone who longs for an interaction with uplifting personal stories of fortitude, solidity, and recovery.
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