Latest news with #emotionalrelease
ABC News
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
How playing the piano for strangers set in motion a new life for Baher Skaik
Five months after fleeing his home in Gaza, Baher Skaik sat behind a piano in Melbourne's Preston Markets, his proud family watching on. He was there to play for strangers, as part of the ABC iview series The Piano. What he couldn't have imagined was the life-changing experience ahead of him, thanks to the kindness of strangers and an unexpected visit from the Immigration Minister. "The piano isn't an instrument for me. It's a form of emotional release," he told host Amanda Keller at the time, describing the devastation they fled. "I had a good life with my family … and then when the war began, there was bombing every moment. "It's hard to describe the feeling when you are responsible for family and you see your daughters are suffering. They are crying all the time, screaming all the night. "We decided to leave quickly and we left our home with just our clothes." In the ruins of his office was his much-loved piano. "It's destroyed." A gift from a stranger Having made the difficult decision to leave their home in Gaza, Baher and his family travelled to Melbourne. Here they were supported by the Australian-Palestinian-led charity, Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA), as they settled into their new life. The ruins of Baher's private office in Gaza, where his piano was destroyed. ( Supplied ) It was through PARA that Baher learnt about The Piano, an ABC series unearthing and celebrating everyday Australians with a passion for the piano. Baher said he nearly let the opportunity pass, as he focused on finding work and supporting his family, but ultimately his heart told him to do it. "I don't usually play in public or to an audience [as] I'm normally quite shy," he said. But Baher's story struck a chord with the audience. "[One of the producers] told me that there was an anonymous donor who wanted to gift me a [new] piano. I know how expensive pianos are and it was very hard to accept that," he said. Within a few weeks, a shiny new piano arrived at the Skaik's family home in Melbourne. But there was an even greater surprise to come. Baher playing the piano at his home in Gaza / Baher with his new piano, gifted by an anonymous donor. Another unexpected surprise Three months after the series aired, Baher received a call from the team at PARA. They asked him to clear his calendar later that week. Minister for Immigration and Home Affairs Tony Burke was coming to visit. "The minister said he was happy to meet me and my family, and he expressed how my story had impacted him and how he wanted to show support by coming to meet us," Baher said. Baher played a song on the piano for the visitors before he was given news that would change his family's future. "[Minister Burke] said 'we were so moved to see you on the show and your story was such a wonderful story to see. We are so proud of you and your family for being here in Australia'," he said. "And he said that he [would like to] offer us permanent residency." Baher and his family were thrilled when Minister Tony Burke, and immigration officials, delivered news of their permanent residency. ( Supplied: Tony Burke ) Like many, Baher's goal in life had always been to find stability for his family. "[In Gaza], you would feel that no matter what you did, a time would come that would destroy everything," he said. "People need to know that what refugees really need is an opportunity to rebuild, and not every country will allow them that." While fear was a "constant" in Gaza, Baher said Australia offered safety and acceptance. "I had a feeling that this was going to be a positive experience in my life being here [in Australia] and I was right," he said. Mr Burke said the government had been making decisions on a case-by-case basis. "For Baher to so eloquently talk about his family's plight and his love of Australia sent an important message to everybody," he said. "His comments on … The Piano were as beautiful as they were generous and I'm glad Australia has been able to respond with the same level of kindness." For Baher, he just wants people to know that refugees don't only come with a painful story. Baher, his wife and their three daughters during a layover in Dubai, on their journey from Gaza to Australia. ( Supplied ) The Skaik family have made themselves at home in Melbourne where they are the first renters of a brand-new home. "My kids are in school; my wife works and she's happy," Baher said. "I'm also doing some graphic design freelance work with some clients and now I have a piano. "I don't need anything else."
South China Morning Post
05-06-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Why China youth find special spots to cry for stress relief such as Forbidden City, courthouses
A growing number of young Chinese adults in search of emotional release are taking things to a new geographical level. Advertisement They have turned to designated so-called City Cry spots such as courthouses, psychiatric hospitals, and even tourist landmarks like the Forbidden City, to freely weep in public. Young Chinese people are increasingly overwhelmed by work stress, rising unemployment, economic uncertainty, and a growing sense of urban fatigue, prompting many to seek emotional release. Experienced 'crying veterans' have begun sharing lesser-known but surprisingly effective places to cry. The Forbidden City in Beijing is considered a good place to cry because of its 'poetic' atmosphere. Photo: Shutterstock Some recommend courthouse entrances and cemeteries, while others choose Peking University Sixth Hospital, a well-known psychiatric facility.
CBC
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Hundreds join 'cathartic' group scream event at Trinity Bellwoods Park
Social Sharing Grace Turner stood at the top of a grassy park slope with a megaphone in her hand. "This turnout is insane," she said. Hundreds were gathered at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto's west end, and it was almost time for the moment they were all eagerly waiting for. The moment when they would get to scream their lungs out. The scene resembled an outdoor concert, but Turner, an artist behind the solo music project City Builders, wasn't there to sing. She was the ringleader for a very different sort of performance. "We're all going through our personal struggles right now," she told the diverse crowd. They showed up after RSVPing to a free "group scream" event online, a way to come together and let out all their heartbreak, anger and frustration. "Clearly, it's needed," Turner told them. "We are not alone. And we're just one big community. So make sure to make some friends today." She kicked off a countdown before the first collective scream was to begin, around 6:30 p.m. on a spring Saturday. The crowd yelled it out with her: "Three ... two ... one!" And then: pure human noise. That emotional release was supposed to happen just once. But the crowd started chanting "one more scream" almost right away. Nearly half an hour of intermittent shouting, laughs and loud cheers followed. Some posed for photos with a "Group Scream!" sign. Others took selfies with new friends. A few passed around ice creams to help the screamers cool down. Participants described it as "cathartic" and a "state of euphoria." Everyone had a story to tell and a reason to be there — breakups, unemployment, work stress, chaos happening around the world, and what felt like an especially long winter. Anastasia Bondarenko graduated from university recently and said she is worried about what might come next for her as she searches for a job. "I am terrified, and it's like stepping into the unknown," she said. It's rare to get to attend a free group event in Toronto, she added. "And the fact that like we're all here for one singular reason, which is a ridiculous reason, but very much needed." 'Beautiful sense of community' at event Hailey Roden said she lost her job two months ago and she joined the group to get a heavy feeling of frustration out of her chest. She said being unemployed during a cost-of-living crisis when inflation has brought up prices is a tough challenge to navigate alone. "It's been a lot of no's, which has been discouraging," she said. But meeting other people in a similar situation at the event helped lift her spirits, she said, and after a few rounds of screaming she felt "amazing." "I can relate to a lot of people here," she said. "I was not expecting like a state of euphoria ... and just feeling a really beautiful sense of community." Participants wrote down why they wanted to scream on stickers and stuck them on their chests. Roden's short message: "Life is hard." For Turner, the idea to gather people together came from a deeply personal place. In the lead-up to the event, she described experiencing heartbreak for the first time when she and her ex-boyfriend and band partner broke up around five months ago. "We broke up, and the band broke up, and I felt like my world was ending because what I love to do the most and the person that I loved the most were gone," she said in an interview. Some of that emotion went into her first solo song, released on Tuesday. But some of it felt like it needed to come out in another way. For the first month, all she wanted to do was to scream, Turner said — but there was nowhere to do it. Her apartment didn't seem like a good idea. Turner said she never expected hundreds of people would sign up to join her for such a public display, or that people in other communities would be reaching out and asking her to lead similar events. "Seems like something the city really needed," she said. There's some science to back up the idea that so-called scream therapy can be a tool to improve mental health. "There is some suggestion that it helps release emotions, and it helps release pent up frustration and energy," said Lynda Mainwaring, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. She said while screaming is a complex phenomenon, research shows it increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and subsequently improves blood circulation, which could help reduce stress and anxiety. The sense of safety and connection that comes from group activities where like-minded people have a shared purpose can release "feel-good hormones," she added. Saturday's group screaming could also help participants find relief because they believed shouting would help, she said. "And beliefs are extremely powerful," Mainwaring said. "If you believe that something's gonna happen, something's going to help you, then you probably are gonna get benefit from it." It wasn't lost on the crowd of loud Torontonians that current events have added collective stress. One of the most motivated participants was Rebecca Reid, who works for Elections Canada and said she had a busy schedule during the recent federal election. Less than a week after election day, she said she thought being part of the group scream would be just the thing to get it all out of her system.
