A few months ago a facility in which someone can take out their rage on inanimate objects opened in the Houston area.
I don't know how I feel about this concept. Maybe it's not the concept, but the idea that some people have all this rage inside them. So much rage that they pay by the hour for the privilege of smashing stuff with hammers and other implements of destruction.
According to what I learned online, Japan opened the first Rage Room in 2008. Now there are facilities opened in many countries. They're a growing business in the U.S.
The one in the Houston area offers 3 rooms: a Profanity room, a Polite room, and a Splatter room for children.
Smashing is available in the Profanity room which has obscenities spray-painted on the walls.
The Polite room also offers smashing, but motivational quotes are spray painted on those walls.
The Splatter room lets kids throw paintballs at "triggers" spray-painted on the wall. For safety, I read that a camera is in the room so parents/guardians can monitor the child. Hmm.
Would you go to a Rage Room? Would you take your child to one to work out his/her issues in a physically violent way?
I wasn't surprised to read in Psychology Today that Rage Rooms are not a good idea.
Takeaway Truth
No thanks. It's not my cup of tea.
According to research, "Rage Rooms" do more harm than good. When you go over and over, you are just training your brain to 1)experience rage, and 2)act that rage out on something in your environment. So, your instincts are good. Oh, the Ph.D. is in clinical psychology.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I'm glad to hear from a Clinical Psychologist about this. To me, it's a disturbing trend. There are already too many people in the world who don't know how to manage their emotions. Far better to teach them how to deal with rage and frustration than encouraging them to give free rein to express it in violence.
DeleteLove that you brought this up, Joan -- as I commented on LI, jokingly, I have had a rage room for 50 years: my bathroom! Great acoustics, but mostly, once the anger is shouted out, I can pop into a nice warm shower and be cleansed of all that negative, useless energy.
ReplyDeleteI do know that I would never drive somewhere and be in a space that is not private (and my own) AND pay to be there!!
To me, if you are so angry that you are actually enraged and feel the need to smash things, you need to get with an anger management therapist, as something is out of balance.
My 'rage' room is for usual anger, usually ignited by a situation where I was unable or not allowed to express the depth of my frustration. These bottled up words need to come out so they don't fester -- so a good 'telling off' and a nice refreshing shower is an excellent recipe for clearing the head.
So, I agree -- this is a sign of something even Monty Python would raise an eyebrow to...
Hey, Maria! I saw your comment on LI. I agree with what you said. I see characters in TV/movies smash things and throw whatever is handy because they're enraged or frustrated. Scenes like that are so commonplace I wonder if those who are impressionable—especially kids and young adults—act out because they think it's "acceptable" to express negative emotions in that manner.
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