Angry women, angry women, raise your hands! Better yet, pick up a baseball bat, hammer, or ax grinder and start smashing through inanimate objects.
It may seem like a completely crazy idea to vent your anger on an old copy machine or a wooden box full of empty beer bottles, but trust me, it’s a completely insane idea. It feels so good, sometimes more so than it should.
I should know because I just came out of my first Irish rage room. For the uninitiated, it’s a smash room or anger room. It’s a safe, controlled environment where people can vent their anger by destroying objects. They’re just furious right now.
The first app opened in Japan in 2008, but the trend has really taken off over the past few years. After a breakup, move, and unhappy relationship, I couldn’t bring myself to start using dating apps. We just got through a Covid-19 Christmas, and to be honest, I’m on edge.
I know I’m not alone. In fact, a recent study found that women report being 6 percent more angry and stressed than men. Experts believe this is partly due to disproportionate expectations that women must be as successful as men at work while shouldering the weight of household chores. house chores.
“These pressures are pushing women to breaking point, but talking about female anger remains taboo because it is a threat to traditionally ‘feminine’ traits such as kindness and likeability.” says certified psychologist Katherine Hallisey. As a result, “we tend to suppress our anger, which secretly manifests itself as passive-aggressiveness.”
My anger felt like a bit of an irritating rash at times, almost convulsing in discomfort. And a collision with the car in front of me in post-New Year traffic was the final straw in what seemed like a series of unfortunate events.
I’m tired of suppressing my anger so I take all this dark energy to Unit 5 in Kylemore, Ballyfermot. Rage Room owner Lucas Bartolsis, 25, greeted me calmly from behind his desk. He’s clearly seen my type for some time, and in fact, he certainly admits that since the room opened in early December, 90 percent of his customers have been women.
“Some people come alone, and some come in groups.” [three maximum allowed], they come in and dance and laugh and have fun,” says Lucas, who worked at the construction site before it was destroyed. “Some of us laugh, some of us cry, and some of us scream. Everyone is different.”
As a safety precaution, Lucas uses a monitor to survey the wreckage. He said he sometimes had to intervene. There are rules in place before you enter the zone and pick up a weapon, but they’re pretty common sense and include advice not to hit yourself or swing them at others. .
I was given a protective visor to protect my face and eyes from flying glass and debris, and I also donned protective PPE: level 5 blade-resistant gloves and a bright red boiler suit. I don’t feel well anymore and I haven’t even picked up a blunt weapon.
Before entering the fortress room, various devices for gutting prey are hung on the walls. Choose from a hammer, mallet, wooden or metal bat, adjustable wrench, or try them all out for size.
I’m instinctively drawn to a blue long-handled baseball bat, but when combined with a brightly colored boiler suit, it probably makes me look like Piggy, the psychotic pig from Roblox. Lucas placed a wooden box of empty beer bottles and jam jars next to me and pointed to the gray wall across from me. got it.
All visitors to the Rage Room receive and throw large amounts of glassware and crockery. Lucas said people can also bring in their own items to be destroyed, from dishes to glassware, VHS tapes to small electronics. Then he produces fattened calves in this slaughterhouse. It’s an old printer and copier, suspiciously similar to the one in my office, and I’ll never be able to work with it.
I do some more housework before the storm and Lucas wants to know what kind of music I want as a soundtrack for me to vent.
“Taylor Swift,” I answered quickly, surprising even myself. It turns out I still haven’t gotten over the trauma of not being able to get tickets to my daughters’ June show in Dublin. Lucas leaves and Karma joins. Suddenly, the whole concept feels a little awkward and uncomfortable. After all, I’ve spent my life trying not to break things, even when things don’t work out.
We start tentatively with the copy machine, but the first slam of the bat makes a satisfying thud as the exploding control panel shatters. The resulting glass will fly everywhere, something that will break the seal and make the next swing more difficult. And then again and again and again…the more destruction you cause, the better you feel. After five minutes, I feel like I’m possessed by a woman.
Surely it must feel good to be this destructive? But it certainly is. It’s exhilarating and intoxicating, and once you get the taste, you’ll want more. The printer is now a quarter of what it used to be. I feel like a warrior as I stomp my boots over the wreckage, preparing for future life. I picked up the first bottle and threw it against the wall. Annoyingly, it bounces back unscathed.
Now I’m really pissed off – and in the best place for it too – so I picked it up again and threw it again, this time with force. It explodes on impact, and I watch with satisfaction as fragments fly through the air. I check my heart rate and see that it’s 138 bpm, firmly in the red zone, with a sheen of sweat on my forehead. I found that destructive exercise was quite a workout and was especially hard on my arms.
Lucas signals in the little window that he has 20 minutes left, but it’s not over yet. That printer is still a bit broken, but I can’t get it to work. I switched weapons and attacked, slamming my hammer into the wreckage like crazy. Lucas clearly sensed the change in atmosphere and changed the soundtrack accordingly, and angry emo rock music filled my ears. By the way, you can also wear earplugs during the anger experience. I’m finally trying to pancake the damn printer.
After 5 minutes, I wasn’t completely successful, but I was exhausted. Releasing anger is exhausting. When it comes out, it makes a buzzing noise, leaves you breathless, and you feel energized and giddy. Given my experience, I can understand why it’s so popular. In fact, according to Lucas, his Rage room is doing so well that he’s preparing to open another room. While it’s definitely fun, is it actually a healthy way to vent your anger?
“I can see why people feel cathartic when their expectations of behavior are violated,” says Katherine Hallisey. “However, there is no clinical evidence to support the use of anger rooms on a therapeutic level.” It is far better to do high-intensity exercise to clear the pent-up energy that causes anger before addressing the underlying emotions. says Hallisi.
To tell you the truth, when I was in that room, I didn’t really have any doubts. All I know is that I came out furious with suppressed anger and a huge grin on my face. Now…is there a monthly fee?
RAGE Room, €30 per person, book online.