Yahoo Contributor Network, June 5, 2014
Stress seems to come in different forms for people, and the worst version is the bottled up stress that can’t be shown to the public. Individuals who have to present themselves as nothing but cheerful to the public no doubt have internal images of wanting to destroy everything in sight due to their personal frustrations. And for those overly stressed who aren’t exposed to the public, we know what they’ve done in the past to make the word “disgruntled” a major part of the American vocabulary.
Much of this can perhaps be linked to the gun violence in our culture as a result of bottled up frustrations with no major outlet to get it out of one’s system. Why no one thought of creating recreational destruction rooms decades ago is a mystery, even if someone likely had and just became frustrated themselves trying to sell the idea.
While primal scream therapy has always been around as a form of stress reliever in mental health, it’s still been considered a fringe type of treatment. What will mental health experts say now that recreational destruction rooms might become a new outlet for America’s stressed? One company that originated in Idaho called Das Breakroom has now taken this idea and become successful with an expansion. After a recent move to Portland, Oregon to get more business, just how destructive can you be in this place in order to physically vent?
The word “recreational” is the keyword, because it basically allows you to destroy a room full of things for fun. Those with bottled up rage or stress can enter a room full of breakable items sitting in precarious places. After giving you a bat or other tool to hit things with, they lock you in the room and let you smash things to smithereens. And, yes, you can do this to either end your day, or even start it off if you want to.
A Bargain Price for a New Form of Primal Therapy
On the Das Breakroom website, they say that one session is a mere $3, which is a bargain compared to going to see a psychotherapist where you can’t act out your frustrations. Even if some mental health experts may say that controlling anger is better, such a statement might not make sense to those who’ve experienced physical violence by someone in the workplace or other public place as the result of repressed frustration. Others might say that a recreational destruction room is better suited for those still generally healthy and not those who have the desire to physically hurt other people.
How will those who run Das Breakroom be able to tell one way or the other? If those more mentally ill happen to willfully use recreational destruction rooms to vent, would it help prevent some of the physical violence we keep hearing about in America on a daily basis? Considering the very affordable price, it very well could, particularly because it can be done twice in a day if needed. They only charge $5 for both a morning and an evening session.
Best of all, they clean up the mess for you so can go in and destroy everything as if in a movie set and then go out the door. They also require you to wear closed toe shoes to prevent any cuts from flying glass. This includes wearing other safety equipment so you don’t end up hurting yourself in the process of destroying vases and other shatter-worthy items. Plus, you have to be in the room by yourself, lest you think you can join in with a friend as part of a new method of morning workout.
Perhaps one detriment to it is that only those over 18 are allowed to use the destruction rooms. With so many stories of teenagers inflicting violence in schools in recent years, you almost wish they could give a destruction room designed just for kids. Much of America may not understand how many of our nation’s kids could be experiencing more bottled up rage than even the most stressed adult is over a year’s time.
References:
http://koin.com/2014/05/28/stressed-business-lets-you-destroy-things-for-fun/