“Anger rooms” provide a smashing good time — and a way to relieve stress

China 24

“Anger rooms” provide a smashing good time -- and a way to relieve stress

It’s a way to relieve stress – by destroying property.

And, it’s not only legal – it’s encouraged.

They’re called ‘anger rooms’- and they’re popping up around the world, including in China.

CGTN’s Frances Kuo shows us why they’re all the rage.

Forget tai chi or yoga.

Some are choosing to take a swing at another way of relieving stress and venting their frustrations – “anger rooms.”

The facilities are popping up worldwide.

One is “Smash” in Beijing where you can grab a hammer or bat, enter a room and break any and everything you want.

“It feels so good when I destroy those bottles and watch them explode,” said customer Qiu Siyu.

“You can smash anything — a TV, computer, furniture, mannequins!” said another customer, Liu Chao.

It costs about $20 per person for a 30-minute session.

The company’s founder says 600 people visit every month.

So what drives these people to this point?

They say everything, from school stress to rocky relationships.

“One woman brought all her wedding photos here, and she smashed them all,” said Jin Meng, Co-Founder of the Anger Room.  “Of course, we won’t intervene in people’s privacy, but we guess the woman just broke up with her lover before coming here.” 

But it doesn’t matter the reason – at “Smash,” there are no questions asked, no judgment, just a simple rule.

“The only thing you can’t do is to smash someone else,” said Liu Chao.

The idea is not to promote violence – it’s the items that take the brunt.

“All of the stuff we collected were broken and cannot be used anymore,” said Jin Meng.  “We want to stick with environmental protection. Our workers will find professional places to recycle our used stuff.”

For their part, customers are hoping to find inner peace in just a short bout of rage.

“It makes us believe that we’ve provided a safe place for people to let out negative energy,” said Jin Meng.  “And we are happy about that.


Kevin Bennett on the popularity of ‘anger rooms’

To learn more about the popularity of anger rooms – and how they stack up against other, more conventional stress-relief methods – CGTN’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Kevin Bennett, an associate teaching professor of psychology at the Pennsylvania State University Beaver Campus.