Among them is Ceri Crannis, who booked sessions for her family after her daughter was stillborn.
She said the experience provided something she had struggled to find elsewhere.
“You don’t get that release in therapy when you’re talking,” she said.
“There are some things that are just so deeply hidden that it comes out here, where loud music, smashing, breaking really does just hit the spot where nothing else has managed to do that before.”
Ceri believes rage rooms can offer women a rare opportunity to express emotions that are often suppressed.
“Social norms are geared up that women are well behaved, they don’t swear, you don’t break anything.”
Another rage room visitor, Sarah Bear, agreed.
“You can’t shout and scream at the people in the world because actually those people have done nothing wrong, but you can take it out on stuff here that isn’t going to hurt anyone,” she said.
“So it’s a really safe, controlled way to do it. And yeah, there might be some tears at the end of it, as, like, the relief washes over us, but it’s worth it.”
It’s no surprise that rage rooms can offer an immediate feeling of relief, according to associate professor of psychology and inclusion at the University of Bristol, Dr Nilu Ahmed.
“It’s hugely helpful in that moment.
“You’ve got a set amount of time so you know what you can do. You know that it’s going to come to an end. So you’re not going to go on a rampage and riot out in the streets. You know that it’s going to be contained.”
But Ahmed said it can’t replace long term therapy.
“For deep rooted issues, it’s going to come up again and again. And the question that I always talk about is where are those feelings being discussed?
“And if they are being taken into a rage room, what that is telling the individual or telling me as a professional, is that individual hasn’t got a safe space to go and talk about that.”
For Ellie, smashing Ryan’s possessions did not take away the loss.
But she says it gave her an hour to channel her grief, remember her brother and leave feeling lighter than when she arrived.
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