Rage rooms offer controlled spaces where customers can destroy glass, ceramic bowls, furniture, personal possessions, and electronics. They offer these experiences as a means of releasing stress or anger to the customers.
The idea of paying and being encouraged to smash objects to relieve frustration may not be as recent as the modern rage-room industry suggests.
According to WBEZ, the history of the "Frustration Room" at Chicago's Imperial Inn can be traced back to 1962.
The Imperial Inn opened at Canal and Harrison streets in downtown Chicago in 1962. The motel included a basement space where visitors could throw breakable household objects against a wall. The establishment called it the “Frustration Room.”
Both "Frustration Room" and “Rage Room” involve physical destruction as a way to vent frustration. But it remains to be seen if it is actually helpful for dealing with anger.
The visitors would reportedly throw objects like lamps, plates, bowls, light bulbs, etc at a steel-plated wall.
The room was initially decorated with traffic signs and catered towards drivers who might feel frustrated after traveling hours by road.
The Imperial Inn also offered other unique targets, like President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, where visitors could throw objects at their photographs.
The Frustration Room formed part of the motel's efforts to attract travelers and convention visitors during a period of increasing competition among hotels and motels.
WBEZ reported that the idea of “Frustration Room” came from Harry Linsky, a Michigan interior designer who worked on hotel projects. A Miami News report from July 1962 said Linsky had copyrighted the concept.
The Imperial Inn continued to advertise “Frustration Room” in the newspapers and hotel publications until 1966. WBEZ also found an account from a former visitor who said they used the room in 1970.
It is not clear how long the Frustration Room remained open after that.
Around the end of the 2000s, commercial rage rooms started popping up in Japan. More than 500 rage rooms operate in the United States, according to the Rage Room Alliance.
See also: Chicago’s Scream Club Offers Unusual Relief from Mental Stress
The Imperial Inn's room shows that the idea of paying to smash things existed decades before today's rage-room businesses became popular.
Emily Hemendinger, MPH, LCSW, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and clinical director of the OCD and Anxiety Program, told CU Anschutz that activities such as rage rooms may improve mood and that some people who struggle to verbalize emotions may find that physically expressing intense feelings helps them begin to process those emotions.
Psychologists use the term catharsis for the idea of releasing emotions through expression or action.
A number of studies have raised doubts about whether physical expression of anger actually reduces it.
A 2024 meta-analysis published in Clinical Psychology Review examined 154 studies involving 184 independent samples and 10,189 participants. Researchers Sophie L. Kjærvik and Brad J. Bushman compared anger-management activities that decrease physiological arousal with activities that increase arousal.
Activities that decrease arousal include approaches such as deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness and yoga. Activities that increase arousal can include actions such as hitting objects and some forms of vigorous physical activity.
The researchers found that arousal-decreasing activities reduced anger and aggression overall. In contrast, arousal-increasing activities were ineffective overall for anger management.
In their findings, the authors concluded that venting anger is not an effective way to deal with anger.
There is also an important distinction between anger management and physical exercise. The study did not conclude that physical activity lacks health benefits. Instead, it showed that activities that increase arousal were not effective as specific strategies to reduce anger.
The American Psychological Association has also raised concerns about the idea of catharsis in anger management. In an episode of its Speaking of Psychology podcast, psychologists Howard Kassinove, PhD, and Raymond “Chip” Tafrate, PhD, discussed rage rooms and other ways people try to vent their anger.
Tafrate noted that for people who struggle with anger, acting on urges to yell, scream, punch or hit may actually be counterproductive. Repeatedly responding to anger with aggressive behaviour, he explained, can reinforce the link between feeling angry and reacting aggressively.
Earlier research has raised similar concerns. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that participants who were led to believe that aggressive behaviour could help them release their anger became more aggressive after hitting a punching bag than those who were told otherwise.
A normal human emotion, anger can develop when someone crosses a boundary, feels threatened, is treated unfairly, or feels threatened. The important thing is how we deal with and respond to anger.
See more: Just 8 Minutes of Anger May Temporarily Affect Heart Health, NIH-Funded Study Finds
According to mental health experts, acting out anger physically may become an unhelpful coping mechanism for some people.
Hemendinger told CU Anschutz that physically acting out anger can sometimes reinforce aggression rather than resolve it. She cautioned against responding to anger through repeated acts of aggression. She said people should be careful not to make aggressive behaviour their usual way of dealing with anger.
She also said aggressive expression should not become a person's main way of dealing with anger, particularly for someone with a history of destructive behaviour. Increasing aggression, trouble in relationships, or problems at work or school may indicate that anger is affecting other parts of a person's life.
According to Hemendinger, rage rooms and other physical outlets may work for some people as part of a broader approach to emotional well-being. But for someone dealing with ongoing anger, she said they should not take the place of therapy, mindfulness or other ways of learning to manage emotions.
Cleveland Clinic's Scott Bea expressed similar concerns. He said rage rooms may reinforce destructive coping patterns in people who already struggle with serious anger or violent behaviour. Bea also said that rage rooms may be acceptable as a form of entertainment but should not be considered a therapeutic treatment for serious or persistent anger problems.
A limited amount of research has been conducted on the mental health benefits of commercial rage rooms as compared to broader research on anger, aggression, and catharsis.
Despite the available evidence, rage-room experiences do not appear to provide long-term benefits to anger management.
Hemendinger said rage rooms or other physical outlets may play a role within a broader approach to emotional wellness for some individuals. However, she emphasized that they should not replace therapy, mindfulness or other emotional regulation strategies when a person struggles with persistent anger.
The CalMatters investigation into rage-room operators allowing customers to smash electronic waste in 2022 examined concerns about environmental and occupational exposures to the customers and workers.
These electronic waste in the rage rooms can include items such as old televisions, computer monitors and more. Some of the older electronics contain hazardous materials, like leaded glass and mercury.
Rita Hypnarowski, a senior environmental scientist and e-waste team leader with California's Department of Toxic Substances Control, told CalMatters that smashing electronic waste can create fine dust containing toxic metals.
The department cited a Sacramento rage-room business in 2019 for alleged violations involving hazardous waste.
According to CalMatters, inspectors found computers and other electronics at the site. Testing of debris reportedly found elevated levels of lead, zinc and cobalt.
Authorities did not conduct air sampling at the facility, so it was not possible to determine the degree of health risk that airborne exposure might pose to customers or employees.
Antonio F. Machado, a professor of environmental and occupational health at California State University, Northridge, told CalMatters that the potential risk to customers and the environment was likely small compared with larger environmental hazards. He said that ventilation could reduce concerns for patrons.
Machado said workers could face a different level of exposure because they regularly deal with dust and debris inside these facilities.
CalMatters focused on concerns involving particular rage rooms, especially businesses where electronic waste was being handled or smashed.
There were also questions about how such activities were being monitored, what customers or employees come into contact with can differ from one facility to another, and what precautions the operator took to prevent injuries.
The 2024 meta-analysis found stronger evidence for approaches that decrease physiological arousal than for approaches centered on increasing arousal or venting anger.
These approaches can include deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness and yoga.
Cleveland Clinic recommends several approaches for dealing with anger, including relaxation exercises, changes in unhelpful thinking patterns and better communication skills.
Hemendinger also said people whose anger repeatedly affects their lives may need to look more closely at what is triggering it. She mentioned therapy, mindfulness, journaling and creative activities as possible ways of dealing with difficult emotions.
Anger is not automatically a problem. But when it repeatedly affects someone's relationships, work, school or everyday life, getting professional help may be worth considering.
The goal of anger management is not necessarily to eliminate anger. It is to recognize the emotion and respond to it without causing harm to oneself or others.
Chicago's Frustration Room may have anticipated a modern trend, but the questions surrounding how people manage anger and how such facilities handle safety remain relevant today.
American Psychological Association. “How to Keep Anger from Getting the Best of You, with Howard Kassinove, PhD, and Raymond ‘Chip’ Tafrate, PhD.” Speaking of Psychology. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/anger.
Bushman, Brad J., Roy F. Baumeister, and Angela D. Stack. “Catharsis, Aggression, and Persuasive Influence: Self-Fulfilling or Self-Defeating Prophecies?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76, no. 3 (1999): 367–376. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.3.367
Lewis, Robert. “Stress Relief or Toxic Exposure? State Cautions ‘Rage Rooms’ May Deliver Unwanted Release.” CalMatters, July 25, 2022. https://calmatters.org/justice/2022/07/rage-rooms-hazardous-waste-exposure/
Cleveland Clinic. “Rage Rooms: Do They Offer Anger Relief or Reinforce Bad Behavior?” March 6, 2020. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/anger-rooms-do-they-offer-relief-or-reinforce-bad-behavior.
Kjærvik, Sophie L., and Brad J. Bushman. “A Meta-Analytic Review of Anger Management Activities That Increase or Decrease Arousal: What Fuels or Douses Rage?” Clinical Psychology Review 109 (2024): 102414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102414