When Ellie Goudie's brother Ryan died at the age of 23, she struggled with the prospect of his belongings passing to someone else. Rather than allow that to happen, she made the decision to pay for them to be destroyed in a controlled setting.
Armed with a baseball bat at The Rabbit Hole Rage Room in Swindon, Ellie systematically smashed some of Ryan's possessions, including his television, as a way of managing the emotional pain of his death. According to BBC News, she described the experience as deeply personal, saying it helped her feel connected to her brother during the process.
Ellie's approach reflects a broader trend among women seeking emotional release through rage rooms, venues where customers pay to destroy household items with baseball bats and crowbars in a safe, supervised environment. Operators report that many visitors arrive during some of the most challenging periods of their lives, including bereavement, trauma, relationship dissolution and overwhelming stress.
Who is using rage rooms?
At The Rabbit Hole Rage Room in Swindon, owner Paul Bunney reports that approximately 70% of his clientele are women. He has observed a marked transformation in visitors after their sessions conclude.
Bunney describes how reserved individuals often emerge visibly changed, appearing flushed and energised, having released significant emotional tension. Visitors travel from across the region to direct their frustration toward items destined for landfill, including printers, crockery, audio equipment, kettles and wine bottles. Bunney notes that materials are typically separated and recycled following each session.
What emotional benefits do participants report?
For Ellie, the primary appeal was the sense of relief following months of grief. She explained that the experience allowed her to express anger without the need for verbal processing, providing temporary emotional respite during her session. After leaving, she felt noticeably lighter than when she arrived.
A similar pattern has emerged at Raging Bath, another facility in the region. Charlotte Bagnall, who operates the venue, observed that what began as entertainment has evolved into something far more therapeutic. She noted that Raging Bath operates three rage rooms, each equipped with Bluetooth speakers for personalised sessions, allowing visitors to select their own music during their experience.
Bagnall has encountered numerous customers carrying unprocessed emotional burdens. She described meeting people navigating profound difficulties and recognised the significance of helping them lighten their psychological load.
How do rage rooms help with trauma and loss?
Ceri Crannis booked multiple sessions for her family following the stillbirth of her daughter. She found that the facility provided something she had been unable to locate elsewhere, describing how the combination of loud music, physical destruction and sensory intensity addressed emotional needs that talking therapy had not reached.
Crannis emphasised that rage rooms offer women a distinctive opportunity to express emotions that society typically suppresses. She highlighted how social expectations often discourage women from displaying anger, swearing or engaging in destructive behaviour, making these controlled environments particularly valuable.
Another visitor, Sarah Bear, articulated a similar perspective. She explained that while one cannot direct anger toward people without causing harm, a rage room provides a safe, contained outlet for those feelings. She acknowledged that emotional release sometimes manifests as tears, but described the subsequent relief as worthwhile.
What does psychology research say about rage rooms?
Dr Nilu Ahmed, an associate professor of psychology and inclusion at the University of Bristol, confirmed that rage rooms deliver immediate psychological relief. The structured nature of the experience—with defined time limits and a clear endpoint—prevents escalation into uncontrolled behaviour while ensuring the activity remains contained and predictable.
However, Ahmed cautioned that rage rooms cannot substitute for long-term therapeutic intervention. She explained that deeply rooted emotional issues will resurface repeatedly, and the critical question concerns where those feelings are subsequently processed. When individuals rely solely on rage rooms without accessing safe spaces for dialogue, it may indicate an absence of adequate emotional support systems.
The emergence of rage rooms as a coping mechanism reflects broader shifts in how society addresses women's emotional expression. In July 2025, the BBC reported that a women's centre in Cornwall had introduced rage-room sessions for girls and young women aged 11–18 as a way to release anger in a secure setting, demonstrating how the model is expanding to younger demographics.
How does this fit into broader grief support?
The growing use of rage rooms occurs alongside other emerging approaches to grief processing. Young people are increasingly finding community and healing through grief support groups, with organisations creating peer-led spaces where individuals aged 18–35 can process bereavement through casual meetups and activities, offering complementary pathways to emotional recovery.
For Ellie, destroying Ryan's possessions did not erase her loss or resolve her grief. Nevertheless, the experience provided her with a focused hour to channel her sorrow, honour her brother's memory and emerge feeling less burdened than when she entered the rage room.
