Six years ago, my best friend gifted me a set of freshly glazed, cream coloured ceramic plates that could light up any dining room. That same evening, I took the box up to my terrace, gently freed the plates from their break-safe bubble wrap and one by one, smashed them against the wall, watching the pieces shatter into countless fragments of clay. In case you’re wondering, I didn’t hate the gift, I was only fulfilling its purpose.
Back then, I was healing from a painful breakup, and incessantly bitched and moaned about wanting to break something, so my friend decided to grant my wish. Hearing the sharp sound of crash after crash, and watching the maroon terracotta tiles become chalky from the broken plate pieces made me giggle, then yell and finally burst into fits of laughter. I remember that delirious feeling clear as day: for the first time in weeks, I forgot about the pit in my stomach from mourning a relationship, dare I say it, I even felt free.
These movements that help us release stored stress from our bodies are called somatic exercises, and today we have spaces dedicated to them. If you haven’t been to a rage room yet, you’ve probably watched the cast of the Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives slam baseball bats into glass vases and television screens, in the third season of their reality show. Great news for the non-violent Gandhi fans amongst us, this expulsion of energy isn't merely restricted to brutally breaking things.
Back in the 1970s, psychotherapist Arthur Janov published his book The Primal Scream where he argues that fears, humiliation, anger and grief can be released by screaming. More recently in pop culture, we saw the three main characters from The Bold Type, go to the New York City subway station and shriek to let go of their anger, masking it behind the sound of the trains. That’s not all, Grimes also reportedly enjoys a 20-minute screaming session as part of her wellness routine. While some others prefer to bang a door, throw tantrums or attend taekwondo classes to connect with suppressed emotions and rebalance their body.
If you’re sus of these physical expressions as a means to heal, you’re allowed the skepticism. Throughout our lives we’re taught to be composed adults in society so this shift towards seemingly negative, angry actions for the betterment of the body feels unnatural. There is science to it though. “We’re taught that humans respond to stressful situations with fight or flight. But if your boss is shouting at you, you’re not allowed to do either and are forced to be polite. There is no release for your reaction,” explains somatic therapist Atmica Reddy. “Research shows that trauma is held in the tissues not in our thoughts, so we need to engage the whole body to let it go, talking or thinking on its own doesn’t help."
That’s where somatic exercises—that push you to actively release bottled up energy—come into play. In fact, this belief inspired Ananya Shetty to launch 22 (!) active branches of Rage Room, a monitored, safe space to break things, in India. From Kochi to Guwahati and Bhubaneswar to Lucknow, Shetty has seen heartbroken singles, burnt out employees, exhausted students (and their parents) come in to find cathartic respite. “For many people, Rage Room provides a physical outlet for emotions that they struggle to accept or express. Recently, a woman came in after a tough divorce and told us it was the first time she felt a sense of closure. I’ve seen people scream, cry and have visceral reactions after their sessions, but they come out visibly lighter,” shares Shetty.
In the post-digital age, there are days when we don’t have to leave the house or even our beds if we don’t wish to. As we become more sedentary, we’re increasingly disconnected from our bodies. Unsurprisingly, most of our decisions and subsequent reactions are informed by the cognitive lens alone, leading the brain into an expected overdrive. Think of all the times you or someone around you has called themselves an overthinker. But it’s paramount to factor in the body’s lived experience as a communicator of emotions, if we pay attention to our sensations and movements, it opens up a whole new avenue of processing.
By stepping out of our minds and focusing on the embodied experience, somatics inevitably makes us more intuitive and empathetic too. Yet it’s equally important to understand that scream therapy or rage rooms in their lonesome are not a solution. For it to work, the physical release needs to be in tandem with an organised mind-management system.
Bengaluru-based marketing professional Ishaan Trehan is a believer in somatics but he’s currently experiencing the need for accompanied therapy. “I’m in the middle of hiring a team and the process takes a lot out of me. Last night, I sat in my car and screamed at the top of my lungs, it usually helps me reset and let go of my frustrations,” Trehan says. "But this time, I felt completely drained after, the screaming was an outlet for my pent up anger but it didn't regulate my emotions, it just made me very tired.”
The symbolic act of breaking things, banging doors or yelling into the void can provide immediate relief but for this to translate into sustained emotional growth we need mindfulness exercises that address the root cause of trauma. “There’s a difference between somatic exercises and somatic therapy. You can practice somatic release on your own but understanding the psychology behind your feelings is equally necessary. You need psychological safety and hand holding to eventually feel better which comes from somatic therapy with a licensed professional,” Reddy explains.
Essentially it’s about finding a balance between the mind and the body, and recognising that going to a break room cannot replace therapy. (In fact, Shetty also has a psychologist on call for customers who are facing duress after their raging session.) Yes, smashing the plates all those years ago helped initiate healing from my breakup but it wasn’t that alone. It was also weekly therapy, months of crying to my friends and as the wise elders say, time.
