What is an Emotional Escape Room and Should You Get One?

We’ve all gotten emotional at various points in our lives. From temper tantrums as toddlers to feelings of anxiety and stress as adults. Emotions are natural, and the more you repress them, the harder they can become to deal with. However, there is one innovative way to curb your emotions when they become too overwhelming. Enter the emotional escape room. It’s an emerging trend in wellness that has been gaining a lot of traction. What is an emotional escape room and should you get one?

Escape your emotions

Emotional escape rooms are pretty straightforward. According to Pinterest, “If you need a place to go feel all the feels, there’s a room for that.” So, we can gather that an emotional escape room is exactly that, a room where you can escape or unleash your emotions as a form of self-care or wellness. Stemming from the popularity of “rage rooms” where persons could smash furniture, vases, or other items in an attempt to release inner rage and anger, emotional escape rooms are designed for every emotion, both positive and negative. Many homeowners are now interested in creating safe spaces in their homes where they can vent their feelings after a long day, or just have a place to decompress.

Types of emotional escape rooms

An emotional escape can be anything you want it to be. Some types of emotional escape rooms include:

• Safe spaces
• Rage Room
• Reading Room/Book corner
• Crystal Space
• Cozy Corner
• Home Sanctuary/ retreat

Emotional escape rooms aren’t just for adults either. You can create emotional escape rooms for your kids as well. Kids deal with a lot of stress and emotion as they learn to integrate into the world around them. Children with emotional disorders, autism, or other sensitivities may hugely benefit from the use of a calming space, art corner, or area where they can ease their anxiety.

How to create an emotional escape room?

Creating an emotional escape isn’t difficult. If you have a spare room, you can easily convert it into a safe space to escape into. For example, maybe you want a place to spend some alone time while enjoying your favorite music, reading or just to be surrounded by things that bring you comfort. To set up the room, you can add comfortable furniture, décor, plush pillows, and shelves that contain books and other items that are dear to you. You can paint the walls in your favorite color or colors that invoke certain moods.  

The use of fairy lights, scented candles, crystals, incense, beads, artwork, and other aesthetically pleasing décor are also great features you can add when creating a safe emotional space. The design is completely up to you and you have the power to choose the things that go into your emotional escape room. It should essentially be a room that contains zero triggers. As long as it is a place where you can be alone to recharge or a quiet place in your house to concentrate without interruption.

Just being in a room surrounded by your favorite things can do a lot for your mental and emotional health. If you want a room to vent or express yourself loudly, you can also invest in soundproofing the room which would allow you to shout, play music loudly or play a musical instrument as a release (who doesn’t feel some joy from banging out on a drum set?).

However, not everyone may have an extra room at home or a guest room which they can convert into an emotional escape room. Don’t worry, it is still possible to create a safe space in your home, even if all you have is a corner. Here are some examples of how you can set up an emotional escape corner:

• Decorate a corner of your room with a comfy armchair next to a bookshelf with a small table for placing tea, a journal, or crystals
• Use a desk for laying out sensory toys or activities for children such as play-doh stations, art, and craft, or picture books.
• Stack a pile of pillows, and build a fort with blankets in your bedroom. You can get noise-canceling headphones and listen to music in your comfy zone.
• Make a zen meditation area in your garden where you can spend time in nature

The possibilities are endless when it comes to designing your emotional escape room or space.

The benefits of emotional escapes rooms and why everyone should have one

People deal with emotions in different ways. Some like to be loud, others like to reflect quietly, journal, or meditate. No matter your method, emotional escape rooms allow you to release emotions, feel inspired, calm your mind and bring your stress levels down.

One of the top contributors to ill health is stress. Stress also causes cortisol levels in your body to rise which leads to weight gain. It affects your mind and your body and is a common factor in lifestyle diseases, bad habits, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Many of us have been dealing with a lot over the past 2 years. The impact of the global pandemic continues into today. Our homes have become our sanctuaries and the only place we can feel safe and breathe a sigh of relief. An emotional escape room provides a healthy way to cope with the stress that actively helps with improving your mood and uplifting your spirits.

Once you start to feel better about yourself, you can think clearer, which allows you to solve problems more efficiently, boosts productivity, and gives you a more positive outlook on life. You will eventually be able to control your emotions better, no matter where you are. Emotional escape rooms are certainly a great tool when it comes to improving your mental and physical health.

Everyone can benefit from having an emotional escape room in their home. Even if you live in a crowded house or apartment, you can carve out a piece of your bedroom to create a small comfy area to escape into!