SALEM, Va. – The Stress Factory, which recently relocated from Roanoke last month to a larger facility in Salem, allows visitors to channel their stress by breaking and smashing plates, bottles, and computer monitors.
“We allow people to come in and bang their stress away, and the difference is this is a judgment-free space,” said CEO and President Edward Day, who is training to be a behavioral health specialist.
However, Day said The Stress Factory is not a rage room, but rather a decompression room.
“You’re not just here to break stuff and get out. You’re here to bring your problems, do something with them, and leave that energy with us,” said Day.
Day said that what makes his shop different is that there’s a chance to decompress after you finish breaking things.
“So, what we offer is a five-minute decompression package in which we play a frequency set at 432 Hertz, which has been scientifically proven to decompress the mind, body, and spirit, and we utilize that to help the guests come back to stasis and, come back to a place of balance so that when they finish their experience, they feel actually decompressed, not just riled up from breaking stuff,” said Day.
Chief Program Officer Jamie Starkey at Family Service of Roanoke Valley acknowledges the potential benefits of such facilities for immediate stress relief. However, she emphasizes the importance of developing comprehensive stress management strategies.
“Like mindfulness activities, healthy sleep patterns, maybe some therapy to work through the cause of the stress. It’s about setting good boundaries for yourself,” Starkey explained.
Day said he used his personal experience to open The Stress Factory.
“Stress actually caused me to have a heart attack in 2023 at the young age of 33. So now it’s my mission to create a space to have for people to bring that stress, whether you are a working individual or a young person. Everybody nowadays is getting kicked in the butt by stress. So my goal is to create the safe space, a judgment-free space for people to bring that stress and anxiety and transmute it into something positive,” said Day.