How Did You Come Up With This?

I run a rage room out of my garage called Break Thru Pittsburgh. It’s a labor born of love and trauma.

An idea conceived after years of internalized meltdowns where the energy in my body would reach a fever pitch and beg to be released in ways that would be labeled as physically “aggressive”.

My body would be yelling at me to kick, punch, slam, or swing, but I grew up in a house where emotions were to be hidden and dealt with alone, quietly.

So I turned to other, maladaptive means of coping like self injury and truancy. But the urges to be physically “aggressive” never left. 

I’ve heard other autistics describe meltdowns and overwhelm as the feeling of having a chamber inside them filled with steam that needs to be released, or like bees buzzing in your chest.

I deeply identify with these feelings, and I feel passionately that somatic outlets exist for these feelings that will help to ease the feelings and regulate the nervous system.

Throwing bottles at a wall and smashing them with a crowbar offers deep proprioceptive feedback (and excitement!) in two ways: exertion and impact.

Occupational therapists note that these forms of sensory experiences are deeply regulating, and based on client feedback almost everyone who attended one of my workshops came away feeling more grounded, calmer, and lighter; suggesting that their nervous systems were in a very regulated state.