University Creates Catharsis Chambers for Stress Release

China’s Central South University has set up a new facility to help students deal with emotional stress. Called psychological catharsis chambers, the specially designed rooms are made to be places where users can come to fully release stress in a safe environment.

Each room is covered in a thick foam material, and two rubber mannequins stand in the center of the floor. Students are encouraged to yell, write down their frustrations or bat around the mannequin in order to vent.

The Epoch Times reports:

Escalating pressure from the sinking job market, complex social relations between students, and confusion about social phenomena have seen more and more Chinese college students suffer psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety.

A psychological evaluation performed on freshman at Central South University in 2008 shows hundreds of students suffering from psychological problems, according to a Xiaoxiang Morning News report.

…Such a move has raised concerns about increasingly violent behaviour, and some believe it is not solving the root of the problem. A number of social workers explicitly expressed that this type of violent outburst should not be encouraged. Catharsis is the emotional release of internal pressures felt by a troubled person.

Epoch Times: “Chinese Universities Provide ‘Catharsis Chambers’ for Stress Release”

image by BrittneyBush