January always feels overwhelming. After the excitement and magic of Christmas, with its lazy afternoons spent watching movies and nowhere to be, suddenly being thrown back into work, school and life is a shock to the system. As a highly sensitive person, my senses feel overwhelmed far more quickly in January; added to this, I’m recovering from Covid, which has made me hypersensitive.

In search of ways to soothe my jagged nervous system, I’m intrigued by the concept of an emotional escape room. According to chartered psychologist Catherine Hallissey: “An emotional escape room is a space you intentionally designate as a place to escape from daily life during times of emotional distress.”

“Emotional escape rooms are enormously healing and reviving,” agrees Clare Flaxen, a psychotherapist and founder of CF Mindset. “There’s a power to having access to a calm, grounded place. It helps regulate your nervous system and gives you the space to connect with the solution-focused, problem-solving nature of your brain. Everyone should have a little corner of their world that lets them feel like this,” she says.

Sound good? Read on to discover how to create yours.

Do you need an ‘emotional escape room’? The new way to bring some calm to your day, according to therapists