Depression truly takes up a toll on your body and mind. This mental illness leaves you exhausted without even doing anything, adversely affects your mood, and incredibly lowers your energy levels. While dealing with these major depressive episodes, one place that can really help you be at ease, making you feel a little bit better, is your home. However, if you seem to have a messy house, your condition may worsen, as a cluttered space makes us feel too discouraged. Even though the symptoms of depression include a significant loss of interest and you may not feel like doing anything, pushing yourself a little bit to keep the space around you clean can boost your mood as it makes you feel less sluggish and more accomplished. A de-cluttered space can often lead to a de-cluttered mind, which is a step closer to treating depression.
In this write-up, we shall talk about how the state of your house affects your mental health, including tips to have a clean home for people with depression. Let’s get started!
How does the state of your house affect your mental health?
A scientific journal called Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin conducted a study to measure the relation between the level of cleanliness in the house and its residents’ mental health. Around 60 individuals explained the conditions of their homes, and the individuals who described their home as “cluttered” or full of “unfinished chores” were more inclined towards depression and excessive fatigue than those who expressed their homes as “restful,” “clean” and “restorative.” The individuals with messy homes exhibited higher stress hormone cortisol levels than the other group.
Psychology implies that humans tend to grow extra moody, anxious, and frustrated, get irritated quickly, and lose patience when we surround ourselves with clutter and mess. These negative feelings significantly affect our mental health, leading to major depression. A messed up house results in a messed up mind, which often leads to messed up relationships. It may cause unfortunate events like fights with family members over missing objects, blaming each other for messes leading to more arguments, etc. It tells us that an unruly and messy house can damage relationships and ultimately causes depression and anxiety.
Now that we know the importance of having a clean house and the consequences of not having one let’s see how we can achieve that.
Tips to keep your house clean to ease depression:
Set Achievable, Small-term Goals
When you plan your cleaning schedule, make sure that you devise it such that it is manageable and achievable for you. Be practical with your planning by avoiding a highly packed schedule. Don’t try to do everything at a time, or in one day; break up tasks into doable segments so that you don’t overexert yourself and give up too soon. Only when you set your goals in a manageable way will you achieve them and feel accomplished at the end of the day. Otherwise, you may end up feeling all the more discouraged and stressed.
Clean Up as Soon as You Encounter a Mess
Sometimes, cleaning your house becomes so much easier by just not cluttering it in the first place. Getting all the cleaning work done right after the mess takes place makes the aftermath much simpler. Wash your dishes right after cooking instead of letting them pile up. Form a habit of sorting and organizing your mail before they take up all your tablespace. These were just a couple of examples to make you realize that taking care of the mess instantly will effortlessly keep your home clean and clutter-free.
Avoid Procrastination
When you are in that “depressed mood,” it gets extremely easy to put everything away and claim that you would do it tomorrow. And the cycle keeps repeating itself, resulting in a massive pile of unfinished work, which ultimately creates a mental load. Instead, break the procrastination chain and get started with the work immediately. A practical tip is to note down your tasks for the day on the calendar and allot time for them. You may also spice up your cleaning process by playing some good music and getting work done while having fun.
Keep Your Cleaning Supplier Carefully
Once you finally manage to make up your mind and start the cleaning process, not finding the required supplies gives you a convenient excuse to give up. So, to keep that from happening, make sure that you store all the cleaning gadgets and supplies in the right place in an organized manner. This way, you never have to look for them; you just know where they are. Besides, keep them at locations that are easily accessible. Kitchen cleaning supplies should be somewhere in the kitchen, and the same goes for the bathroom, hardware, and other cleaning areas.
Get Your Family Members Involved
Keeping the house clean and free of clutter is not just your responsibility but also of every other person living in the house. Having a couple of helping hands will undoubtedly ease the pressure and keep the place clean effortlessly. Allot specific areas of the house to each member and ask them to clean and maintain them. Besides, cleaning together is a great way to bond as a family while getting work done. Try and make them understand that by helping in keeping the house clean, they are helping you deal with depression.
Take It Easy
As much as keeping your surrounding clutter-free is essential for you, it is equally crucial to give yourself time and relaxation whenever needed. Don’t go too hard on yourself by making rigid rules. Take a break whenever needed, and do not expect perfection and absolute consistency. Be kind to yourself and listen to your body. Some days are meant for merely being, and that is entirely okay. In fact, taking a break occasionally allows you to restore energy and work all the more efficiently next time.
Conclusion
Depression badly affects your daily life and can make you feel overwhelmed most of the time. But what you should realize is that 80% of people manage to deal with it through proper treatment, and so can you. Keeping your surroundings clean is one of the many ways to manage your symptoms. The tips mentioned in this write-up will genuinely help you have a cleaner living space and a more relaxed mind.
