Clutter and Depression

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EveWasFramed

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The state of a person's home can often provide insight into the state of their overall well-being. Feng shui teaches that clutter in the home causes depression and fatigue. Whether or not you believe in the art of feng shui, (I really don't know much about it) it's said that there is absolutely a direct link between a messy home and depression

Can cleaning and organizing your space help with depression? Thoughts?





























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Your home is your sanctuary. If you can't find comfort in the state of your home then adverse thoughts and feelings are bound to be afoot
 
If I'm sad, my house is a mess. When I get angry, I clean like crazy. I do prefer being angry. Perhaps I should try cleaning when I'm sad to see if it will make me angry instead of sad.
 
nerdygirl said:
If I'm sad, my house is a mess. When I get angry, I clean like crazy. I do prefer being angry. Perhaps I should try cleaning when I'm sad to see if it will make me angry instead of sad.

*hugs nerdy because she misses her*
 
My home is a exact representation of what my mind is like on any given day of the week. I'm bipolar so sometimes the difference is extreme.
When I'm depressed one of the best things you can do for me is clean my house :)
 
Cleaning bores me mentally so I hate doing it, but less clutter is more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. A clean room is a minor accomplishment if nothing else. I'm not a neat-freak though, I've grown mold in my room that was surely halfway to sentience :D I used to really have to force myself to clean once or twice a year (no exaggeration). To cut down on clutter I'm a minimalist in some ways, I don't own a single knick-knack, everything has a purpose.

There's probably some truth to the idea that our rooms reflect our mental state. Today I built myself a cubicle in my living room using 3 wire clothes racks/shelves with canvas covers and a modular shelving unit. It gives me privacy. In my last apartment there was pink cellophane over the lamps and a twin bed in the living room and dying house plants. My apartments never look completely normal.


 
oh god yes.

what is around us reflects what is inside us.

my ex, we'll call her Andrea, was:

- irresponsible
- selfish
- disorganized
- truly unhappy and unfulfilled

our house, for ten years, i called it "Hurricane Andrea"

- piles of laundry, clean and dirty, intermingled, in every room, on the floors, every horizontal surface, and the furniture.
- piles of dirty dishes, everywhere, under the couch, in the bathroom, in the bedroom, everywhere
- piles of paperwork, mail, bills, important documents, laying strewn everywhere, on top of the entertainment center, all over the dining room table, inside night stands, on top of night stands, in dressers, in car trunks, you name it, paperwork was there
- piles of started and unfinished projects, homework, unpaid bills, to-do lists everywhere started and never finished, neglected to the point of being worse off than if never conceived.

while living in Hurricane Andrea, i routinely wanted to blow my head off with a 12 gage shotgun and hers too.

it wasn't good.

now, my home is NOT spotless, hell, some might say it's even dirty from time to time. i do not maintain a museum, and it's not always guest-ready. BUT i do not live in a hurricane anymore. and i know for a fact, that i am happier not living in that sort of insanity. and insanity IS what it was.
 
Yeah, it does feel better to have everything around me squared away and neat. I think it's less that clutter causes depression though, and more that when I'm depressed I just don't have the energy to tidy up.
 
when I got my first glimpse into real depression, for months and months simply I wouldn't put things back for days, clothes, dishes, all kinds of stuff, because simply I didn't have the motivation, things like come back from a trip and leave the luggage there for like ten days, leave the washing to dry for a week, etc etc I was procrastinating everything.

Then some day someone came visit unexpectedly and I finally realized how I was falling into the rut (for someone it probably would have been still acceptable, but I am on the tidy side). Now, after cleaning and organizing everything, I made a wow to put back whatever I use, no matter how tired I am, the house looks better, I can't really say I feel better because of that but at least I don't feel like a slob anymore, I don't do slob.
 
Cleaning and organising is what I do when I'm really upset and want to be away from the cyber world or away from the real world. It is sort of therapeutic. And after all that? A neat room or place makes me feel much more at peace. Not sure if it's the cleaning that brings the peace.

I do know that I'm a bit OCD when things are out of place in the apartment. Drives me insane when my niece or nephew messes the living room up - can't stand it. So.. I don't really know what it's like to be in a messy room. Oh! My brother's room is always a mess - I've been in there for awhile at each time, does make me uneasy and anxious cos it feels like clutter is all around me and it feels so.... ugh. It gets me somewhat annoyed.

Okay ramble out. Lol.
 
I was always cleaning when I lived at the house with two dogs and a man. Now that I have my own place, I don't clean as much (which is nice to feel !!) A clean environment does make a difference. I believe the following is valid

hbkdx12 said:
Your home is your sanctuary. If you can't find comfort in the state of your home then adverse thoughts and feelings are bound to be afoot
 
Anyone seen that show Hoarders? I've only watched an episode or two but it makes me sad to see how sad they look. It really does seem like a burden having all of that junk around and it's taken a tole on their life. Hopefully they're able to be happier without it. :)
 
Generally I think it does reflect the person in some way but then with most things in life, there's always exceptions. I know people where their house is spotless but their car looks like they've had a party in it, what's that all about?

But a messy car would get on my nerves more than a messy house; for some reason or another!


P.S; all that space after your post is too clean, mess it up a bit!
 

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