Sometimes we all find ourselves in situations that would be funny if they were not so frustrating.
Have you ever, for example, lost your shoes? Or even just one of your shoes? As a rule, an inability to find your shoes aligns perfectly with a need to get out the door in a hurry. That means a missing shoe or two can cause a lot of stress in mere moments.
You can, no doubt, think of plenty of similar situations you have experienced. Lost keys. A lost wallet. A missing permission slip you need to sign. A library book that needs to be returned. And so on.
In many cases, things go missing for a simple reason: our spaces are cluttered. Sometimes they are extremely cluttered. Sometimes “cluttered” would be a kind word for the actual situation.
Our point here is that cluttered spaces can be a source of stress. Rising levels of stress, of course, can add up to trouble for a person’s overall mental health. Since some degree of stress is unavoidable, it is a good practice to take control of areas where you can make a positive difference for yourself. Let’s take a look at three ways cleaning up can clean up your stress levels.
The Quick Win
When you are feeling stressed or stuck, a quick win can help you get things going in a positive direction again. And straightening up even a small mess can provide that win.
Sort through your mail and recycle the junk. Put the clean laundry away. Hunt up all the empty coffee cups you have left hither and thither and get them in the dishwasher. Straighten the pile of papers that have accumulated in your office.
None of those things would take very long. Heck, you could do all four of them pretty quickly. And the benefit of doing so is immediate. Having cleaned something up, you will get a little mental boost because you have accomplished a task.
This is a repeatable trick, and any bit of disorder will do. When you need a small break and a quick win to lower your stress levels, this is a great tactic.
The Long-Term Adjustment
Remember the situation we set up at the beginning of this blog? You are rushing around trying to find your shoes or your keys or what have you. Each time you check a spot and the item you need is not there, you can feel your stress level rising. In that very moment, all you can really do is take a deep breath and keep looking.
But in a quieter moment, you could work toward making a long-term adjustment. What if you had specific spots for your shoes, your keys, your wallet, and so on? It will likely take some time to build new habits if you generally, for example, just toss your keys on the table and let them fall where they may. But the effort will pay dividends by reducing the times you have to scurry around looking for something. That is another example of how less mess can mean less stress—and that is good for your mental health.
Again, new habits can take some time to develop, but if you stick with it, you can make a lasting and positive difference when it comes to establishing order in your spaces. The benefits to your mental health will be lasting and positive, too.
The Sleep Benefits
It might seem counterintuitive to suggest that a less cluttered sleeping space supports better rest. After all, you sleep with your eyes closed, right? Nevertheless, keeping your bedroom tidy plays an important role when it comes to improving your sleep—and better sleep is a key component of better mental health.
When you are surrounded by clutter, your cortisol (a stress hormone) levels tend to increase, and that can make it difficult to sleep. Additionally, a messy room could be filled with various allergens that could cause symptoms that disrupt sleep. Those allergens can be cleared away with a good cleaning.
This article explores the connection between tidiness and quality sleep in more detail.
We Will Keep This Short and Tidy: We Can Help
When you are struggling with one of the various kinds of depression, a panic or anxiety disorder, challenges grounded in traumatic experiences, or another sort of mental health challenge, it can be difficult to know just what to do, especially if your symptoms tend to make it hard to function. Alternatively, you might know that you should pursue treatment but be reluctant to do so because you are embarrassed or determined to try to power through on your own.
At Peak View Behavioral Health, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, we are dedicated to providing an evidence-based, personalized mental health treatment plan to each and every person we serve. Our team is made up of highly trained professionals who have years of experience. Equally importantly, our team members are devoted to an ethos of empathy. You will never experience judgment at Peak View; you will always experience our best efforts to help you improve your mental health and maintain those improvements over time.
When you are ready to make a change for the better, we are ready to help.
