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10 Simple Ways Minimalism Can Stop Depression And Anxiety

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

Do you ever feel like getting rid of everything?

I know when I suffered badly from depression and anxiety everything in my environment was a potential trigger that would send me further into the overwhelming blackness.

I would often wonder why do I want to throw everything away or go on a mad cleaning frenzy when my life felt like it was falling apart.

At first, I thought it was because I was trying to gain control of something, which I’m sure had a part to play. But now that I have committed to my minimalist journey I realize that most likely a part of me knew my stuff (read clutter) was actually helping to drag me further into depression and anxiety.

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My stuff was creating a clutter, depression and anxiety cycle that would have been exhausting even for people without mental health issues.

So it was really quite normal that with feelings of depression, getting rid of possessions was also something that crossed my mind a lot. 

Yet, despite the title, I’m not touting minimalism as a cure-all for mental health problems.

There are so many factors that affect mental health and it would be highly irresponsible for me to tell you that getting rid of possessions will get rid of your depression and anxiety just. like. that.

But what I can tell you from my own experience, is that embracing minimalism and decluttering my possessions was the final step I needed to ultimately feel like I was in recovery from years of hell at the hands of depression and anxiety.

So whilst yes, my title might have been a bit clickbaity that’s because I’m desperate for you to read this post in case you experience the same health benefits of minimalism I did that can transform your life.

The more people I can help from my own experience the less it feels like depression and anxiety wasted those years of mine.

So read on to find out how minimalism helps anxiety and depression, why minimalism is good and the link between minimalism and mental health…

From non-functioning to functioning 

Also, because we are on the subject, minimalism was the final thing I needed to do to permanently get on the recovery road. In order to even put a foot on that road in the first place I took the supplement 5HTP and it was life-changing

I would say 5HTP was the biggest thing that improved my depression and it allowed me to implement other lifestyle changes (like minimalism and an effective self-care routine). So if right now you can barely get out of bed each morning please don’t think I’m suggesting you should attempt to declutter your entire house.

No, right now you need something that just lifts the very heaviest part of the depression so that at some point down the road getting out of bed, looking after yourself and even decluttering your home seems like a very doable activity.

I would really recommend you seek medical expertise and if you’re interested you can check out 5HTP here.

So what are the 10 ways minimalism and getting rid of your stuff can help reduce depression and anxiety?

It’s time to answer the question of can minimalism help depression and how!

1) Minimalism reduces overwhelm

I think unless you have experienced depression or anxiety you cannot understand the level of overwhelming this illness brings.

It’s literally catastrophic.

The simplest things, like clearing up after dinner, seem insurmountable and to an outsider, it can just look like you’re procrastinating over a task you don’t want to do.

Luckily the biggest side effect of minimalism is a reduction in overwhelm, and as soon as that stuff goes out the door you will instantly feel lighter and more capable. Honestly, it’s a magical feeling.

Plus this feeling continues because when you declutter properly you will probably get rid of at least half your stuff. Stuff that previously needed tidying, maintaining and that you felt you should be using.

So when that stuff goes for good, the mental load from each of those objects also goes for good.

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

2) Minimalism increase energy

When you have a chronic health condition, whether that’s physical or mental, energy is in short supply.

And you know what takes energy, constant tidying, cleaning and maintenance of your stuff.

I know when I decluttered my own home I suddenly had so much more time just because I wasn’t continuously needing to tidy or clean. It was wonderful.

Plus all that extra energy and time, some of it could be used on self-care to further help your anxiety and depression.

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

3) Minimalism reduces overstimulation

You know when you are trying to do work but people are talking, you can hear a TV in the distance, the kettle’s boiling and you just can’t concentrate. It’s probably because you are being overstimulated.

Overstimulation is basically our brain going ahhhh there is so much going on I don’t know what to do.

And for many people, particularly those with or recovering from depression and anxiety, clutter and mess can be a very strong trigger for overstimulation, which in turn leads to feelings of overwhelm and a reduction in energy, due to the mental load of having to deal with the stuff.

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

4) Minimalism reduces feelings of guilt

Mess and clutter easily cause guilt because you feel like you should be tidying. You can also feel a lot of guilt if you don’t use certain items like gifts someone gave you or if you brought some expensive clothes and don’t wear them.

Guilt is very much a negative emotion, and something I always found was that it was easier for my anxiety and depression to be triggered if I already had a foundational negative emotion, like guilt.

Plus guilt saps your energy and like I mentioned earlier if you’re already unwell your energy is already depleted!

So if items are causing you guilt, or any other negative emotion then just get rid of them. Your mental health is far more important.

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

5) Minimalism reduces mental load

I’ve mentioned mental load a couple of times already but I think it’s important enough to warrant it’s own number!

Mental load was recently brought into the mainstream when a French artist, called Emma, created a comic illustrating how females are often left to be managers of the household and this creates a mental load, leading to exhaustion and inequality.

I personally think the idea of mental load can be applied to many other situations. For example, the mental load of four cars compared with one car is massive, think of all the extra servicing, licensing, insurance, etc you have to remember and do for those three extra cars.

But minimalism reduces the mental load of stuff, purely because you are reducing the amount of stuff you have. This, in turn, reduces exhaustion, overwhelm, guilt and gives you more time (that could be dedicated to self-care or just enjoying life!)

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

6) Minimalism reduces decision fatigue

Decision fatigue is a subject that fascinates me, especially because I think that that and mental load are two of the biggest time and energy sucks in our modern-day society.

Basically, we only have so much useful decision-making ability in one day.

For example, have you ever got home from a long day at work and were unable to decide what to have for dinner.

It felt like making that choice was just way too hard so you probably either went without or ended up eating general rubbish from the cupboards. That’s decision fatigue.

In fact, many people in high-powered positions will often wear similar clothes every day. Like Mark Zuckerberg who wears grey t-shirts each day or Barak Obama who always wears very similar suits and ties just to reduce decision fatigue.

Minimalism really reduces decision fatigue because you have less stuff and what you do have, you actually like.

So if normally you find it difficult to decide what to wear and your mornings are stressful, if you declutter your wardrobe and embraced a more minimalist approach to clothing that wouldn’t be a problem because you would only own a few things, thus less choice, and the stuff you do own you would love and feel good in.

You will be surprised just how much a tidy home (where you hardly have to do anything to maintain it) and just less choice in your day to day life (because you are only surrounded by objects that you actually like and use) will seriously raise your happiness level and reduce your anxiety and depression.

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

7) Minimalism saves time

Mainly because you won’t be spending hours choosing what to wear, or tidying your home, or finding your keys, etc.

And saving time can really help anxiety and depression in two ways.

Like I’ve mentioned before, the more time and energy you have the more time can be dedicated to self-care and enjoying life. Two key factors in recovery from mental illness!

But also a lack of time, or being late, can be a real anxiety trigger for many of us. So anything that helps increase our time and improves our time management automatically helps our anxiety levels!

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

8) Minimalism stops you playing the comparison game

When you start on your minimalist journey you begin to realize how possessions really have no impact on your happiness and contentment.

This mind shift away from society’s conventional view of possessions (the more the better, and the more someone has the more successful they are) allows you the freedom to no longer feel like a failure or inadequate just because you don’t have as much as someone else.

So in the same way that reducing your time on social media makes you happier because you aren’t comparing your current life (slobbed out on the sofa) with their social media perfect picture (their life most definitely isn’t always as perfect as that holiday snap you’re staring at…)

Minimalism offers a more permanent shift in the way you view possessions, so instead of having to use social media less (although you should be doing this anyway because it just helps you live more in the moment!)

When you see those pictures of someone getting a new car, or see it in real life, you no longer feel inadequate because you’re driving an old banger.

You just see it as that is what the person enjoys and cares about so that’s what they have decided to invest in and this has no bearing on you whatsoever.

(You might even take pity on them for all that extra mental load they’ve taken on…)

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

9) Minimalism reduces worry

Minimalism really helps you identify the more important things in life, which in turn gives you the freedom and inner permission not to worry about the less important things!

For example, I’m someone that can find something to worry about in every situation if I let myself. So if I was cooking a meal for friends and burnt the main course that could cause plenty of worry and upset.

But now I realize that the important part of having dinner with friends isn’t impressing them with my (lack of) culinary skills, but instead, the actual time spent enjoying their company.

So now I no longer worry if my food is adequate. Instead, I dish up something I hope is edible knowing that if it isn’t we can find something else to eat, as I’m much more interested in hearing about my friend’s lives than I am about the food I’m cooking.

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

10) Minimalism reduces financial insecurity

Worrying about finances can easily trigger feelings of anxiety or depression. But because minimalism inadvertently reduces your spending it really can help to relieve financial problems.

This benefit can be twofold if you’re someone that copes with negative feelings through shopping as not only will minimalism reduce your shopping habit, thus saving money.

But it will also help you deal with the reasons of why you shop and help you overcome that as well!

Minimalism help depression and anxiety

So these are the top ten ways that minimalism can help reduce, and possibly even stop anxiety and depression.

If you’re currently struggling with depression and mental health then I have a FREE printable you might like. 

It’s all about the self-care routine I used to beat depression and when used in conjunction with embracing a more minimalist life is super powerful!!!

You can grab the free checklist by clicking the button below.


 

From my own experiences, I would advise anyone who is able and looking to see an improvement in their mental health to try decluttering and minimalism because it had such a massive positive impact on my own mental health. I think I can honestly say it transformed my life.

But if you now have the urge to throw everything away you might want to know how to get rid of all your stuff…

Want to declutter, then start here

I’ve pulled together some of my best resources on decluttering so you can learn how to get rid of your possessions in a controlled and overwhelm-free way!

Want to know minimalism benefits and simple life benefits that answer the question how to improve mental health? Perhaps you're looking for simple ways to improve mental health, easy ways to improve mental health or the best ways to improve mental health, then you definitely want to check out minimalism mental health and this post will tell you all about it! Minimalist living before and after, what changed? I will tell you what changed, minimalism massively improved my mental health. In fact I credit minimalism with curing my depression and helping me recover from depression as clutter causes stress and clutter and stress can stop you from simplify your life feeling overwhelmed!#mentalhealth #depression #minimalism #simplify
Want to know minimalism benefits and simple life benefits that answer the question how to improve mental health? Perhaps you're looking for simple ways to improve mental health, easy ways to improve mental health or the best ways to improve mental health, then you definitely want to check out minimalism mental health and this post will tell you all about it! Minimalist living before and after, what changed? I will tell you what changed, minimalism massively improved my mental health. In fact I credit minimalism with curing my depression and helping me recover from depression as clutter causes stress and clutter and stress can stop you from simplify your life feeling overwhelmed!#mentalhealth #depression #minimalism #simplify
Want to know minimalism benefits and simple life benefits that answer the question how to improve mental health? Perhaps you're looking for simple ways to improve mental health, easy ways to improve mental health or the best ways to improve mental health, then you definitely want to check out minimalism mental health and this post will tell you all about it! Minimalist living before and after, what changed? I will tell you what changed, minimalism massively improved my mental health. In fact I credit minimalism with curing my depression and helping me recover from depression as clutter causes stress and clutter and stress can stop you from simplify your life feeling overwhelmed!#mentalhealth #depression #minimalism #simplify

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18 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. Learning about overwhelm, decision fatigue, and more is a huge deal for my mental health. I’ve been dabbling in decluttering since reading Marie Kondo, and this article really helped me underdstand why I felt it so important and beneficial. Did something happen with the video? I was hoping to watch/listen to it on repeat while I prepare for my move. I hope everything is ok. Please bring it back if possible. Thanks so much for everything!!

    1. I’m so glad this article helped you and that learning about all this stuff is really making a difference for your mental health. That’s just such brilliant news! I’m afraid I had to take the video down due to some business restructuring behind the scenes so I’m sorry it’s no longer available. But you are more than welcome and I hope the move goes really well for you!!!

  2. I’ve noticed this post is from a couple of years ago but it’s really hitting on how I’ve been feeling lately. I’ve noticed when my surroundings are not tidy, I am overstimulated and can’t focus on one thing. Organizing and getting rid of the things I don’t need have greatly improved my mood and productivity! Great post!!

    1. Definitely! It’s certainly something I still experience now and I’m so pleased organising and getting rid of things has really helped you!

  3. This is so helpful thank you!

    1. No problem at all, I’m glad it helped!

  4. I have spent years decluttering. Getting dressed is much faster and I really look more pulled together. I decided to put decluttering into high gear when a hoarder friend of mine died. Her daughter was left cleaning up the mess. I don’t want that stress for my daughters.
    When I decluttered my clothes, I tried on each item. I imagined someone that I wanted to impress seeing me in that clothing. If I felt humiliated the item went for a ride away from my home

    1. No problem at all 🙂

  5. Michelle s says:

    Hi Sammy – it was so refreshing and comforting to read your article and to find someone who has also experienced what I have been plagued with for so many years. You have put it into simple words and it makes sense. I cannot explain to people why I have no energy – I am just bloody tired!! The mental load makes huge sense and I loved the comic by Emma. I think this should be shared to all men on FB!! They don’t understand our “load” and the stress it causes. There should be courses on this stuff to teach men how to look and listen and also for women on how to express themselves better and tips on sharing the load. It is a real issue and one that women are struggling with every day. Well done for bringing this issue to the forefront. I look forward to reading any more blogs/articles that you post in the months to come. Regards, Michelle

    1. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post and felt it resonated with you. I think the concept of mental load cannot be underestimated!!! Hmm a course I might consider that 😉

  6. Christine says:

    I was clinically depressed before I acquired all this stuff. Now, I am surrounded by stuff AND depressed AND have no motivation or energy to clear out all this stuff. I can’t have anyone I know help – it is too embarrassing tho many have offered. AND have no funds to hire someone.
    I know they say just start – am so paralyzed by everything there is to do that even doing a little takes so much energy. It is so slow going. I feel defeated all the time.
    Ugh.

    1. I know exactly how you feel as I was in the same place! In the end I had to ask for help elsewhere because I was just unable to do it alone. Please don’t feel embarrassed, we all need help sometimes!

    2. Dear Christine,

      I hope you get this message. I found an inspirational book called Sink Reflections. It talks about Baby Steps and gives helpful motivation. Another book I’m learning from is The Magic of Tidying Up. I hope you’re doing better. Just know you are not alone.

      Good luck,

      LM

  7. I love this post! Most of the stuff that clutters is just junk, and man do I have plenty of junk to toss out. Can’t wait to get started and to feeling more aaahhhh…. And less AAAHHHH!!! 🙂 Thanks for the post.

    1. I know exactly what you mean, and that aaahhhhh (not AAAHHHH) feeling is just so so good!!!

  8. An excellent post! I can’t agree more. Minimalism does play an important part in reducing anxiety. Having less is calming on the mind. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Exactly, it made such a big difference to me and I really think it can help other a lot!

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