Around 80% of doctor visits are for “stress-related” symptoms. That means finding ways to re-stress isn’t just a good thing to do, it is actually good for your health, both physically and mentally. Learing how to focus on good eating habits, getting enough quality sleep and physical exercise is important and can lead to better stress management. But did you ever think about how your environment might be contributing to your stress level?

Back in 2023, Dn. Joseph Ferrari, Phd did a podcast called, “Why clutter stresses us out” where he laid out many of the aspects between mental health and clutter. Here we will tackle the link between the two.

Is clutter a “sign” of mental health issues or is it a “cause” of mental health issues? Well, the answer is kinda both. Clutter is the accumulation of too much stuff to be easily accommodated in the designated space. The ability to organize and access your items is compromised. The ability to maintain the items in peek condition may be difficult or impossible.

When a person resides [or works] in an environment where there is clutter, the ability to focus and concentrate on important information is affected. The brain is designed to filter out irrelevant stimuli and to keep focused on only those factors necessary for a task or action. However, this activity [filtering out irrelevant stimuli] does take energy and this effort will reduce the brain’s ability to pay attention and to complete the designated task. When the clutter is chronic, this effort begins to create a compounding effect on the brain draining even more energy. This is experienced as stress. Unfortunately, the stress can be felt under the surface as a lack of motivation, lethargy, irritability or just a feeling of being unsettled. The longer these feelings of unease go on, the more stressful the environment. A person may not even be aware of where these feelings of uneasiness are coming from and may attribute it to their own character flaws, “I’m just unmotivated” or “I’m just so lazy”.

On the other side of this, a person’s own struggle with anxiety or depression can increase the risk of clutter. When a person is anxious it often experienced as “living in their head”. A person spends a lot of time and energy having internal dialogue with themselves. The thoughts may be “what if I don’t make my partner happy” or “what if I lose my job” or other fears and insecurities. These intense worries and concerns rob a person mental energy to do even small peripheral tasks such as picking up shoes in the hallway, organizing summer and winter outwear or throwing out items no longer needed. Clutter can begin to accumulate creating more “stress” for the person who is already feeling overwhelmed.

Clutter can be a cause or symptom of someone’s mental health challenges. Spending time getting our environment organized can help regardless of what is the origin of clutter.