If you think about it, housework can help de-stress. Cleaning combines simple repetitive motions, gentle exercise, and a feeling of satisfaction when you're ...Read more
Whether someone is dealing with depression or is simply overwhelmed, we often use a technique called behavioral activation, which involves purposefully engaging in achievable activities to improve mood. This approach has been borne out in research; one study even suggests that cleaning can help alleviate stress, even when the stressor has nothing to do with the clutter. Spring cleaning is a great example of behavioral activation. [...] When we evaluate someone’s mental health, we typically include appearance within an overall assessment of their ability to perform activities of daily living. If someone presents as noticeably disheveled or does not appear to be engaging in normal grooming, that could indicate the person may be struggling in many areas, including their home environment, driven by depression, anxiety, or some other mental health disorder. ## Where does spring cleaning fit into stress reduction? [...] In behavioral activation, we help our clients identify objectively achievable tasks (this will often include cleaning or straightening up) and help them differentiate these actions from the stressors and tasks that the individual finds overwhelming. We also help them chunk down any large, overwhelming task into smaller, more manageable steps.
Decluttering is a good way to improve your overall mental health. A clean environment can make you feel less anxious, which can help reduce your desire to stress clean. Rosado advises utilizing the “one in, one out” method. The strategy is simple: for every one thing you bring into your home, one thing must go. So if you buy a new centerpiece, you can get rid of the one gathering dust in storage. [...] Alternatively, you can refocus your energy on more productive tasks. “Engaging in creative pursuits, pursuing personal or professional goals, and focusing on activities that bring a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment can shift the focus away from cleaning and towards more meaningful endeavors,” says Rosado. [...] If you notice that you don’t need to clean (as in, there’s no actual mess, but you’re feeling the urge to clean anyway), try other forms of anxiety relief, such as exercise, journaling, or meditation.
## How to Incorporate Cleaning Into Your Life 1 Start small and do a little bit each day. The thought of having to clean your house from top to bottom in one day can be daunting and will only add to any stress or anxiety you are feeling. Don’t make your to-do list bigger than what you can handle mentally. To begin with, choose one thing to do today, and then something else tomorrow and so on. You won’t then be faced with a daunting feeling when you come to cleaning. [...] Can cleaning help you reduce stress? There are lots of different ways that we can manage our stress. We each have our routine that we reach for when we feel overwhelmed. Some may try yoga, or mindfulness exercises, maybe even head to the hairdressers or for a massage. For others, dusting shelves, wiping down the kitchen or organising is their way to deal with stress. Cleaning is just as beneficial for our mental health as mindfulness related activities. For some people, coming home to a clean [...] Clutter and mess can be linked to negative emotions like confusion and tension. Whereas a clean and tidy home leads to positive emotions such as a sense of calm and well-being. By sorting and organising the clutter and mess around you, you can reduce any stress or anxiety you may be feeling and this will help you feel like you are taking control of your life. The physical activity of cleaning combined with the result of a cleaner home helps reduce stress, feelings of anxiety, and depressive
Regular cleaning is important to remove germs in your home, and decrease the chance that someone gets a cold or flu. You can make it easy by keeping disinfecting wipes in the germiest areas of your house – such as the kitchen and bathroom. [...] On the other hand, if a cluttered kitchen cabinet bugs you, it’s important to organize it. The challenge is to find a way to squeeze in decluttering and still have time for other valuable activities that help keep stress under control, such as family time, exercise and sleep. Creating a schedule can be an effective way to manage home cleanup and decluttering. #### Sample home organization schedule [...] But to be clear, it’s totally fine if your house isn’t organized. People can manage different levels of clutter – and in many cases, it’s not a big deal. If a messy living room doesn’t bother you, there’s no need to bump couch cleanup to the top of your priority list (of course, if there are half-eaten tacos in the cushions, that’s another story).
Deep cleaning is my best coping mechanism for stress and anxiety. It tricks me into feeling productive and I usually feel better while working until I drop.Read more
## found that (a) concrete visual simulation of cleaning behavior alleviated residual anxiety from a stress-inducing physical scene, an effect distinct from touch, and (b) actual cleaning behavior enhanced adaptive cardiovascular reactivity to a highly stressful context of social performance/evaluation, which provides the first physiological evidence for the attenuation of stress-related effects by cleaning. Overall, actual cleaning and simulated cleaning attenuate effects of physical or [...] others; Tesser, 2000). Paralleling such mental mechanisms, we observe that cleaning can attenuate the effects of psychological threats to one’s self—as moral (West & Zhong, 2015), as rational (Lee & Schwarz, 2010), as competent (Kaspar, 2012), and as socially accepted (the present findings). This opens up a broad and exciting avenue for future research: Daily cleaning behavior, mundane as it seems, may serve supplementary coping functions that not only attenuate stress but also sustain positive [...] Our work also provides the first physiological evidence for the attenuation of stress-related effects by cleaning, extending the hitherto mostly experiential evidence to a new level of analysis. An additional nuance is that cleaning effects in some of the present experiments were evident for indirect measures, including pictorial assessment of basic affective dimensions and physiological markers, but not for direct verbal measures that used specific emotion terms, which can operate
Physical activity can pump up your feel-good endorphins and other natural neural chemicals that boost your sense of well-being. Exercise also can refocus your mind on your body's movements. This refocus can improve your mood and help the day's irritations fade away. So go on a walk, take a jog, work in your garden, clean your house, bike, swim, weight train, vacuum or do anything else that gets you active. ## Eat a healthy diet [...] Listening to or playing music is a good stress reliever. It can provide a mental distraction, lessen muscle tension and lower stress hormones. Turn up the volume and let your mind be absorbed by the music. If music isn't one of your interests, turn your attention to another hobby you enjoy. For example, try gardening, sewing, reading or sketching. Or try anything that makes you focus on what you're doing rather than what you think you should be doing. ## Seek counseling [...] When you're stressed and irritable, you may want to isolate yourself. Instead, reach out to family and friends and make social connections. Even one good friend who listens can make a difference. Social contact is a good stress reliever because it can offer distraction, give support, and help you put up with life's up and downs. So take a coffee break with a friend, email a relative or visit your place of worship.