Decluttering Your Life: How Cleaning and Mental Health Are Connected | Dawn Potter, PsyD

[@jazminearceneaux7452]

A clean home makes me feel happy. What she said about a “tangible result” was spot on. I like seeing a clean room and knowing that I did that.

[@JasDvsn219]

Ive realized that with my experience having bouts of depression and anxiety with my place ultimately ending up in total chaos, I start with the rooms that are used for essentials needs... those two being the Bathroom and Kitchen; which also tends to require more deep cleaning and disinfecting as well.. Once those two spaces are done, I feel an instant sense of relief knowing that even if the rest of my home is still a mess, I can now clean as little or as much with taking as much time needed, as long as those two rooms are cleaned and clear for me to tend to my important everyday living needs

[@ForeverTogether219]

I agree .. interesting Theories 🎉

[@TheAbundanceVibration]

Cleaning your home is essential to a free mind.

[@Simon1985_]

I know when my flat is untidy I have no motivation to do anything. I’ll sit on KZbin on all day, drinking alcohol and eating junk food. Eventually, I’ll have enough and I put on Jordan Peterson’s “clean your room” speech on my AirPods and I start in the kitchen, doing the dishes. The hot water is relaxing and helps me move on to the next thing. Getting a bin bag and just dumping all the rubbish into it. By that time, I’m on a mission and I don’t stop till my whole flat is spotless. Then I go healthy food shopping, go for a long walk and I make something healthy to eat when I get back. I feel 100 times better mentally than if I had left it messy. Getting started and not having a plan is the hardest part; and doing it yourself is so much more rewarding than if someone had done it for you.

[@dbradshaw3500]

People used to have wood stoves and they burnt coal. It makes a mess. Soot and ash. When it got warm they didn’t need the stove so they cleaned everything. Spring cleaning. Then it started again in the fall. I think spring cleaning is a habit passed down.

[@Plethorality]

exactly! it was a survival thing! also it was hard tp keep up with the washing, when nothing muchcould dry outside, but only in front of the smokey, sooty fire.

[@NickSBailey]

yes, although I think it goes even further back it's a kind of nest making you see all over nature, hard wired into us to respond to increasing light levels

[@Leighsha7]

So true!!!! 💗 Cleanliness is happiness.

[@sreddy9889]

Commit to 5 minutes a day which usually becomes 20. It actually an important part of self care aside from combing your hair and going to the doctor etc..I realized it too late.

[@sreddy9889]

Use earphones and listen to podcasts while you are cleaning..

[@sreddy9889]

also I feel the Dyson stick vacuum helps me feel not overwhelmed while vacuuming. It is like a toy. Highly recommend the V15.

[@sreddy9889]

Rx: Dyson V15 detect use as directed #1. Lol

[@chronicpainfighter5587]

I can't do it physically and HATE IT!

[@paularies3282]

Look into your local senior/disability services in your county or city. There maybe some cleaning help. I'm disabled and have good/bad days. A little bit each day. It's honestly taken me years and still getting there.

[@SweetUniverse]

Same here. It is very stressful and frustrating. It looks like due to my physical condition I might qualify for free cleaning 2 or 3 times a week & I'm definitely going to take advantage of that.

[@AngelekaL]

Currently working with my therapist on cleaning/trauma… I hope I get better ❤

[@SundayCookingRemix]

Very true I was raised this way, military style Works for my family Thank you xo

[@rnguyen2516]

What was your cleaning schedule like?

[@belindamartinez8441]

I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. If my home is turned upside down I start to flup out and i cry 😢 It's insane. I've always been a tidy person never left to wk without making my bed, or going to bed without doing the dishes, But that's just the way my mom brought us up. It stayed with me thank God, but why do I flip out when I let my house chores go and that only happens when I'm not feeling good.

[@travisfitzwater8093]

Have you ever heard about Obsessive Decluttering? Be careful about the unintended consequences of an imbalanced viewpoint.

[@Swan-rb4yg]

That is true my sister was so obsessed with cleaning that she basically crippled her hands and could not use them for a long time, just repetitive cleaning and scrubbing.

[@SweetUniverse]

In my family we have a few that lean in the other direction - where there can't be even one extra thing in the home or one thing out of place

[@robinstpierre864]

totally 👍 agree, I could not live in a messy or dirty home.

[@marcy2k1]

Why was this so comforting 😶‍🌫

[@valarmorghulis4801]

Exactly lol 😆

[@douglasgoldfarb3421]

Thank you for helping me

[@amberallen4181]

I need help, I work 40 hours a week, 10k-15k steps average work day. When I get home I might cook supper or we get something quick and by the time I eat I'm exhausted. Then on my off days my autistic child is a handful, constant needs, I get the dishes done and laundry washed and dried then I'm exhausted again. Cleaning does help my anxiety but I can't do it sometimes and I have no " me time". I'm in survival mode, I can't relax anymore even if I tried

[@godlovessophiia]

You have to pay a maid to help you. It’s worth it

[@plumeretbonnet]

thank you.

[@rail7646]

I'm and was a messy person my entire life with no problems at least I thought so, I'm 34, I think I was always way less productive due to how my home was and still am. RN around me theres pure chaos and I needed some mood change to adress it, I feel like cleaning up this time will have a different impact since I feel surpressed with all the dirt around lol and it's not a peak of dirt, it's just a standard amount of it. Seems I got more sensitive over the years

[@philipmccann2358]

But how do you make your self to start doing it ? My home is a tip and I am very unhappy but I just can’t face it ! How do I make myself make a start doing it ? Every time I put a day aside or book time off work to do it…I never do it ! I’m just so overwhelmed!

[@wumpkin]

Start in small sections & set a timer for 5-10 minutes. If you try to attack it all at once, you will shut down & become overwhelmed. When you get up to leave a room take something with you every time that doesn’t belong there & put it where it belongs. Set a 10 minute timer, grab a trash bag & run around the house just putting trash in it. You would be amazed how much you find. My daughter has this issue. I have told her over the years, I’m too lazy to have a messy house, because I don’t want to have to spend hours cleaning my house. I have always cleaned 1 room a day & just picked up the rest of the house, that way my home is always tidy.

[@TheHarpmaven]

Listen to a cleaning/decluttering video on KZbin while you sleep. There are many to choose from- you will wake up being very motivated to clean!

[@jennykim6220]

I am realizing more & more messy house has a lot to do with emotional issues but it may have started with physical illnesses .

[@janakase6319]

What when your doctor says you do not want to get a diagnose (because it "would make no difference" or maybe she thinks this would be like annoyncing it aloud?)? How far should one go struggling alone?

[@VeneraVarbanova]

Thanks for the video, it is very useful!

[@BakingJane]

I'm frustrated with it constantly.

[@RobespierreThePoof]

I have to be frank here. There appears to be a fairly strong bias amongst mental health professionals on this subject - one that matches the general cultural bias in favor of certain notions of dimestic tidines. But i have to tell you that, as a cultural historian, i can point to a great deal of evidence that these cultural norms are fairly recent, encouraged by modernization by both negative and positive historical events such as19th century fears of contagion and the 20th century invention of domestic technologies. Its very possible that what psychology is really describing when claims are made about tidiness being correlated with positive emotions is, in fact, nothing to do with cleanliness itself, but rather the satusfaction that can come from confirming to a cultural norm or avoiding potential criticism. If the psych research has ruled this out somehow, i would like to know how. In my case, i can assure you that i experience no positive emotions from tidiness or the achievement of a cleaning goal. In fact i find the entire business very distressing and seem to thtive most in an untidy room.

[@janakase6319]

People, charaters, habits, capabilities, skills, motivations vary. One point - "strong cleaning" and clutter-free home might ensure some they are in control of at least their home. Society norms - right too.

[@Simon1985_]

09:39 “burp”

[@ellyrenee]

Bro what were these questions

[@Lightonahill25]

cleanliness is next to godliness..who said that?

[@Simon1985_]

Kim Woodburn

[@kellylogan9996]

ADHD is a pharmaceutical invention. Lots of energy and outside distractions keeping for you from task = ADHD.

[@privatepo5876]

No, it's not. It's the result of stress and trauma. Please do research. There are cognitive behavioral changes that help a lot of ADHD people without pharmaceutical assistance.

[@carolynpruitt4489]

Hmm then please do tell me how to shut my brain up, I’d also love to know how to truly visualize things instead of words & blackness in my mind when attempting to visualize. 31 & been unmediated since 15…. Racing constant all over thoughts are exhausting! Wish I had lots of energy 😅 nice random burst of energy but not lots..

[@Nicholas_Callum]

You have no idea what you’re taking about Kelly 😂

[@luminyam6145]

Yeah, none of this helps, it doesn't tell us how so this is useless

[@margocarmichael6765]

Look up Flylady. She def tells you how! :)

[@Nyx773]

@@margocarmichael6765 Diane from Denmark does a much better job describing the FlyLady method than the FlyLady does.

[@mariabeckwith3336]

Boring

[@leyy555]

I feel when I have my depression episodes I clutter a lot and once it feel somewhat better I like decluttering, I am grieving a pet I had to give him away due to medical concerns because I couldn’t afford it financially so I gave him to a friend who rescues animals at the vet she works at so he can get the right help, he was my baby, & I’ve been trying to change up my my apartment and decluttering today to help me alittle in the grieving process. 🥺

[@Jean-ni6of]

You are very lucky your friend took him. I'm sorry for your loss.

[@cynthiameinhardt3315]

I’m sorry to hear that. You did the right thing. Since it is your friend who has your dog 🐶 maybe you can visit him occasionally ❤

[@cynthiameinhardt3315]

I’m sorry, I meant to say pet not dog.