How Interior Design Affects Mood & Mental Health
By now, you’ve almost certainly seen a news clip, read an article, or watched a reel about the importance of mental health. Like breathing air, ensuring we care for ourselves emotionally, mentally, and physically is imperative to living a full and happy life. So why is it proving incredibly difficult to get your mental health in order?
You’re not unlike millions of others who struggle with focus and attention as our lives have advanced at a rapid speed into a technological era we could never have dreamt up even decades ago. With cell phones attached to us 24/7, televisions sprinkled across multiple locations at home and around town, dashboard screens, laptops, and monitors abound, we’re ever-ready to be reached and have our focus fragmented, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay on task. But it’s not only technology we have to blame for our deteriorating health. We’re sure you’ll be surprised to learn that it’s our environment too.
They say “Home is where the heart is” and we know this to be true! Home is where we gather with loved ones, cook delicious meals, nurture our kids, play games and laugh, and it’s where we should feel safe and at peace to relax and recharge. When you enter your home, you should have a physiological reaction for the better, as though your entire body is breathing a sigh of relief; releasing tension and stress simply for having walked through your door. It signifies that on a subconscious level, you know that you’ve reached your sanctuary. If your home is chaotic, upside down, and disjointed, you won’t be able to relax, and this will perpetuate your difficulty in focusing.
In our family, similar to many families, each preceding generation lived in a smaller home than their offspring. We’ve learned from our predecessors that keeping an orderly home is one of the keys to maintaining sanity. If items are strewn about, particularly in a small space, there is no way to avoid them which becomes both hazardous and uber-bothersome. Some of you may have heard of the term “micro-cuts” used for physical injuries as well as small traumas we experience, and it’s applicable here too. Every time you trip over an item, can't find something, or have to venture to odd parts of the house in order to accomplish a simple task, you’re receiving a micro-cut to your mental health. Having a designated home for every item is imperative to living a healthy life, especially when things get busy. Tidiness matters!
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