Overstimulated & Stressed
Everywhere you look, there is stuff. We have been overstimulated into a stress-induced coma. Our world is turning into a proverbial Walmart. Signs hang everywhere proclaiming what you need and without which you cannot live. Colors chosen carefully in marketing schemes are to catch your eye and distract you from where you are going. Your original purpose derailed by the sound and flurry of activity all around. It’s time to take control – clear your space and clear your mind.
The Confinement of Clutter
More and more people realize that much of our stress is caused by the need for more. We often believe that the bigger, better, best is brought to us to guide us into the future. So we tap away at our smart-devices and press ‘Buy’ and before we know it, a neat little package shows up at our door. It is that simple. But, what kind of future are we being guided into? As we clutter our spaces, we bring in more responsibility to care for those things and we bring in more clutter. We fill up the free flowing energy in our personal spaces and can cause not only a physical clutter but a mental clutter as well. Our cluttered spaces can be a sign of a cluttered and stressed mind. What if you are a very organized person and you don’t feel cluttered? How can this be affecting you? Stress comes on as not only mental symptoms but physical as well. When our lives and spaces are filled with more than we need – we are depriving ourselves of the ability to decompress. When we are home, we should be within the walls of an oasis – a sanctuary. This should be your distress and decompression area. This should be your home. WebMD noted the following stress-related symptoms:
- Headaches
- Upset stomach
- Chest Paine
- Insomnia (Low energy, fatigue)
- Feelings of low self-esteem
- Feeling easily agitated
- Frequent Colds and Infections
The Big Movement to Go Small
As people learn to live with less they also learn that you can live more with less. There is less cost to living because there is less to maintain. Your space doesn’t need to take up so much space! One calculation showed that over a 30-year period in the United States, the cost of buying an average priced house added up to over $1,073,000! Can you imagine what life could be like had you been able to save that money? The Tiny Life highlighted the tiny house movement that more and more people are gravitating towards. While you may not lean this extreme to minimize your clutter, there are many ways to eliminate stress by reassessing your needs from your wants. Reducing what you have by simply getting rid of what you don’t use anymore or isn’t important to you can go a long way to helping you organize your space. “Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu
Applications & Resources
- Check out Zen Habits for The Ultimate guide to Conquering Your Clutter
- Learn how to minimize and downsize with 10 Steps to Reducing Consumption
- Go to Living Small – Voluntary Simplicity Ideas for awesome ways to live big only smaller!
- Read more about your Ecological Footprint and find out how you affect the Earth now
