Getting rid of anxiety can be complicated. Especially if you don’t know what’s causing it. Been there? Me too.
This year I’ve been stepping outside my comfort zone—a lot. This is a natural cause of anxiety and I’ve learned how to be proactive. But after I was back in my comfort zone the anxiety was still there. I needed help to get rid of it.
In my zeal for personal growth, I developed piles of clutter in my office. I wondered if this might be the problem. I investigated minimalism.
Minimalism can help get rid of anxiety.
Minimalism can help get rid of anxiety. Share on X
MINIMALISM
I thought minimalism was about getting rid of everything but I was wrong. The philosophy of minimalism is less about stuff and more about who you are and how you want to live.
We live in a high consumer society that pushes constant doing and accumulating. Buy this. Start this. Go here. Achieve this. Accomplish more. Climb higher. Work harder.
It’s exhausting.
Minimalism is about what’s important. It’s about peace. About really living. Being where you are. It’s about freedom.
Minimalism can reduce feeling overwhelmed, depression, stress, fear… These are things I want.
As I investigated minimalism I discovered the truth about clutter.
Clutter causes anxiety. Share on X
CLUTTER
Clutter causes anxiety.
My pile of untended papers, half written articles, neglected sticky notes, unread emails I sent to myself, and other things were talking to me. They’re saying rest is not available because there is more to do.
Clutter makes our emotions feel like they’re playing whack-a-mole.
This is bad for our health. Clutter causes our bodies to release the stress hormone Cortisol.
Clutter can trigger the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which can increase tension and anxiety and lead to unhealthy habits. Cortisol is a hormone produced in response to stress by the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA).
Chronic clutter can create prolonged stress, throwing us into a state of low-grade, perpetual fight-or-flight—the system designed to help us survive. The fight-or-flight response involves the complex interaction of many body systems and organs that activate needed functions and minimize unnecessary functions during times of stress. These systems must remain in balance to maintain optimum physical and psychological health. source
Clutter causes lack of focus because it’s distracting. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin to get rid of it.
Clutter isn’t just physical things.
I’m not very good at writing songs when I have a lot of clutter in my mind.— Solange Knowles
MENTAL CLUTTER
Our minds are amazing things. With them we can think, plan, dream, imagine, learn and more.
However, we can’t do all those things at once.
Sometimes we try. We call it multitasking or cramming.
But the brain is not wired to operate that way and it becomes mental clutter.
…clutter isn’t just physical. “ source
It doesn’t matter how much we want to do or learn, we can’t do it all at once.
I was trying to focus on too many tasks. I was trying to learn too many things at once. I wasn’t giving my best to any task. I wasn’t learning anything well.
All that information was piling up in my head making me overwhelmed and anxious.
The answer is to become more focused and intentional. But how?
- Write it down – Taking all your thoughts and putting them onto paper gets the clutter out of your mind.
- Prioritize – Go over your notes and make it a list putting the most important things first.
- Do one thing – Address the things on your list one thing at a time and cross it off your list.
- Grace – Give yourself grace in the process. Let your initial writing be messy. Allow yourself to make changes to the list. Learn how much time it takes to do things and adjust the size of your list for the day.
When we don’t do this we become overwhelmed, anxious and unproductive.
Mental clutter affects how we use our time.
It doesn’t matter how much we want to do or learn, we can’t do it all at once. Share on X
TIME MANAGEMENT
A cluttered mind doesn’t use time productively. Poor time management can be a big source of anxiety.
I’ve been working on this area of my life all year. Stephen Covey’s book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has helped me a lot.
Organizing our minds and plans takes work but it breeds peace. I clearly have more work to do.
When our desire to do exceeds our ability to accomplish we have a decision to make if we want peace instead of anxiety. This is another aspect of minimalism—making choices for our own wellbeing.
Minimalism is about personal growth and I’m making progress.
When our desire to do exceeds our ability to accomplish we have a decision to make if we want peace instead of anxiety. Share on X
GROWING IN WELLBEING
I can’t say I’ve gotten rid of the anxiety completely—yet. But I’ve made good progress.
- I tended to and removed all my sticky notes from my desk.
- I picked up the piles of paper off my office floor and put them where they belong.
- I went through old drawings of mine from college—framed two, threw others away.
- I went through and removed the pile of photos and frames that had been sitting on the floor of my office since my mother in law died.
Those are just a few ways I’ve lessened the clutter in my environment. I’m making lists to become better mentally organized. I’m learning to consider my time availability before saying yes to something.
Research says
Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death–heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. Source
Getting rid of as much anxiety you can is good for your health.
Getting rid of as much anxiety you can is good for your health. Share on X
WHAT NEXT
- What tip was most helpful for you? Please share.
- Get the book Unhackable by Kary Oberbrunner to become more focused and productive.
- Join my email list and get a gift here.
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Curious about 2 framed drawings from college. I just found one of mine and still liked it after over 40 years. Maybe it’s time to frame. Thanks, Danielle. I am on a clutter removal plan myself. Going slow and being gentle with myself. Taking pictures to put in Evernote has helped me to give away things I previously liked but have no place in my life today.
That’s cool that you found an old drawing of yours. Yes, I think you should frame it if you have a place for it.
I took photos of a couple things I threw away also. I wanted to remember them but had no place for them like you said. Being slow and gentle is working for me as well. Little by little works far better than a giant leap forward followed by a freeze up backward fall. I took another load of things to a donation center yesterday.
Thank you for sharing, Hazel.
Great post Danielle! I’m reading this book right now and based on your post, I think you would love it! https://amzn.to/2DEIhKY
Thank you, Megan.
Cool book. Thanks for sharing.
I’m laughing right now because I’ve gotten pretty good at using minimalism, and decluttering to help with anxiety. I’m a rather anxious person I think–except for my kid’s art table which I kind of allow to be a little zone of chaos in the house. Even mental clutter, “check” but time-management is maybe my weak point that and keeping organized. Yes, having less to organize is a good first step, but that is my own current personal goal–time management + organization. Nice post.
Thank you, Trisha.
Time management is an art I’m learning too. Just yesterday I had three things I needed to do and felt the pressure to do them all at once – which isn’t possible. To manage them and my time I set a timer for fifteen minutes and did one of them. Then did it again for the second, and then again for the third. I was amazed by how much I accomplished in those fifteen minutes because I was focused on just the one thing. I need to remember to do this more.
Thanks for sharing.
I can definitely relate, especially to the mental clutter! I have so many books and courses that I buy with good intentions, projects I commit to, unanswered emails, and sometimes the anxiety of not being able to do it all causes me to do nothing. I agree though that making lists and tackling things one at a time is definitely helpful. I keep digital lists and tend to recycle them because lots of my tasks are recurring. If I have one obligation though that stays on the list for weeks or months at a time and it’s haunting me, it’s time to just do it and get it over with!
What you said: sometimes the anxiety of not being able to do it all causes me to do nothing
I’ve done this too.
Just the other day it was trying to happen again and I remembered to use the timer on my phone. I gave fifteen minutes to each of three tasks that had me temporarily paralyzed. I need to remember this more often.
Thanks for sharing, Kate.