UCLA researchers have also found a link between household clutter and high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Excess cortisol is linked with depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions.
Sometimes, living with anxiety, depression, or stress brings on clutter. If you're overwhelmed by sadness or other negative emotions, you might not have the energy to clean and organize.
Psychologically, a messy room can represent:
A disorganized mind. Feeling overwhelmed. Difficulty letting go (common for hoarding behaviors) Trouble focusing on a task. A “nothing matters” attitude (which can also include poor hygiene and a disheveled appearance)
Clutter can trigger the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which can increase tension and anxiety and lead to unhealthy habits.
Depression and Other Problems
Psychology says that messiness can indeed be a sign that a person is having trouble. Just like someone who is suffering from OCD and has to control everything, being a messy person might show that they are dealing with depression or some other mental illness.
But many kids and adults with ADHD are the opposite — they're messy most of the time. And it can cause problems at home, school, and work.
Excessive clutter and disorganization are often symptoms of a bigger health problem. People who have suffered an emotional trauma or a brain injury often find housecleaning an insurmountable task.
There can be a few reasons for this feeling – here are some of the most common: You're tired: When you're exhausted, the last thing you want to do is spend your precious energy on cleaning. This is especially true if you've had a long day at work, or if you have young children who keep you up at night.
However, teens with messy rooms, particularly if the messiness is extreme, may be struggling with a mental health disorder, such as anxiety or ADHD. In some cases, when a teenager has a messy room, depression may be the underlying issue.
A messy space could indicate creativity or someone who is too busy but a messy space could also indicate further issues like anxiety or ADHD. Clutter and mess can consciously or unconsciously affect you mentally,' warns Jamie Hord, CEO, and founder of Horderly Professional Organizing.
Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren't necessary or important. Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on. Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
This frustrates parents, who can't understand why these kids have so much trouble cleaning their room. The problem is that children with ADHD struggle with executive functioning skills, which enable us to plan, prioritize, manage our time and get things done.
“It's stressful to be in a cluttered environment,” says Woody. According to Psychology Today, clutter causes stress in part because of its excessive visual stimuli. It also signals to our brains that our work is never done and creates guilt, anxiety and the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder. It causes unreasonable thoughts, fears, or worries. A person with OCD tries to manage these thoughts through rituals. Frequent disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions.
Here are reasons why clutter leads to stress: Clutter puts your mind into overdrive, causing your senses to focus on what isn't important, leading to stress. A messy environment draws your attention from where it ought to be. Clutter continually tells your brain that work isn't finished (you have to clean up!)
You may get overwhelmed when cleaning if you have a lot of stuff and clutter, or have not made a plan of attack before starting to clean a space. With no plan, it can be difficult to visualize what needs to be done, what you have already done, and what needs the most attention.
Depression often manifests itself through a lack of motivation. Feeling this way means it can “take significantly more energy and effort to accomplish small tasks — like tidying your space,” Teresa says.
While the physical stuff is obvious, most of our clutter is invisible, says Barbara Hemphill, author of Less Clutter More Life and founder of the Productive Environment Institute. “There are four types of clutter: paper, digital, emotional, and spiritual,” she says.
Behavioral/psychological: Clutter caused by depression, attention deficit disorder, low self-esteem or lack of personal boundaries.
The 4 Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: Examining The Four Trauma Reactions. According to a research on the neurobiological consequences of psychological trauma, our bodies are designed to respond to perceived threats with a set of near-instantaneous, reflexive survival behaviors.
Choose a paint color that is calming, like soft blues, greens, and purples. Or create a sense of relaxation with a wall color in a warm neutral, like beige and taupe. Bright, bold colors may be overstimulating for your child's sensory system, so opt for a muted shade instead as the main color of their room.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can make it seem impossible to keep a tidy house. As a result, ADHDers might have messy and unorganized homes and find that the usual tips and tricks don't work for them.