How Important Is Environment, Really?

              Pinterest. Architectural Digest. Home-style blogs. Home makeover shows. Instagram. Emphasis on home and décor can be found everywhere. But how important is our environment, really? Do we need to have a pinterest/Instagram/AD-perfect home? What impact does our environment have and when is good enough good enough?

Let’s begin at the beginning. What is the impact of environment on a person’s mental health and wellbeing? Environment is absolutely related to a person’s wellbeing. If we go way back to the beginning theories in psychology, Maslow’s good ‘ol hierarchy of needs, shelter is a basic need right there at the very base of the triangle. We cannot move people forward into mental and emotional wellness if their shelter and housing is uncertain. That said, you do not have to have a pinterest perfect home in order to have emotional wellness. There is a degree to which enough is enough.

So what aspects of environment that are particularly impactful? Number one, above all else is safety. Am I physically safe from others and am I physically safe among the things in my home. If you’re fearful of your safety from others in your home then you’re going to consistently be on alert and you’re going to have a challenge remaining well. It makes sense that you’d be anxious, depressed, fearful, if you’re constantly under threat. If your home is arranged in such a way that you have trip hazards, avalanches of stuff, hoarding, overcrowding, then you’re likely to have challenges remaining well. Like the physical safety threat, you’re having to be constantly vigilant regarding the way that you move and the steadiness of your stuff. It makes it challenging to feel rooted, calm, and at peace. The second top most important factor is cleanliness. I want to be VERY clear here especially in the face of burgeoning research around cleanliness and really how tidy do we need to be, I am NOT suggesting that your home needs to be able to pass a white glove inspection. I am NOT suggesting that it needs to be perfect. I am NOT suggesting that you need to do a daily deep clean of every crevice of your space. What I am suggesting is that, to preserve your wellness, you regularly dust/vacuume for allergens, clean your bathroom to make sure there is no mold or mildew, and that you regularly clean your kitchen and take out the garbage to ensure that there is no food particles or waste that is attracting bugs and vermin into your home. All of these are to preserve your physical wellness and physical comfort which create space for your emotional wellness. Beyond safety and cleanliness, everything else is bonus. Things like reducing clutter, reducing visual noise, reducing actual noise, having space and privacy, all of those are helpful and certainly have an impact, AND they do not have to be the first things you focus on.

Mitigating the impact of your environment on your mental health is a great place to utilize the circle of control versus the circle of influence. For many of us, even those who own their own homes, we are not totally free to do whatever we wish with our environment however we can break down changes that we would like to make into things that are directly in our control (examples might be making sure the garbage is removed from the living space, general cleanliness, arranging items in a way that limit fall hazards or fire hazards), things that we may be able to exert influence over (seeking out new living spaces or involving support systems if there are  unsafe people in your living space, utilizing a white noise machine to limit the impact of noise, carving out space in the larger living space that is just ours where others wants needs and desires do not have to be considered, asking a landlord to replace broken appliances or to make repairs) and then identify the pieces that are outside of both of those and must, for the time being, be let go.

How might you act on your environment? Using the exercise above, you are able to find places where you actually have power. Many of us who are renting, or maybe are in shelters, or living in someone else’s home, feel powerless over our environment. Root into the pieces in your control. You get to control and or influence the safety of a space. You get to control and or influence the cleanliness of a space. Expand out from there. If resources are of no concern, then the sky may very well be the limit and you can create an environment that reflects your every need and desire. That’s wonderful. If you’re more limited by resources, identify the most impactful for you. When and where do you feel your best, emotionally? What is happening in those spaces? Is it privacy, is it quiet, is it a lock on your door, start there.  

Environment is often relegated to being a luxury and certainly some aspects are and some are undeniably impactful on one’s sense of wellness and emotional wellbeing. There is a reason that we call shelter a need. And that shelter needs to be safe, it needs to at the very least not cause or contribute to physical illness, and it ideally is a place where you feel able to put down your guard and achieve rest. If you’re struggling with the impact of your environment and are having a tough time finding where you have power, click the button below and let’s start the conversation.