How Your Surroundings Can Help You Recover

We've all had moments when we look around, and recognise that our surroundings affect how we feel. Here's how to overcome this feeling.

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There's a moment in the 1980 Pink Floyd film The Wall, where the main character Pink (played by Bob Geldof) sinks into a depressive state that culminates in him trashing a hotel room in a fit of rage. After realising how his anger has manifested itself, he sits and picks up all the pieces of debris from his rampage and carefully organises them on the floor of his room. Fragments of a broken television, a lamp, and even discarded chicken drumsticks are meticulously lined up in a moment of empty catharsis.

Trying to find organisation amongst the chaos of our lives can be a difficult thing to achieve. Especially since our feelings and relationships can seem intangible at times. Sometimes the best place to start is with our immediate surroundings. When life has you knocked for six, sometimes something as simple as gathering up your laundry and getting it in the washing machine can be enough to give you a sense of achievement.

A few weeks ago, I saw a post on Imgur of a before and after shot of a gir's bedroom having been tidied as she made the first steps towards dealing with how she had been feeling. I find that cleaning and even decorating can incur a type of meditative state that can help you get your life back on track.

It can be as simple as walking around your bedroom with a bin bag and throwing out any rubbish you see lying around, or even making a visual change to your living space can come with big benefits. The sense of achievement that comes with painting a room is a very positive thing indeed, and if you want to spark your creative mind, choosing new furniture like a quality new bed to help you get a good night's sleep definitely has its benefits.

We've all seen those ironic fridge magnets that say something along the lines of 'a clean house is a sign of a wasted life'. I don't believe this to be true though, as I think our sense of wellbeing is very much connected to our immediate surroundings. Being in a depressive state, surrounded by dust, dirty clothes and used dishes can have the potential to start a difficult cycle, where it's impossible to find the motivation to make a change.

We all know too well that the worst aspects of depression can be liked to a lack of motivation, and even keeping a room tidy can be a big ask. Recovery, however all starts somewhere with a simple first step, and this can be as simple as emptying your waste paper basket, or sticking a wash on.

Help also comes from talking about your problems, and understanding that there is a great network of charities out there to help you when you're feeling low. The Mix is a great place to start, as the forums are full of people going through exactly what you are, but as with tiding a room, it all comes from taking that first step.

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