Embracing "less"

The spiritual discipline of decluttering

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Every now and then I hit the proverbial wall. Sometimes I bump into it rather gently and other times, I get body slammed right into the darn thing. A couple of weeks ago, I got body slammed. That’s when I knew that I needed to approach the month of August much differently than previous months.

Some of you may remember that last summer, I was diagnosed with a bout of clinical depression. I have struggled with depression off and on in my life, but last year, it was debilitating. Thankfully I got on a good anti-anxiety/depression medication that helped pull me out of it, along with a wonderful therapist. I also started seeing a spiritual director who has added to my healing. I’m very grateful for my team, which of course includes my family and friends. It’s hard to describe how much depression can overtake you and make you feel like a stranger in your own body and brain.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago…

I started feeling the depression hitting again. Thankfully, I recognized the monster this time and was able to start dealing with it before it got too out of hand. I noticed several common denominators from what triggered it last year. One thing being the exact same time of year. Everyone knows about SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) that can hit people in the winter because of lack of sunlight, but it can also happen to people in the spring/summer. Apparently for me, the long, hot days of July/August can trigger me right into a depressive state. I’m also dealing with grief over a big loss (different loss last year, but similar grief), and I’m also struggling with a health issue that is keeping me from exercising. Exercise always helps my moods stay stable.

So… I’m adjusting my medications and working towards better mental health… again. I guess this will be a life-long journey, but I think it’s that way with most of us and our mental health. Just like with our physical health, we have to make choices every day to stay as healthy as possible, or things can get out of hand very quickly. Especially for those of us living in our, ahem… “mature years.” ;-)

One of the things I’ve been doing this month, is focusing on “less”. I’m trying to put less on my calendar, expect less productivity from myself, and I’m trying to have less clutter around me, which means I’ve started my fall purging a bit early this year. Do you do this too? I always feel like I need to get everything out of my house that we aren’t using so that as we go into the winter months, my house isn’t bursting at the seams. Having less material things around me also means less stuff to manage. We live in such a culture of “more, more, MORE” - do more, have more, be more —- ugh.

“More” is stressful!

So August is my month of “less” and so far, I’m really enjoying it.

There is actually scientific proof that physical clutter and the choices required from these things can trigger mental health issues like anxiety and depression. I totally believe it. I don’t know about you, but when I declutter my physical surroundings, it always brings extra benefits along with it. Decluttering teaches me how to evaluate what is important for me now to have in my life and what I need to let go of. Hoarding does no good. It creates clutter in the hoarder’s life, and then prevents someone else from having something that they might really need. Say a blessing over whatever it is that brought you joy at one time and then let it go. Like truly… let it go. That can be said over material things, relationships, religious rituals or practices, cultural ideals, jobs, gifts, etc… We don’t need to keep everything that comes into our lives forever. That’s just not how life is meant to work.