Monday, December 23, 2013

Decluttering my depression away

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had to go off my anti-depressants because they were causing me to gain weight, which is quite the problem when you're recovering from an eating disorder! It's been an emotionally rocky couple weeks and today was just a rough day. Body image-wise I was fine (yay!) but I just felt depressed. I couldn't get anything done at work. So I decided to start decluttering.

I had been concerned that going off my anti-depressants would make me less organized because the meds had given me the clarity of mind to get and stay more organized than I'd ever been in my life. That particular prophecy was fulfilled as my cube has become quite the mess in the last couple weeks.

This is a quiet week at work with so many people away for the holidays. That can make it even harder to get work done. But being disorganized is also making it hard to get work done. So decluttering is a good use of my time.

I spent a few minutes today figuring out a plan. One drawer at a time seems good to me. I dug around and stumbled on these little guys.
What is Oscar the Grouch doing in my cube? He's an attempt for me to be like other people at work. Everybody has trinkets at their desk. Of course, I had to as well. But these trinkets tie me to a childhood I'd rather not think about. What to do with them? Give them to the lady around the corner with the twin 1-year-olds. She approved of their child safe-ness and thought her kids would really like them. So I made two little kids happy, and in that, was able to shake a little bit of the blues today. 

How does decluttering affect your mood?


*The Reckoning*
Item 198, A set of Sesame Street figurines. 

$2350.99 wasted on junk



6 comments:

  1. The Husband refers to my decluttering as "that time of the month". If I'm in a depressed or stressed rut, my solution is always to declutter. I have a huge sense of relief when I get the house decluttered of even one item. I think, for me, it signals that it's one less thing I have to worry about. And sometimes that's all I need :)

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    1. LOL! I suppose that keeps you on a good schedule for housecleaning!

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  2. I find that decluttering (or just tidying/cleaning, now that my house is fairly decluttered) really helps if I am finding it hard to focus or motivate myself. I think it feels like an 'easy win' in terms of getting something done, and once I am started, I'm on a roll. It is also much easier to work, and to relax, in a clean and clutter free environment, so it's win all round!

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    1. I like the idea of cleaning to jump-start a project. I think it's also easier to declutter at the start when one has more energy. Perhaps I'll start each day with a little decluttering instead of finishing the day with it when I'm tired. Great idea!

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  3. I've been struggling with my mood of late. I think I'm still processing my mother's death, and that is, of course, bringing up all sorts of childhood yuck. Plus I'm feeling anxious about my sick kitty - grateful that he's still miraculously here with me, but sad and worried about the inevitable loss to come. I've found myself feeling totally overwhelmed by simple things like refilling a prescription or dealing with the telephone repairman. I think it just brings it all home that so many things in life are simply out of our control, so the slightest thing "going wrong" just reminds me of how out of control it all is, and I sorta go over the edge.

    Anyhow, in the midst of it all I've had the strange urge to go through my closet and start completely from scratch. To just chuck all of my clothes in a pile and only pull out the items that I really love and wear, and then go to the thrift store and fill in whatever's missing with a few new-to-me things that I will love and use instead of hanging onto things that I'm decidedly "meh" about just because they're here. I haven't actually done it yet, but just thinking about it makes me feel better.

    I haven't decided if this is a good thing or not. Is it good to give myself a feel-good project to focus on, or am I just trying to burn off energy so I don't have to deal with the out of control emotions that are raging inside of me? Don't know the answer to that one.

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    1. I'm always impressed with how self-aware you are. With everything that's going on, a feel-good project can't be bad for you, even more if it is to burn off bad emotions. You' and Sputnik are in my thoughts!

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