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Environment and Mental Health

Heyo

Veteran Member
We helped some friends move yesterday. While I didn't see the bulk of it, I guess when my husband and son walked into their apartment, they about broke into panic attacks. The trash was piled up past a foot high in most places. It was just good old fashioned filth.

Neither friend has good mental health status. Its possible(if not probable) that their mental health prevents them from keeping the place up. However, my husband brought up the idea that perhaps living in that kind of mess causes mental health problems. Somewhat of a case of the chicken and the egg, I suppose. However, I suspect there's some truth to it.

The question I ask then, is how much does one's environment impact their mental health? I'm talking strictly the physical environment, not the people in it. Does having a well cared for house make a difference? Does it go beyond being neat and clean and into decor or how well maintained it is(such as keeping up on painting/cosmetic repairs). How about the greater environment as a whole? Can a mountain lover be happy in the fields, or a beach bum content in a desert?

There's no way to have definitive proof here, just curious to hear what others think.
I think it isn't the environment itself but what it is doing to your psyche. Some people don't care much about the conditions of their home, or at least the "filth threshold" is different in different people. Some people are very self confident and living in a "bad part" of town doesn't do much to them, other will get anxiety issues in a high crime neighbourhood.
There are some factors that are objectively bad for your mental health, though. Lack of sun light, lack of exercise and constant stress are all known to lead to higher risk of depression. Some of that can be countered with nutritional supplements or medication but removing the cause is always better than curing the symptoms.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I think it isn't the environment itself but what it is doing to your psyche. Some people don't care much about the conditions of their home, or at least the "filth threshold" is different in different people. Some people are very self confident and living in a "bad part" of town doesn't do much to them, other will get anxiety issues in a high crime neighbourhood.
There are some factors that are objectively bad for your mental health, though. Lack of sun light, lack of exercise and constant stress are all known to lead to higher risk of depression. Some of that can be countered with nutritional supplements or medication but removing the cause is always better than curing the symptoms.

Do you think things such as lack of sunlight or exercise can affect a person more or less based on their genes? For example, do you think people who have lived in a northern area that has months of night/sunlight for generations would be affected less than a person who's families had lived at the equator for generations?

Yeah, there's something to be said for neighborhood, though that's often connected to the people in it as well, though in a really shoddy area the environment itself can be an eyesore.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
They've always had the issues since we've known them, and they've always had a messy house, though I hear this particular house was the worst of any of them. I honestly doubt they took the trash out for several months, possibly longer(the area was dangerous, and one was terrified to go to the dumpster, the other just didn't care).

I've heard of the hoarding shows, though... think I've seen them once or twice.. it does seem that hoarding is caused by something psychological, though it goes on to make everything in life worse for the person. Though hoarding and dirtiness don't always go hand in hand. My grandmother is a pretty bad hoarder, but her house is immaculate(and if you lift one of her beautiful rugs, you'll find at least 20 magazines from the 70s under there). My husband is a mild hoarder, but somewhat of a neat freak.

Do you think the need to collect/hoard stems from the same or a different place than an inability/lack of desire to keep one's surroundings sanitary?
It could be anything. A health issue like pain , or fatigue, overweight, overworked, lack of self confidence, depression.. it could go on.

I struggle myself where I'm terrible and then I hit that point and start cleaning up again only to do it all over again.

The biggest issue for me is the delusion that I never have time to do the basic tasks necessary to maintain an optimal environment. It always seem to be a hard burden that one can't overcome and so I just give up.

Best remedy imo aside from health factors is reprogramming ones brain to accommodate and maintain tasks that will bring back quality and comfort.

I treat cleaning and maintenance as a meditation exercise. Clean house, clean brain.
 
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JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
It could be anything. A health issue like pain , or fatigue, overweight, overworked, lack of self confidence, depression.. it could go on.

I struggle myself where I'm terrible and then I hit that point and start cleaning up again only to do it all over again.

The biggest issue for me is the delusion that I never have time to do the basic tasks necessary to maintain an optimal environment. It always seem to be a hard burden that one can't overcome and so I just give up.

Best remedy imo aside from health factors is reprogramming ones brain to accommodate and maintain tasks that will bring back quality and comfort.

I treat cleaning and maintenance as a meditation exercise. Clean house, clean brain.

I read something once that said many people do not clean, or in this case, the author almost makes it out as 'cannot' clean because of an overwhelming sense of perfection. If the person cannot do the job perfectly, or feels they cannot maintain the job perfectly, they will not attempt it at all. Thus, their perfectionism keeps them from a reasonably clean house.

Do you think there's any truth in this?
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
Do you think things such as lack of sunlight or exercise can affect a person more or less based on their genes? For example, do you think people who have lived in a northern area that has months of night/sunlight for generations would be affected less than a person who's families had lived at the equator for generations?
Hard to say. It has been observed that depression is rare in Inuit but that can also be because of their diet (high in omega3). Otoh depression in Europe is more prevalent in the Scandinavian countries. I don't know and I read almost every study about depression I stumble over.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Hard to say. It has been observed that depression is rare in Inuit but that can also be because of their diet (high in omega3). Otoh depression in Europe is more prevalent in the Scandinavian countries. I don't know and I read almost every study about depression I stumble over.

Sounds like there's so many factors that can play in here...
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
Sounds like there's so many factors that can play in here...
... and so little research. Maybe it's too depressing.
(And maybe they fear what they might find. Psychologists and psychiatrists are equally frustrated that regular exercise is more effective in treating depression than therapy and medicine combined.)
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
... and so little research. Maybe it's too depressing.
(And maybe they fear what they might find. Psychologists and psychiatrists are equally frustrated that regular exercise is more effective in treating depression than therapy and medicine combined.)

Less money going into the system that way. ;) Exercise is generally free(unless you want to get into a specific branch that requires equipment). My dad swears by exercise, and has made huge progress with it. I didn't have as much success with it, but I suspect in my situation it was related directly to something, and wasn't general.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I read something once that said many people do not clean, or in this case, the author almost makes it out as 'cannot' clean because of an overwhelming sense of perfection. If the person cannot do the job perfectly, or feels they cannot maintain the job perfectly, they will not attempt it at all. Thus, their perfectionism keeps them from a reasonably clean house.

Do you think there's any truth in this?
I think its more to do with low self esteem alongside lower standards including motivation and discipline.

Everybody has different situations though, and your thoughts are just as valid as I'm sure being overperfect applies in cases as well.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I think its more to do with low self esteem alongside lower standards including motivation and discipline.

Everybody has different situations though, and your thoughts are just as valid as I'm sure being overperfect applies in cases as well.

Yeah, self esteem, motivation, and discipline can sometimes come into play. I think some are more bothered by a mess than others, as well... Even eyesight can come into play.

My husband used to get mad when I'd mop because I'd miss so much. He's say "can't you see that?" I would say no, and have to bend over to see it. He thought I was being dramatic. Eventually, I got a set of glasses, and he put them on. "Wow! You're blind!" he says. I say "that's what I've been trying to tell you all along..." I don't wear them unless I'm driving at night(for various reasons), but he's come to accept that, while I'm willing to do the mopping, if he wants it done to a certain standard its better to do it himself.
 
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