Have you ever asked yourself, “Why does my room make me feel depressed?”
If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Feeling down or anxious in your room can be unsettling, especially when it’s a space where you should feel comfortable and relaxed. The good news is that there are small tweaks outside of traditional in-home counseling that will improve your mood and your relationship with your home. Let’s explore some of them.
Your Room May Have Too Much Stuff
A cluttered, depressing bedroom can hurt your mental health. When your space looks visibly heavy, sometimes we internalize that by adding weight to our emotions. For instance, piles of clothes, food scraps, and general disorganization can make you feel overwhelmed, anxious, and unable to relax. Messy rooms and depression go hand in hand because they send a subconscious signal that we “don’t have our life together”. While that can play a factor, most of what we see are unresolved tasks that we tend to procrastinate on, therefore keeping us in a loop of constant stress. We convince ourselves that having a messy room is too daunting, which may cause us to feel depressed and the cycle starts again. Although common for both genders, these may be signs of anxiety in women.
However, to begin to feel more at ease with your room, one must take baby steps. A quick way to get rid of clutter is to first take everything off of flat surfaces, that way you can already visualize a cleaner room. Then, start grouping similar things such as clothes, loose paper, personal care products, and more, that way you can put them away by group. Cleaning and organizing your room can be a simple but powerful step toward creating a more peaceful home because it promotes mental clarity and calmness.
Lack of Natural Light
A room with minimal natural light can make you feel disconnected from the outside world and thus lethargic over time. Sunlight helps regulate your circadian rhythms, which in turn affects your mood, energy levels, and sleep. A dark room can trick your brain into thinking it’s time to rest, leaving you feeling unmotivated or uneasy feeling in the house. Therefore, it’s best to spend time outside of your bedroom, especially in the daytime, that way your body can feel awake and ready for the day. If you do spend more time in the bedroom, you may want to invest in brighter lighting, or even use a daylight lamp to mimic the effects of sunlight. If alternative lighting isn’t an option, consider opening blinds/windows for fresh air, spending more time in well-lit areas, or even taking a brief walk in the morning to improve your mood.
Your Bedroom Doesn’t Reflect Your Personality
Your bedroom should feel like a sanctuary, reflecting your personality and style. Depressing rooms don’t feel like “you,” they feel like a shell of who you are, making you feel uneasy or uninspired. Personalize your room with things that make you happy, such as art, photos, or furniture to bring you joy. If you’re looking to make even bigger changes, paint your room with light and warm neutrals to make the space feel cozy and tranquil. Or, go bold with colors if that feels true to who you are. Either way, when your space reflects your personality, it becomes a place where you can feel comfortable and at peace.
Negative Associations
With the rise of remote work, many people now use their bedrooms as makeshift offices. While convenient, this can blur the lines between work and rest. If your room is associated with productivity, deadlines, or stress, it can be difficult to relax and fall asleep in the bedroom. One way to mitigate this is by creating a clear boundary between work and rest. Ideally, try to set up your workstation in a separate room so your bed is only for sleeping. Other factors that can contribute to your mood are negative experiences or emotions, such as a breakup, grief, or other stressful events.
These associations can trigger certain feelings when you lay in your bed, making it harder to feel at peace. If that’s the case, try to refresh your environment by rearranging the furniture or even removing the bad energy with sage. A more long-term solution is creating more positive memories in the bedroom, that way you can change your associations over time.
Alone Time Means More Time to Ruminate
When you’re alone with your thoughts, you may have more time to dwell on negative thoughts. Without distractions, it’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of overthinking why you feel happy then sad and or ruminating on past experiences. This constant replay of negative thoughts can contribute to feelings of sadness or depression. One habit that helps with ruminating is to find something that keeps you grounded, meaning you’ll see your thoughts as separate from reality.
This could look like taking a quick shower, listening to calming music, or walking outside for 30 minutes, to shift your focus away from negative self-talk. Spending too much time alone in your room can lead to feelings of isolation and not being able to leave the house. While everyone needs alone time, excessive isolation can make you feel disconnected from others. Therefore, changes to your daily habits are crucial to making your room feel less depressing.
Just remember that your room is a reflection of your mind—things like clutter, lack of light, negative associations, or work stress are all visible signs to notice your mental state. While it may not be the cause of your depression, addressing these either on your own or through online counseling will help improve your mood over time.
