Cleaning massively helping with depression / anxiety?

[RubyRed401]

Hi,
Has anyone else found that cleaning / trying to be organised has really helped with their anxiety and depression?
I’ve been really suffering recently with the above but I’ve started to try be more organised on a night. By making everywhere clean and tidy I feel so much better. It’s a bit of a revelation for me!
I am very disorganised in general and I don’t think this helps with anxiety as then everything seems overwhelming in the day.
Has anyone else found that cleaning has really helped them and if it has please could you share your stories with me?
Thank you xx

Yes. It helps me feel better too. I do tend to clean when I’m worried or anxious though. If the house is clean and organised it calms my mind.

Yes for sure, I find cleaning very therapeutic. I heard somewhere or other 'the state of your home reflects the state of your mind.'Not sure where I heard it but it stayed in my head because it really resonated with me.
My mum can't relax if even a small thing is out of place (think ruffles in each curtain not being even) so it can go too far the other direction!

Being organised can help
Me too. I get the house organised and make lists and this is ridiculous but I've started my Christmas shopping too. Feeling organised and in control of some aspects of my life seems to help calm my anxiety to a certain degree.

Luckily I have three scruffy dc who ensure the house is never clean for long so I always have plenty of housework to do!! They're such a help

Yes. I always feel great when the house is clean and tidy, the lawn is mowed, and the fridge is full.

Definitely! Tidy house, tidy mind. It's one thing I have control over and one less thing to worry about.
It started when people would announce they were visiting at short or no notice at all. I would panic and be embarrassed at the state of my home.
Now I have a regular cleaning routine, Monday is my cleaning 'day' and every other day is just a quick 15 minute dash round, picking up bits, putting away, wiping worktops, sweeping floors etc. Keeps it presentable. My house is always clean and tidy and I'm never worried about visitors turning up unannounced.
It brings me peace of mind and I listen to audiobooks while I'm doing the housework too, win-win.
A regular declutter every month or so (usually when I get one of those charity bags through the letterbox) helps too.

Definitely.

I'm currently on a 'handle it only once' regime to cut clutter, the theory is that when something comes into your house you deal with it straight away rather than stuff it on the counter/table and it accumulates. So post arrives, the junk goes straight in the recycling, and anything else is dealt with /filed /whatever so your counter/worktop remains clear.

If I feel up to it, I find its therapeutic. Regular household cleaning not so much but getting stuck in and organising something does help.

I don't know if you have heard of the threat, drive and soothing systems but I find it difficult to move from threat to soothing but can get to the soothing system via the drive and a bit of light light organising can help with that.

The key for me is to keep in manageable.
Some times I have the energy to sort through my clothes and switch whether it's my summer or winter clothes that are in the main drawers - the top 2 drawers are clothes I wear regularly and the bottom 2 I wear less regularly.
Other times that is way beyond my capabilities but am able to going through a clean clothes pile and pull out the underwear to put away. The next day I might pull out all the t shirts, later in the week any clothes that need hanging and then anything that is left.

I get a sense of achievement from making the pile smaller but also means I'm doing something vaguely productive and that really helps when my mood is off.

I find that mess and clutter can really trigger my anxiety; so yes, the flip side of that is that being tidy really helps. Although I need to balance it, as overdoing things triggers my chronic fatigue condition, and then I wind up in bed feeling rubbish!

I find that it does.

One thing though, you have to be careful with using it as a crutch and because you might become too dependent on it.

Yes definitely helps me to feel more calm. I have to keep an eye on it though, I found myself getting out of bed to go downstairs to check the tea towels are hanging straight.
But in moderation it helps.

Oh thank you everyone, definitely going to keep going at it then!
So when it gets to an evening do any of you tend to clean round then or do you try do it in the day?
I’m usually really tired at night but when I stayed up the other night to clean a bit, I felt so much better for it xx