RE-ORGANISING YOUR MENTAL WELLBEING

The clocks have gone back, autumn leaves carpet the ground and the evenings are dark. Thankfully, Mental Health Awareness month encouraged us to check on our nearest and dearest and reminded us that it is okay to voice our issues this winter season.

Recent generations are better at speaking about mental ill health than older generations, with 83% of Gen Z and Millennials telling others they go to a therapist. However, with 58% of people unable to engage in therapy due to its cost, we often find our own ways of managing our mental wellbeing. One of these ways might be organising your home and, therefore, decluttering your thoughts.

Karl Houghton, founder of Houghton and Mackay magazine, cites tidiness and getting things done as a key factor in managing his mental wellbeing. Interestingly, the act of tidying and re-organising one’s home reflects the Chinese concept of Feng Shui.

Feng shui aims to establish harmony between a person and their environment. Feng shui is recognised in home and interior design and is praised for the feeling of balance it creates within the home.

The concept can also impact an individual’s inner harmony and emotions. If an individual has bad feng shui or lacks awareness of the idea, they might experience negative energy and a feeling of stagnation within themselves. Cluttered space, blocked doorways, dead plants, and broken or obscured mirrors could cause listlessness and idleness within a person and their room. Underlying feng shui are five elements: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. Different colours are associated with each component. With earth, colours like browns, orange and yellow reflect the soil and natural tones. Metal is associated with white and bold, metallic colours, whereas red corresponds with fire. However, water and wood elements align with unsuspecting colours; black corresponds with water, perhaps reflecting dark, murky waters, whereas blues and greens go with wood. These colours have more impact on our mood than we might initially think. For example, Blues and greens help create a calming atmosphere, whereas red inspires power, passion and energy.

Feng shui recognises the importance of colour and its potential for creating harmony in a person and their environment, and the idea of using colour as therapy dates back to ancient times. Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Chinese all used colour to impact the mental states of patients suffering from various conditions, including Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Light therapy and decorating with light, natural colours is shown to help those who have SAD, mitigating depression and anxiety as the seasons change.

Feng shui recognises the importance of sunlight to create energy within an individual, likening it to a life force. The concept recommends keeping the windows clean to allow the sun’s energy to filter into our homes without the resistance of dust or leaves. This inspires lightness within a person and can help rejuvenate them. Creating light spaces within the house is also essential in feng shui, allowing freedom and openness within ourselves and our environment.

Additionally, applying feng shui principles outside of our homes and in hospital settings and inpatient facilities might help create a safe and supportive environment for patients, particularly those with dementia. Harmony within an environment can promote balance and stability within a person, which could be invaluable for a patient experiencing dementia.

Feng shui’s reliance on colour to create harmony and to heal can be recognised in concepts like colour therapy. Colour therapy has also been referred to as the ‘colour cure’, which was first used in a mental institution to attempt to treat depression and soothe violent behaviour and anxiety. The patients who struggled with depression were housed in bright, red rooms to try to stimulate the passion and energy that feng shui references. In contrast, those who were agitated or anxious were surrounded by blue and green.

The blue and green rooms helped to create a calming atmosphere for these patients, and its success meant that colour theory is still used in hospital design today. We might recognise pale blues and greens in hospitals, aiming to promote a relaxing and restful environment to aid a patient’s recovery.

However, not every individual responds to colour in the same way. The effects of colour can vary according to cultural background and could have a negative psychological response depending on the colour and the individual. Despite this, research has shown that the overall concept of feng shui can create positive mental health.

Many of us know that sleep has a massive impact on our mental health, and a lack of sleep can lead to irritability and increase the likelihood of ill-mental health. Using feng shui in bedroom design can improve sleep quality, meaning a person might wake up less at night and toss and turn less frequently. To achieve these positive effects, feng shui recommends placing the bed in a central position, sleeping with the head pointed southward, and limiting electronic screens like a TV or mobile phone. It might help to hide electronic wires and cables with a cloth or place them inside a storage box to promote the feeling of relaxation.

Additionally, painting the room with warm colours reminiscent of skin tones like peach, tan, and cocoa are suitable for the bedroom, aiming to soothe the individual and could symbolise the idea of being at one with ourselves. Calming colours such as blues, greens, and lavender could also help promote a peaceful night’s sleep; however, feng shui warns against using too many cool colours as they could interfere with relaxation. The concept suggests 50% warm colours and 50% cool colours to ensure balance within the home.

Whether the idea of feng shui resonates with you or not, research has shown that it benefits the individuals who practice it. You might want to look around your home, at each room, and consider how you feel in the environment. If you feel sluggish in your kitchen, for example, you might want to consider incorporating yellows and oranges, which are thought to stimulate appetite, or reds to promote energy within the room and, therefore, within yourself. If you lie awake at night, try moving the position of your bed or de-cluttering the bedroom – you might experience a good night’s sleep.