Minimalism is a lifestyle that is becoming more and more popular. It is about living with less and simplifying your life.
Minimalism has recently been gaining popularity as a coping mechanism for people overcoming anxiety, as it can help relieve the symptoms of stress significantly.
Here are the eight benefits of minimalism surrounding mental and emotional health.
1 – Less Mess, Less Stress: Reducing Anxiety Over Clutter
When nothing is out of place, it can create a sense of calm. The more your life resembles the environment you want to live in, the less stress you will have about productivity and orderliness.
Minimalism is focused on decreasing clutter, not just organizing it into designated sections. By getting rid of what you no longer need you to reduce anxiety created over clutter. Reviewing all aspects of your lifestyle that create an overdone appearance may help relieve some stress caused by keeping up with appearances. Despite what others think, minimalism allows for simplicity without being lazy or disorganized. It’s simply another way to do things less complicated.
2 – Living Minimally to Save Money and Stress
The less stress you have about bills, the better. Minimalism can be a powerful tool in relieving some financial anxiety by getting rid of unnecessary expenses.
Minimalists buy quality items that either last a lifetime or can easily be resold. Going out of your way to reduce spending and minimize purchases will allow more room in your budget for essential expenses, increasing the amount of money you have available to pay off debts or save for necessities or emergencies.
3 – The Minimalist Lifestyle Saves Time
Once you have fewer items, it takes less time to clean your house and prepare for the day. In addition, less mess means more time can be spent completing essential tasks instead of picking up after yourself all the time.
Minimalism is not about asceticism or forcing any restrictions onto oneself. If having an extensive wardrobe will help you feel more confident, by all means, keep it. But if something clutters up your home or makes getting ready in the morning complicated, consider putting it away for good.
4 – Organize Your Thoughts With a Decluttered Mind
It’s easier to organize your thoughts when there isn’t so much clutter. Like an uncluttered environment, organizing your life with only the essentials can relieve stress and allow for clear thought processing. In addition, allowing yourself time to sit back and relax throughout the day will help you focus, decluttering your mind. It prevents you from getting overwhelmed by all there is still left undone.
5 – More Benefits of the Minimalist Psychology
Social media makes it easy to upload filtered images of one’s own life, making others seem much happier or more successful than they actually are.
By adopting minimalist psychology, you can be free from comparing your life to others’ online personas and focusing on your own improvement. You realize that what possessions other people have does not equate to their happiness and contentment with the life they are living.
6 – No More FOMO with a Minimalist Mindset
FOMO is an acronym for Fear of Missing Out, which refers to a person’s uneasy feeling when they see everyone else having something they do not have. For instance, you’d feel sad when everyone goes to a party without you, or you’d be uneasy when you are not in with trends like owning the latest gadget.
If you adopt a minimalist mindset as a way to relieve stress and anxiety, you will end up spending more time on what’s truly important to you instead of worrying that others might be having that you do not.
7 – Make Space for What Truly Matters
Spending more time with friends and family is a crucial part of living a happy life. Create space for those who matter to you the most by eliminating things and people who don’t.
Minimalism can be as simple as eliminating distractions. Every step along the way should follow one main rule: “Does this bring me closer to or further away from my goals?” If it doesn’t help you reach any of your personal aims, chances are it should go. Whether it’s social media sites, material possessions, or whatever other unnecessary clutter might be weighing down your lifestyle. Not having much stuff opens up many possibilities towards living the life you want because there’s less that stands in your way.
8 – Feeling Freedom Over Guilt With a Minimalist Lifestyle
Living a minimalist lifestyle prevents you from worrying. For instance, you do not worry about not having the newest cell phone or car. You know that these material possessions do not prevent an individual from living their life to its fullest potential. Material things are temporary and used only for a little while before being replaced. If you are a minimalist, you don’t waste your time regretting not getting something new. You know you have plenty of other ways to fill your days with meaning instead.
Experience the Benefits of Minimalism
Minimalism is about freedom – freedom from the unnecessary clutter that clogs up your life. Even if you don’t plan to become a bonafide minimalist, making even small changes towards living with less can go a long way in relieving stress and anxiety. Try it for yourself!
Author Bio
Samantha Underhill is a freelance writer and works as a content manager for various international brands – currently for Be in Health. When Samantha is not researching and writing she loves nothing more than heading out into the country for some downtime.
