Cleaning house after a bad depression spell
I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas how to get past the overwhelmed feeling so that I'm not having anxiety just trying to clean my house. I'm usually really good about keeping up with it but I recently have a month or so long spell of depression (you know when you can barely even get out of bed). And now I still feel stuck in my room because all I see is how messy the house is and it's hard for me to get past the shock and get started. And then once I do then the anxiety kicks in and I just don't know what to do. Any ideas? I know it would help my mental state of mind if it was clean it's just getting past the obstacles that I have created for myself.
@limegreenPenguin3507
Hello!
Sorry to hear you’re having a tough time.
Whenever I am in this state, I put on my favorite songs on blast. They make me
feel joyous in the moment and motivate me to clean. Sometimes I also listen to
podcast as I clean; makes the time go by fast. Wishing you the best of luck
<3 🌿🌺
@limegreenPenguin3507
Hi, hang in there! Depression is rough but you can get to the other side. You will actually feel energetic someday and even joy! I didn't think it was possible, but I am better now. Don't give up.
Every tiny thing you do is one step out of the dark hole, one brave step toward feeling like yourself again.
I am not clinically depressed anymore and, even now, the thought of cleaning my whole house makes me overwhelmed and want to hide under my blankets. It's a huge task. And it never ends.....
I have been there and gotten through to the other side. Getting out of bed is a huge step. Do not compare yourself or shame yourself because it is such a huge effort. Other people don't understand. It's like attaching heavy weights to your whole body. it's like being in a deep deep pit of hopelessness. You can't just spring out of bed like others. Be kind to yourself and be brave. Just do one small thing.
Even now I break down my chores into tiny tasks. Then I check each one off. Sometimes it's just "drink tea", "check my phone", "feed cat", "clean off table," "empty dishwasher"...... Stuff like that. It would be overwhelming to just clean the whole kitchen or whole house. Plus you feel like you've accomplished a lot each time you check off a thing that only takes 5 minutes. And if you are depressed, it IS a huge accomplishment. Don't compare to others, or how you USED to be. Hopefully you can find a good feeling ( even a slight one) each time you accomplish a task!! Oh, and I never get through the whole list, but that's ok.
I like the idea of loud energetic music, too.
Oh, and get a cleaning spray that smells nice, I use a lemony organic one.
@humorousPenguin8337
What do you think was most important in your recovery? I take Lexapro but it seems like it’s not enough. I don’t really want more drugs but I’ll try anything to find a little joy again.
Hello.
Sorry this isn't a reply that would solve your issue because ı'm having the same problem and didn't want to open a new thread with same topic. I was very obsessed with cleaning when ı first moved to this house ı'm staying right now(been almost 4 years) that sometimes it felt like it was a bit too much. I think this was around the start of pandemic when i realized it was getting to OCD type of stuff.
I'd blast a really good song back then(2000s to 2010s trance music <3) and just vibe along with it and would eventually be proud of what i achieved. Thing was, ı started to realize that after the cleaning, ı'd go crazy on a little dust that'd fell on the floor and it got even worse after that. I'm litreally living in a trash house for 1 year now. House has seen some crazy scenes because of piling of trash and such however, it's looking a bit more tidy right now. At least i ı'm able to walk in the living room without tackling to garbage. I have around 10+ trash bag ready to be discarded from home but ı take one at a time because i don't want to spook my neighbours with that many trash bags.
I always set myself a goal of picking up even a small area of piling for a day(not that big i tell myself to not be overwhelmed) but fail usually. Unfortunately, today was one of those days..
I said that i love vibing along with music while doing cleaning but the problem for me is i always get the feeling of my neighbours are hearing what i listening and since i'm in the isolation state for so long, i am too anxious to open music from my JBL speaker(loud).
Instead of looking at everything and causing it to overwhelm you break it up into small amounts at a time and just concentrate on those or set a timer and clean for just a little at a time with breaks in between. These are a couple things that have helped me in the past. Hopefully you'll find this helpful as well.
When things get really bad, and I have no will and power, I hire cleaning specialists. I understand this option is not for all, but maybe you should consider this.
I try to cope with the cleaning and cleaning of windows in the apartment without anyone's help, but if we talk about the office where I work, then the services of cleaners are indispensable there. The office has large panoramic windows, so we usually turn to a commercial window cleaning service using this Link. It saves a lot of time and allows you to quickly bring the office into a good and presentable condition.
