A peaceful and visually appealing home setting can create a greater sense of well-being than a cluttered home. Even the color of your walls and furniture can affect your mental health. These changes can also help you create an environment that makes it more receptive to remote counseling or other virtual health services. Here are some ways to transform your home environment into one that is uplifting and supports your life goals.
Prepare a seat and chat
Something as simple as the arrangement of your living room furniture can cause your environment to feel like a space where people can socialize with each other more. To encourage people to feel calm and comfortable to relax and communicate, add comfortable chairs that invite people to sit for a while and talk. Arrange your sofas and chairs facing each other, to encourage interaction. Adding soft textile items, such as pillows and soft blankets, can help the other person feel comfortable enough to let their guard down and speak openly from a place of vulnerability. Whether you’re socializing with guests or alone at home and connecting remotely with others, a warm and inviting space will encourage open communication.
Use color to lift your mood
As you can learn from the principles of color theory, your mood and behavior can be influenced by your surroundings. Letting more natural light into your bedroom can improve your mood. Lighter, brighter living environments can increase your sense of well-being, which can improve your behavior. Replace heavy curtains with window blinds. Place mirrors strategically throughout the room to reflect the sunlight coming through the windows. Consider painting your room a bright, cheery color if you want to radiate happiness. Or choose a bright green color if you want to feel more calm.
Set the home environment discordant
A messy room reflects a messy mind. A discordant home environment can increase your stress level. A person who lives in a messy house produces a higher level of stress hormones. You don’t have to study to know that the time it takes each day to find your lost set of keys, tripping over things on the floor on your way out the door, or rummaging through your wallet causes frustration and anger. Organizing your home can feel empowering and can keep you from dealing with dangerous levels of stress. In addition to eliminating clutter, turn to meditation and alternative medicine to help you manage your stress.
Use light and shadow
Opening a window and getting some fresh air can increase your energy level, allowing you to get more done. Neutrals like mocha or gray can make you feel more introverted and reserved. You may want to rest and recover in a darker, neutral room. There are times when it’s good to boost your energy and other times when it’s time to relax and nestle at home and heal. Use your environment to adjust your energy level as needed.
Set the mood
Your surroundings can help relieve or worsen symptoms of depression and anxiety. If you are receiving treatment remotely from an online addiction treatment program, your home environment may be more important than ever. You may want to designate certain rooms and spaces in your home as uplifting, high-energy zones, with lots of bright light and vibrant colors. But you also need a zone where you feel protected enough to relax and unwind. Your shelter zone may be darker, painted in rich, deep colors, and may feature lots of soft, comfortable textiles and furnishings.
