Reducing Your Anxiety with Feng Shui
Are you an anxious person? Do you have a hard time sleeping or find yourself constantly worrying? Where's your anxiety coming from? Many of you are making tough decisions, such as when or how your children go back to school. Changes in work environments or schedules could be causing stress or sleepless nights. Job loss or missing loved ones is a common concern in today's world. And for those who are looking to reduce stress by watching or playing sports, even that might not be an option. A lot of stress and anxiety comes from things out of our control. Therefore, working to reduce stress in areas that are in our control should be a priority.
Your environment is one area you can control. I challenge you to take a closer look at how your home is supporting a healthy lifestyle or perhaps hindering it. In this article, I suggest Feng Shui tips for reducing anxiety. They are simple, easy, and effective. Anyone can do them.
Let’s start with the obvious one, clutter. Clutter creates congestion in our lives and can block the flow of energy. When your space feels more balanced, so does your life. But before you start organizing your things, let me remind you that fewer things mean less to organize. If you are like most people, you can spend a day organizing but before long, the area looks cluttered again and the cycle continues. Purging prior to organizing is key. Also, expect you will have to clean and declutter from time to time. Just think how good it feels when you are done!
Let me suggest two areas to reduce the clutter that makes a big impact on stress levels. The first is your entryway. Are you arriving home to a feeling of relaxation, or chaos? Start from the ground up. Look for shoes, coats, bags, and other items you find yourself stepping over, or tripping on. Purge them, then organize them. Follow this task by looking at what's on the walls. For those with bulletin boards are they a catch-all for things or do they really help you stay organized? If you ever watch HGTV you've seen those lovely communication centers in a mudroom or kitchen. Keeping them from becoming visual chaos can also reduce anxiety.
Remember, the less you have, the less to manage. So before you purchase something, consider letting go of 1-2 similar items first. Otherwise, you are just adding to the clutter and thus adding to your stress. For those of you that are overachievers, when you are done doing this in the home, consider working on your garage, yard, or gardens.
Nothing blocks the flow of energy than too much furniture. Are you filling every nook and cranny of your home with tables and chairs? Do you have some open spaces and enough room to easily move around your home? If you find yourself in the trap of “I can’t get rid of this, my mother gave it to me” consider reading my blog about What to Do with Old Furniture here. If you need help arranging furniture, by all means, call me. I love helping clients come up with arrangements to create balance and flow.
The next area of your home I suggest taking a closer look at is your bedroom. This should be a quiet and calm space. Imagine for a minute everything in your bedroom had a voice. How noisy would it be? Are you working in your bedroom? Is this where you keep your weight bench? Perhaps you are knee-deep in laundry piles reminding you there's one more thing to do. What would it feel like if everything in your bedroom focused around rest and relaxation? Could this reduce your stress and anxiety? It can be hard to sleep when schoolwork or tomorrow’s “To Do” list is sitting next to the bed. Here are some tangible examples that might help.
BEDROOM CHECKLIST TO REDUCE STRESS.
Consider a darker shade of paint. This creates a cocoon feeling, which is conducive to a better night’s sleep. I would especially consider this if you have tall ceilings or a large bedroom.
Remove most, if not all books. These voices of others can keep you awake at night. What do you have to lose by trying it? Stress? Seems worth it to me.
Remove exercise equipment or workspaces from your bedroom. The goal is to create yin (soft, calming) energy, not yang (active, vibrant) energy. Balance is key when managing your health. Finding other places in your home for these activities can greatly reduce stress.
Remove or reduce Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) otherwise known as anything you plug in. Can you live without the TV in your bedroom? If not, try covering the black hole with fabric or unplugging it before going to sleep. Do you feel like you are “on” all the time? If so, I would predict your phone is charging next to you while you try to get some Zs. Consider leaving it in another room and truly unplug. When the power goes out in your home, it gets quiet. The buzzing of all the EMFs stops. This is the calm we are going for, especially in the bedroom.
Lastly, bring the lights down. You can do this anywhere in your home. Lights lift and expand energy. Therefore, dimming the lights or using soft lamp lighting rather than bright overhead lights creates a calmer environment, which in turn, reduces stress.
Maybe we have more control than we thought. Start by looking around. Let go of things you don’t love and reduce clutter. The goal is to easily manage your belongings. A few minutes of tidying up could add hours to your sleep, and years to your life. You got this!
Find more ideas and tips in my FREE webinars here. Take it a step further and book your home consultation. Contact me today and together we will explore even more ways your space can support your intentions. Feel empowered and look at your space in a whole new light!
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