If you or someone you know is experiencing depression, you may already be aware that keeping your space clean and organized might seem like an impossible hurdle. When people experience depression, they don’t just feel sad, but they lose energy and motivation. When our spaces are cluttered or dirty, depression can make us feel worthless and even less motivated, keeping us stuck in an endless loop. 

The best way to get out of this loop is with a technique called Behavior Activation (BA). The basic idea behind BA is that the person with depression should not wait until their mood changes to become motivated to start doing tasks, but instead should do tasks and then their mood will change leading to even more motivation. This means that even though a task might be very difficult, you have to push yourself to do it even though it’s hard.

Depression thrives on the symptoms that it creates. For example, depression might make someone feel like listening to sad music, and while this might be helpful for a little bit, sad music will only make that person feel more sad. So in order to change those feelings, the person needs to put on more upbeat music even if they don’t feel like it. The same goes for cleaning a room. Even though the task might feel daunting and impossible, it’s important to do it anyway and fight through the depression instead of succumbing to it. Behavioral Activation involves increasing activities that reduce depression. When we start accomplishing tasks, we feel a sense of accomplishment and this helps keep us motivated to keep going and complete more tasks, and alleviate depressive symptoms. 

So where can you get started? Cleaning your room is a great way to practice Behavioral Activation because it’s something that you do for yourself and makes you feel more calm and centered in your own space. Getting started is the hardest part, but being strategic about your goals can help.

1. Pick a realistic goal: Choose something that you can accomplish in a reasonable amount of time, don’t try to make big changes right away. And remember that if you don’t finish today, you can tomorrow.

2. Pick a task that makes a big visual impact: When you see how your room has been transformed, you will look back with a sense of accomplishment.

3. Pick a task that increases how functional your room is: Making your space more livable will feel more comfortable and less stressful.

4. Pick a task that keeps your body moving: Depression wants to keep you staying still, so doing tasks that move your body or your hands is a great way to fight against the stagnation of depression. 

Some examples of tasks that fit all of these strategies are: 

• Making your bed

• Picking up the floor

• Washing your windows

• Taking out the trash

• Folding a pile of clothes 

• Putting posters on your walls

If these tasks feel too big and unmanageable, there are some more strategies that can help

1. Break down the big tasks into smaller more manageable steps

2. Make a “done” list instead of a “to-do” list to help remind you of what you have accomplished

3. Ask for help! Even if you can’t find someone to help you clean, they can still be a “body double” for you, which means that their presence helps you focus and motivates you to keep going.

4. Just keep moving. If your body or hands are moving, then you are on the right track. The momentum will continue moving you forward. Remind yourself that you are beating depression just by moving.

5. Take a break if you are feeling run down, you can always continue working on your goal later today or tomorrow.

6. Set a timer and see how much you can get done in 10 minutes.

Managing depression is hard and difficult work, but it can be done. Once you start to see your accomplishments, you will feel better than when you started. You can do it!