Clutter Can Affect Your Brain!

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Clutter can be frustrating. You can work all day long…

and feel like you accomplished very

little.

Aside from simply being aggravating, it

turns out that the stress which clutter

promotes

can lead to a host of physical and mental

health issues.

It all has to do with how your brain reacts to the clutter around

you.

The Pain of Giving Up an Object

Researchers at Yale University in

Connecticut have discovered…

that two different pain-related areas of your

brain go crazy…

when you give up some item or object

that you have developed a sense of

connection with.

Those areas are the anterior cingulate cortex and insular

cortex (insula).

Your anterior cingulate cortex sends off warning signals

when your hot chocolate is too hot,

or you experience some other type of

physical pain.

Remarkably, when you give away or sacrifice

a possession or item to which you are

attached,

this part of your brain reacts in the same

way.

When you are heavily invested emotionally

or financially,

the feeling of loss is accelerated.

Your insula is related with pain, how you

empathize with others,

and your awareness of your own emotional

state.

This area of your brain also reacts as if you

have received

some emotional or physical pain

when you let go of a possession which has some type of personal

value.

The Mental Difficulty of Beating Clutter

This hardwired response to giving away possessions

is what makes defeating clutter so difficult for some.

Usually, the way your brain responds to

giving up an object

only triggers a physical pain response if that object meant a lot to

you.

However, in some people it is difficult to

part with something as simple as an old

newspaper.

How can you use this information to your

advantage if you are trying to declutter your

life?

Understand that those painful emotions you

are experiencing

when you are contemplating giving

up some item or object are natural.

Give them their due. Experience them.

Understand what they are, trigger reactions

which happen to everyone.

Then, instead of surrendering to them,

take control.

If the best thing for you is to let go of a

particular item, then do so.

Look at your situation logically and objectively.

Your brain is automatically reacting

to the thought of "losing" something.

However, that same brain craves order and

discipline,

which are two of the many rewards of a

uncluttered life.

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