The world that we live in is centred around consumption and consumerism. Companies and organisations create goods and services that we, as average people, then consume. This might be in the form of technology, clothes, digital goods, and more, but there’s a prevailing trend of people having worst mental health problems the more that they consume.
This trend is a part of the reason that minimalism and “no buy” movements are starting to become more popular around the world, and those that are part of these movements believe that cutting back on their overall consumption has helped their mental health enormously.
Less to Worry About
The more that we own, the more we have to worry about. Whether it’s a fear of losing it all to a fire or to theft, or simply because it means having to keep so much more in mind, many people that maintain a household’s worth of unnecessary items often battle to keep track of everything that they have and spend a lot of their time and energy trying to locate items that they might have lost. There are countless stories of people moving over to minimalism and having a lot less stress because there’s just less to worry about in their homes.
Less to Clean
Most people dread cleaning days, but it’s a necessary part of maintaining a healthy and decluttered home. Of course, when there’s a lot of stuff to clean, it makes the burden that much worse, and might mean having to spend hours cleaning rather than just a few minutes. Being able to cut back on how many items we purchase on a monthly level means not having to clean as often or nearly as much, and it can be good for our mental health in the long run.
Reduced Financial Strain
Financial issues are one of the leading causes of mental health problems, and a lot of the time it’s because a person spends too much of their money on stuff that they really don’t need.
Cutting back on the amount of items that we purchase can also mean saving a lot more money every month; money that can instead be put into savings or other more meaningful pursuits or to enjoy some leisure time such as playing mobile pokies. Consumerism and saving money don’t exactly go hand-in-hand, so being able to have more money by reducing consumption can make a huge difference in how much stress that a person feels.
Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue is when we feel overwhelmed by the number of choices available when we’re looking for a new item, and it can become somewhat of a mental burden if we make a lot of purchases. The best way to eliminate decision fatigue completely is by simply not purchasing the item to begin with, unless it’s absolutely necessary to maintain a healthy and productive life.