There is a link between trauma and clutter. As a trauma survivor your mind is often overloaded with constant ways to keep you safe. It is so full of ideas and thoughts about protecting you that it lacks clarity for simple things. What happens in our mind is then reflected in our environment. If your brain is filled with chaotic thoughts, chances are your external world is full of chaos as well.
Trauma affects a person's prefrontal cortex, this part of your brain looks after executive functioning skills such as planning, organization and task initiation. When a disruption occurs simple things such as unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry or tidying up become overwhelming chores to complete. Your brain on trauma is often referred to as a hijacked brain and it is unable to decipher between what is a small safe task and one that is not, everything appears as a stressor.
Unhealed trauma can also be linked to hoarding. Stock piling can occur at different levels and not everyone will go to extremes. But if you find yourself unable to part with things and wanting to continually buy more "must have items" that you don't need, it may be a trauma response.
Trauma often leaves an emotional wound, hoarded items act like packing in the open sore, they fill the unhealed void. Keeping everything is a way to avoid dealing with your emotions. According to Psychology Today "Recently, studies have also shown that individuals who have both OCD and exhibit hoarding symptoms were more likely to have experienced at least one traumatic life event in comparison to those with OCD alone, suggesting that the act of compulsive shopping and the obsessive need to collect and keep material objects may serve as a coping mechanism for grief, loss or post traumatic stress."
Piling things and clutter around you acts as a protective barrier to keep you safe. It is an unconscious way of protecting yourself because as a trauma survivor your boundaries may have been violated. The clutter acts a physical safety net or protective boundary.
It is possible to change and declutter both your mind and your environment. It all begins with awareness, you need to get honest with yourself. Decluttering can make you feel anxious at first because it is a new response for you. Be gentle with yourself and take your time. Just as your mind needs to learn to accept calmness your clutter needs to be approached in a compassionate way as well. Start small with one area at a time, if you approach the whole house at once it will seem too overwhelming and you will likely quit as your brain will adopt a trauma response of flight, fight or freeze. As you slowly reduce your excess of things you'll find that you may even like this new sense of organization and you'll learn that you can feel safe without the clutter.
Healing is all about letting go and allowing room for new learning. As you release the mess you are no longer hiding from your wounds. You will have to open them up and address them. Slowly you can declutter both your mind and your physical space. Once you do this your wounds will not feel as heavy. Allow yourself to let go of the disaray that is disrupting your healing. Clutter is a survival response to keep you safe, it's all about retraining your mind to understand that you can survive without the mess. The mess served it's purpose at one time but now as you heal and grow it's time to let it go.
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