Environment Effects On Mental Health
An individual’s mental health is affected by several factors such as genetics, diet, lifestyle, and many others. Another chief factor that affects the quality of our mental health is the environment that we find ourselves in or that we choose. When we speak of the environment, we refer to both the physical components of where we spend our time and the people surrounding us.
The relationship between our physical environment and our mental health is seen in the following:
- Cluttered spaces have been proven to cause a feeling of being overwhelmed, while tidy and clean spaces generally give a sense of calmness. The implication of this is that proper arrangement can be enough reason for a person to be calm or disturbed.
- Harsh lighting and a lot of noise can create a feeling of agitation, anxiety, and stress, while dark or cold spaces can make an individual feel unmotivated.
On the other hand, the kind of people we spend time with and the kind of words spoken to us regularly can affect our stress and motivation levels and our mental health. The same applies to the culture and values in the human community that we choose. Individuals in communities who speak gently and reassuringly are more mentally healthy than communities characterized by insults and cutting speech.
The more we spend time in a particular environment possessing certain qualities, the more we experience the effects of those qualities, and that inevitably tells on our physical and mental health.