By Sophie Rose Peters
Minimalism and Mental Illness, A Focus for the Mind is the title of my newest book. I have a wish that people who struggle with a range of mental illness and diagnoses will read it and find something in its pages that will speak to them and they can benefit from.
I say ‘they’ and ‘them’ but I am included too! I’ve got bipolar and I also struggle with anxiety and depression. I chanced upon minimalism when I came across the book ‘The Joy of Less’ by Francine Jay. My small apartment had way too much stuff in it and I was curious and open to living with less. What’s in it for me? I wondered as I read through that book and was fired up to start decluttering.
Over the years I’ve kept up this habit and was loving what it was teaching me. I share some of these lessons in the book with you the reader, but I am aware that we all learn our own lessons from it as each one of us is different. Initially, because of its positive promises from some sources such as: you’ll find the purpose of your life if you minimise, I was very intrigued. Some people attach all kinds of promises to living with less.
I’ve come to realise as with most things in life: it depends. It depends on who we are, our circumstances, our support system or lack of, what we are physically and emotionally able to do and so on. It dawned on me that those of us with a mental illness could use our own book. A book on the topic of minimalism that links mental health and well-being for those of us who struggle in this area. We need to feel validated and included.
Minimalism is a discipline and it’s not easy, but it can be taught and learned. And good things do come of it. Less to tidy up, a chance to focus on what we enjoy, making way for the ‘new’ to come in and best of all, a shake up of our values and seeing what really matters to us in life.
I really hope you’ll read the book and see if it resonates with you. Those of us with anxiety always deserve full freedom to make up our minds about things and the space to do so. There is no pressure. If it’s your thing, great, if not then let it go for now. Sometimes new ideas can inspire us to live just a little bit better. If this turns out to be one such idea for you then I’ll be very glad to have played a small part in it! We’re always learning from each other and it’s fun to share what we’ve gained from exploring something a little different.
Sophie’s book is available on Amazon if you’d like to read it! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minimalism-Mental-Illness-Focus-Mind/dp/B094LGBRYS/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Sophie+Rose+Peters&qid=1621330139&sr=8-4
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