It’s well-known that depression takes a toll on physical and mental health as feelings of isolation, loneliness, despair and low energy prevail.
One area that doesn’t get as much attention? Depression’s impact on your physical space, like your home or bedroom —but a conversation about this is starting on social media.
Folks on platforms like Instagram and TikTok are posting videos of their “depression rooms” — spaces filled with old laundry, trash, dirty dishes, takeout boxes and more that weren’t attended to when someone was feeling low. The videos show people cleaning their (or their loved ones’) “depression homes” or “depression rooms.”
“‘Depression room’ is this term that has entered into the pop psychology lexicon lately, and it refers to the living space of a person in the grips of a depressive episode,” said Dayton Olsen, a licensed professional counselor with Thriveworks in Roanoke, Virginia.
“A ‘depression room’ describes a living space that has become noticeably cluttered or chaotic because the person living in it is experiencing depression,” said Kobe Campbell, a licensed clinical mental health counselor in North Carolina.
