Through all that I have experienced over the past month and eventually near the edge of starting back where I was last year when I relapsed, I realized that I needed to take time to declutter my life once again. Over the past week or so, by decluttering, I have learned that it is important and beneficial to do and is an important task that provides a great method of self-care.

Life has been a challenge for me the past six years. One of the biggest challenges I have faced is discovering that I have an addictive personality and as such it can be hard to get away from things of an addictive nature. Through my personal experience of not taking care of myself in the way that I have needed to for the past several years, my addictive personality has overruled my priority of being well until it became apparent that things are getting too much. It usually involves there are too many variables in my life that are not certain.

One of the biggest addictions that I had faced was the fact that I was spending way too much time on social media. It was running my life and was what I was constantly thinking about. After getting back on track with my medication regimen, I realized that I needed to update to make sure that I never went down the path that I have been going through for the past several years.

So, I did what I called the big purge. I deactivated, unfollowed, unliked the things that in my right mind knew were unhealthy or had no intention of being a part of. As I knew that I never wanted to return to this state of mind, I knew that I had to cut back not only on my digital footprint, but also the physical items to which I was connected.

My family has a long history of hoarding tendencies and as such I have had more of a tendency to hold on to things that are of little importance, purpose, or value. It can be antagonistic to others and influence not only them, but on our relationship and my well-being too. I have improved significantly in this regard, but I always feel like I am being judged for my cleanliness.

While I have significantly improved and decluttered over the past week or so, I am seeing the benefits of what it can bring to the table. I can relax and feel relieved that things are not as complicated or as stressful as they have been. I honestly have to say that being a medication adherent also helps in this regard as well. Having all the things that you need to have to be well and live in your home is essential.

I have seen the need to declutter and simplify my life to allow myself to be less stressed. I can also add it to my repertoire of things that I can do when I need to practice self-care and start to feel much better. While just getting to the base is just the beginning, I know that when it comes to finding something that I can do to care for myself.