There is not one straightforward answer to how the environment affects mental health. Personal history, diet, genetics, and lifestyle all play a part in determining the quality of mental health. These factors, in a way, help quantify the struggle with mental illness.
Apart from these, one other major factor contributes to our mental well-being. But, being intangible and thus often ignored, it doesn’t get the required attention it deserves. Yes, we are talking about the physical environment’s effect on mental health as it surrounds us and is a part of our day-to-day lives.
The environment in which we live and work forms a vital part of our lives and, in the broader context, affects us subconsciously. Any good psychologist will vouch for the fact that it is crucial to consider environmental factors when treating any mental health issues.
People may assume mental illness is something that is prevalent in families, and they blame it on genetics. But that’s only half the story. Mental health disorders can occur due to a variety of reasons, such as a person’s immediate environment and lifestyle.
If you are an individual who is unsure of your physical environment’s effect on mental health and how the immediate surroundings affect mental health, read on to learn more about just how that happens.
Common Factors That Affect Our Mind
Common everyday factors can contribute to mental illness, they have the power to affect a person’s psychology. The physical factors that may cause mental illnesses are:
Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is an unhealthy sleep cycle that is detrimental to mental health. There are plenty of environmental factors which could affect sleep cycles, and not all of them are under our control. Noisy environments such as loud neighbours, busy streets, and extreme climes contribute to poor mental health. Therefore a downturn in mental health is one of the many ways the physical environment affects mental health.
In a lot of situations, people struggle to fall asleep as they are overwhelmed with thoughts or overcome with anxiety.
Environmental Pollution
Can the environment cause depression? Most certainly, yes! Being subject to environmental pollution such as smoke and noise pollution in childhood increases the chances of individuals having mental illness later on in life. People residing in areas earmarked as polluted are more often than not affected by a combination of factors on this list, but the risk from air pollution is worth noting.
Hazardous Working Conditions
A hazardous working condition can be one of the reasons that surroundings affect mental health. It is more than just being exposed to any physical danger at work. It can mean any working condition that places a significant strain on the body and mind. If you are subject to an ultra-competitive work environment or one with a poor work-life balance, your mental health is likely to suffer.
Extreme Weather Conditions
Extreme weather conditions are also a common yet not so talked about reason that surroundings affect mental health. It can cause a stressful reaction and wear you down. Both extreme heat and cold can cause adverse reactions in the form of poor mental health. It is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Imagine a situation in which you are living in a perpetually cold or sweltering climate and having to struggle against the extreme weather elements. In that case, it can take a toll and you can notice how the physical environment’s effect on mental health manifests itself
Smoking
Everyone knows that smoking cigarettes increases the smoker’s chance of contracting cancer and heart conditions. The nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco products adversely impact a person’s mood and mental health. Being surrounded by smoke can become an environment that can cause depression, for active as well as passive smokers.
People take to smoking for temporary relief from stress. A person feeling rather high-strung for the moment may take a smoke break and confess to feeling better. Any such relief is usually short-lived, so the smoker craves it more. By turning to cigarettes or any nicotine-based product as an emotional crutch, the smoker develops an unhealthy reliance on it and even face more stress upon failing to quit the habit. .
The Journal of Psychological Neuroscience states evidence that smoking contributes to the development or progression of specific mental health conditions, including ADHD, dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Smoking may also be a factor in depression among people who are already vulnerable to depression.
If you are one of those individuals who take to smoking as a means of coping with depression, you’ll be better off if you find other ways to deal with it. Some alternatives to smoking that people find helpful are meditation, breathing exercises, cutting down on the consumption of alcohol, and, equally importantly – maintaining a well-balanced diet.
Social Factors
Social factors are situations that arise in the immediate family or broader community capable of impacting an individual’s mental health.
Stigma
When individuals experience any forms of stigma or discrimination within society, such as racism, homophobia, sexism, or other forms of prejudice that gradually come to the fore, they are capable of being the cause of mental disorders.
Violence
Strife and violence in any form, either at home, within the community, or in the country at large and the immediate surroundings, affect mental health. Such extreme incidents are capable of causing stress, anxiety, depression and perhaps even PTSD.
Abuse
Abuse has many forms, the most predominant among them are physical, sexual, and emotional. Being at the receiving end of abuse in any form can be detrimental to one’s emotional and physical health. It is one of the many ways that you can know how the environment affects mental health.
Lack of Social Interaction
Humans are meant to interact with each other and are very much social animals. Feelings of loneliness, being unloved, or feeling unsupported within your community or circle of friends significantly impact mental health. It is always important that you find a safe way to vent or release those emotions.
Creating an Environment That Uplifts Your Mood
There are plenty of strategies to help you cope with environmental influences and control how they affect you and your mental health. Give these suggestions a chance to create a healing space.
- Make sure there is an ample amount of natural light in your room. This can be done by replacing curtains with blinds, etc. In case you don’t get enough sunlight, go out and stand underneath the sun’s glory for at least 10 minutes and notice how it changes your life.
- Appropriate colour impacts mood in a positive way. So do consider livening up your room, or even one wall of your room, with soft and cheery pastel hues. Choosing a soft pastel shade will also help reflect light and make the room feel cozy.
- You can always bring nature inside if you lack a view of nature outside your window. Potted plants, a tiny herb garden, or fresh flowers will do the trick and spruce up your living space and act as a mood booster. Even a framed image of a natural scene can make a positive difference.
- Get rid of any clutter around your home and organise your space. Sift through your belongings and store only what you really need to keep and get rid of the rest. You can keep coming back to it in parts instead of doing it all in one go if the thought of that overwhelms you.
- Making use of aromatherapy will give a cheerful ambience to your abode. Keep a bottle of essential oil or a small spray to lend a relaxed atmosphere when you are looking to better your mood. Different scents have different effects on your mood — lavender can be calming, peppermint is energising, lemongrass is a quick mood booster, and so on.
- Working with music in the background helps some people improve their concentration and find a measure of focus, particularly while at work. Experiment with different genres of music and pick one that suits you the best. For help in falling asleep, switch to recordings of white noise, such as sounds of rain or the forest playing on a loop.
Take Care of Your Mental Health
There are quite a few ways in which the environment can cause depression or other mental issues. Environmental factors affecting your mental health could very well be linked to other facets contributing to it.
However, reaching out for help with one aspect of your mental health condition helps in improving other associated conditions. Identifying a competent psychologist who can help you cope with the mental disorders brought on by the immediate environment can help you embrace a positive change and eliminate the toxic mindset while at it.
Being surrounded by a natural environment as much as possible is a key factor that concerns mental health. Nature has an overwhelmingly positive impact on mental well-being. Therefore reducing environmental degradation is an ideal solution towards tackling rising numbers of mental health problems that is also light on the pocket.
A good balance of mental, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual health is required to promote overall health and well-being. Even though mental disorders can, in certain circumstances, be inherited, various factors, including genetics and social, physical, and economic influences, also contribute to a mental illness or help cure it.
