by Rebecca Lee
A recent study by the AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) revealed that over one in five Australians have suffered from a mental health disorder in the last calendar year. This equated to more than four million people.
For many of them, the cause relates to stressful lives triggered by traumas, overwhelming work responsibilities and dysfunctional relationships with others.
As a result, it is important that they have a mental health space they can retreat to within their home to relax and stave off the onset of anxiety and depression.
But what is a mental health space and how do you go about creating one?
Read on to find out more.
What is a Mental Health Space?
A mental health space is a part of your home that is specially designed to promote clarity of mind and improve your overall health and well-being.
While it can be any room or even a tiny nook within your property, the key factor to define it is that it should be supportive, calming and safe.
Essentially, the purpose of this space is to create somewhere you can go to escape the daily stresses of everyday life and reconnect back to yourself.
For many Australians, it is a crucial element in their fight to maintain a balanced state of mind.
Why is a Mental Health Space Important?
Mental health spaces are extremely important because they provide people with a safe and supportive environment where they can decompress, heal, and find emotional balance.
Overall, these spaces are designed to minimise external stressors, promote a greater sense of relaxation, and create a sense of security – all of which are crucial for mental well-being.
Mental health spaces are vital not just at home but anywhere stress and anxiety are common, including schools, offices, and healthcare settings.
Benefits of a Mental Health Space
A mental health space can be extremely beneficial to individuals who need to recharge and address their emotional needs.
By providing a dedicated environment where they can do this, they enable individuals to improve their focus, mood, and resilience. At the same time, they also can encourage reflection, personal growth, and recovery within them.
The great thing about mental health spaces is that giving people access to them can encourage the development of mindfulness and self-care habits, which go a long way towards equipping individuals with coping strategies to handle stress both in the space and beyond.
Moreover, thoughtfully designed mental health spaces can reduce stigma, normalise the importance of self-care, and make the opportunity to seek help more accessible for everyone who needs it.
What to Include in a Mental Health Space
When creating a mental health space, there are several things you can include to improve your mood and levels of productivity and lessen the presence of negative and destabilising thoughts.
They include the following:
1. Mental Health-Friendly Furniture
Some companies have furniture that is specifically designed to be comfortable, safe and stylish yet non-threatening to those who are dealing with mental health issues.
You can check out this range of anti-ligature furniture from Australia, which also has tamper proof-fixings, to see what we mean.
2. Make sure there is plenty of natural light
Natural light plays an important role in boosting our mood by regulating our circadian rhythms. Therefore, it is vital to introduce as much of it into your mental health-friendly space as possible.
Good ways to do this are to add in skylights, big windows or large mirrors in strategic places, as this will enable reflective light to the course and bounce through it.
To complement them, it is a good idea to use blinds or sheer fabrics that filter light through them. Window treatments and heavy drapes will be counter-productive as they will block sunlight.
At the same time, avoid introducing too much in the way of artificial light from coming into your space. Doing this can trick your brain into believing it is a different part of the day, which might disrupt your sleep pattern.
3. Make sure you declutter
Many experts believe that clutter is a big trigger for heightened levels of stress and anxiety.
Subsequently, to avoid succumbing to them, you should make sure your mental health space is free from clutter.
While you will need some furniture, it is worth adopting a less is more approach because too much of can make the place look too busy and increase noise levels.
The purpose of decluttering is to create a sense of calm, tidiness and serenity, which you can go a long way towards achieving by introducing smart storage solutions such as baskets and shelves that can make a notable difference to the appearance of a room.
4. Cut out the noise
Talking of noise, according to the WHO (World Health Organisation), too much of it can be a major contributor to mental health problems. For this reason, your mental health space should keep outside noise to a minimum.
A good way to achieve this is to use acoustic panels to soundproof your walls. Additionally, you could also install double glazing, fit a door sweep and ensure you don’t have any appliances, such as air conditioning or fans that make too much of a racket.
5. Control Room Temperature
Feeling cold and miserable or hot and bothered is not conducive to being calm and relaxed. So, it is important to be able to control the temperature of your mental health space as and when required.
Reverse cycle air-conditioning is a good way to do this, as it will keep you cool during the scorching months of summer and warm during the chillier months of winter. Just pick one which is energy efficient to reduce your power bills.
Alternatively, you could also replace windows and doors that let in too much of a draft, insulate your walls and put down carpet or replace it with floorplans to create comfortable room temperatures all year round.
6. Choose Calming and Natural Colour Palettes
The psychology of colour suggests that certain hues have a calming effect, while others may be energising or even anxiety-inducing. So, when designing a mental health space, the ones you pick are very important, as it can significantly affect emotions, behavior, and its overall ambiance.
As a general rule of thumb, earth tones and neutrals like various shades of beige, soft greens, and light browns evoke a sense of warmth and grounding, that can help create a more comforting atmosphere.
Similarly, soft blues and greens are associated with peace and tranquility, to the point that they are known to lower heart rates and ease anxiety.
If you want to introduce a touch of positivity without overstimulation, then soft yellows are a good choice as they add warmth and cheerfulness.
6. Add some plants
Several bodies of research have proven that introducing plants, greenery and other biophilic elements to your home can improve a person’s stress and anxiety levels.
Some good plants to have around your mental health space are peace lilies, aloe vera, lavender and pothos.
It is also a good idea to include sustainable art and natural elements like stone and wood in it, too, as these elements can help you to retain a balanced and relaxed state of mind overall.
7. Include Multi-Sensory Elements
One of the best ways to maximise the effective of your mental health spaces is to include elements that appeal to all senses. Doing this will help individuals to better ground themselves and feel more ‘present’.
Essential oil diffusers with calming scents like lavender or eucalyptus are a good starting point because they can positively influence a person’s mood and overall mental clarity. Just remember to pick ones that are sustainably sourced and organic to reduce their potential impact on the environment.
Soundscapes can also help too, with white noise machines or natural sound recordings (e.g., rain, ocean waves, birds) masking external sounds to create a soothing backdrop in which to relax.
It is also worth including various tactile elements in the space like soft blankets, natural wood surfaces, or woolen rugs because these textures can also provide sensory grounding and comfort.
Conclusion
If you are struggling with your mental health or are in charge of an environment where people might be suffering from these types of issues, creating a functional mental health space can be very beneficial.
These spaces go beyond being just rooms where you can have some alone time to clear your head. They are zones that provide safety, comfort, and the ability to practice mindfulness and self-care.
The key to designing a successful mental health space is to create one that promotes healing and well-being through sustainable, thoughtful choices.
This is best done by embracing design principles that not only inspire calm, resilience, and sustainability, but also lead towards mental wellness in a way that respects for the natural world.
It is only when we embraces these principles, that we can build environments that are truly restorative for both people and the planet.
Rebecca is the Content Manager at Extras, a freelance writer, and an avid reader of self help books with a focus on finance. A big believer in taking action, she wastes no time tackling obstacles that lie ahead. When it comes to her endeavors in business and entrepreneurship, she’d rather be stuck with oh well than what if.