Doom vs. Depression Mess
Have you heard the terms “Doom Room” and “Depression Room” in the past and wondered what the difference really is?
A Doom Room or doom pile/doom boxes are clutter that accumulates from deferred decisions and the inability to figure out what to do with it all. To an extent, I think most of us encounter some level of “doom” clutter at varying points in our lives. School papers, bills, mail, and flyers spent a week or two accumulating on the kitchen counter and suddenly you have yourself a little doom pile. You couldn’t figure out what to do with each item when it arrived in your home and now they have all formed an alliance become a little stack of bullies waiting to be dealt with.
The most common time of year for a doom mess in the average home is likely the holiday season. You are busier than ever: decorating, shopping, attending events, ordering stuff online, and figuring out when to wrap all the gifts. Perhaps you end up with a closet, section of your bedroom or basement, or maybe a whole room filled with holiday junk that was never dealt with. Boxes, decorations, wrapping paper, shopping bags, are all adding even more stress to the most wonderful time of the year. Then December 26th hits and someone in the house (usually the mom) loses her mind and declares it is time to clean up the Christmas explosion.
Doom piles are most often associated with individuals who have ADHD because executive function challenges make it hard to ever come back around and actually make decisions and deal with the stuff in question. The piles grow and never get addressed simply because an individual is too overwhelmed to know where to start. (That is when you call ME!)
Depression rooms are a different situation and stem from the struggle of mental illness. Depression symptoms often include difficulty concentrating, fatigue and lack of motivation, and sometimes even struggling with basic care tasks such as bathing and brushing teeth. Depression rooms often include mountains of dirty laundry and possibly piles of dirty dishes. The most challenging part is that the individual may be bothered by the mess, but feel unable to do anything about it. The state of the room can add to the depression over time. (I love to help in depression rooms also, but the individual should receive the proper psychological support as well.)
Please understand that a messy space doesn’t automatically indicate alarms that need to be addressed. Lots of people are perfectly happy, content and unbothered in a space that would drive the rest of us crazy. If your loved one has a doom room or otherwise messy space, but seems completely happy in life, no intervention may be needed.
