What’s worse than penis envy and more expensive to fix?
Answer: big, fancy houses, houses that are bigger than yours, more elegant houses, houses that scream “I’ve made it!” while in your psyche, the opposite message tearing out your self-confidence: “I didn’t make it.”
With all the emphasis on large estates, McMansions, home improvement mania, and that killer green monster inside most of us, it is no surprise that many homeowners are suffering from what is not called “Irritable Home Syndrome.”
According to health psychologist David Moxon, bombarded by images of luxury lifestyles, home makeovers and celebrity homes, the pressure to keep up home appearances leaves almost one in five of us feeling stressed, depressed or worried by negative feelings about where we live.
He believes that, as our homes are increasingly seen as a reflection of our personalities, we are becoming increasingly affected by negative feelings about where we live.
Writing in the Aberdeen (NZ) Press and Journal, Susam Welsh lists the five main signs that you might have “Irrirable House Syndrome” –
- Deliberately wanting to spend as little time in the home as possible. That includes staying longer at work, going out every evening and eating out a lot.
- Housework neglect and clutter – totally ignoring the cleaning and tidying, and feeling apathy towards household chores.
- Constantly feeling the urge to move furniture and other items around and never being content with the outcome.
- Always comparing your home with other people’s and feeling saddened and frustrated by this process.
- Reluctance to invite people around or host social events in your home. On odd occasions that you do have friends round, you spend the evening apologising for the state of your home.
Moxon says that while it is not only unrealistic to think they can “sing like a chart topper, it’s equally unrealistic and unhealthy to think they can copy the interior design of a celebrity’s multimillion-pound home. They need to look at what home really means. While the colour of their walls and size of their flat-screen are important, what’s essential is the understanding that home is the one place they can call their own, miss when they’re away and retreat to in times of solace.”
How to regain control over your negative feelings about your home?
- Get in touch with the way your home makes you feel. What emotions does it evoke in you?
- Try to identify precisely what it is about your home that you dislike. To keep it as objective as possible, get a close friend to help.
- Next, make a list of corrections/alterations that would rectify the problems – but be realistic. This isn’t necessarily about flexing the credit card.
- Cost out the revamp. Remember, in many cases, it may simply involve throwing things out, tidying and organising.
- Now you have a plan, work through it systematically and stick to it.
Rather than feeling overwhelmed with gloom regarding your home, be proactive – take control.
Tags: celebrity homes, Irritable Home Syndrome, luxury lifestyles, McMansions
