Organizing with Mental Health Challenges: Why It’s Not Just About Discipline

When people think about organization, they often picture tidy planners, color-coded calendars, and minimalist spaces. What’s less visible is the emotional and psychological labor that underlies these systems, especially for individuals living with mental health challenges. 

For many, organization isn’t just a matter of discipline; it’s a constant negotiation with the brain’s unpredictable terrain.

More Than Forgetfulness: How Mental Health Affects Organization

Mental health conditions like ADHD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and OCD affect cognitive functions essential for staying organized: attention, memory, motivation, and executive functioning. These aren’t minor inconveniences, they are core aspects of how we process and act on the world around us. Here are some of the common disorders I see working with clients and how they affect their ability to get AND stay organized.

OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

• How it affects organizing: Clients with OCD may struggle with perfectionism—feeling like there’s only one right way to organize, which can cause paralysis or constant rearranging. They may also have strong attachments to items, rituals around decision-making, or distress about discarding things due to fear or guilt.

• Impact: Organizing becomes overwhelming because the process must feel “just right,” and small decisions can feel deeply consequential.

ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

• How it affects organizing: Executive functioning challenges make it hard to prioritize, initiate, and complete tasks. Sustaining attention on repetitive tasks like sorting or tidying is especially difficult. They may also struggle with impulsive purchases, which can lead to clutter buildup.

• Impact: Spaces may feel chaotic or half-finished—not from a lack of desire, but from difficulty structuring time and actions.

Anxiety

• How it affects organizing: Anxiety can create decision fatigue, where choosing what to keep or let go of feels overwhelming. There’s often fear of making the “wrong” choice, leading to avoidance. Anxiety can also cause physical symptoms that make organizing feel exhausting or distressing.

• Impact: The clutter contributes to more anxiety, but tackling it feels too emotionally charged to manage alone.

Depression

• How it affects organizing: Low energy, motivation, and feelings of worthlessness make it difficult to start organizing tasks. Depression can cause people to disengage from their surroundings, leading to clutter build-up, which then reinforces feelings of hopelessness or shame.

• Impact: The state of the home can mirror emotional struggle, and change feels impossible without support.

Grief

• How it affects organizing: Letting go of items connected to a loved one (or even confronting daily life items) can trigger intense emotional responses. Grief often brings mental fog and exhaustion, making even simple tasks feel monumental.

• Impact: People may hold onto items as a way to stay connected to what was lost, and organizing becomes emotionally tender work.

So what can be done?

• Start with self-compassion. Understand that challenges with organization are symptoms, not character flaws.

• Customize, don’t copy. Popular systems may not work. Find tools and routines that fit your energy and cognitive patterns—even if they’re unconventional.

• Use external supports. Apps, visual timers, accountability buddies, or professional organizers trained in mental health can all make a difference.

• Small steps matter. Organize or declutter one shelf, one surface, one cabinet at a time. Celebrate each one.

• Group support can reduce isolation. Finding people to support you in your process can create momentum and keep you on track.

Organization is often framed as a simple skill, something you just need to try harder to master. But for those living with mental health challenges, organizing is rarely that straightforward. It’s a process shaped by fluctuating energy levels, shifting focus, and emotional weight.

If organization feels like an uphill battle, it’s because you’re navigating a system that wasn’t built with your reality in mind.

You’re not alone in this. And while your path may look different, it’s just as valid. Organization doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful, it just has to work for you.