Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Is spending time quarantined bad for your mental health?
Position1 of 3
No, quarantine is not bad for our mental health
Argument1 of 4

You can declutter your living space

Decluttering is often overlooked when we are balancing work with our social lives. Without these distractions, quarantine will allow us to improve our living spaces, and with it, our mental health.

The argument

In the grip of a busy work week, tidying and decluttering your home often takes a back seat. But a decluttered and tidy home has been linked to an increased likelihood of depression. As people migrate to online working environments and are forced to spend their weekends at home, they can devote the time required to removing some of the excess clutter in their homes, building a living space that enhances rather than deteriorates their mental health.

Context

A clutter-free home can decrease stress and anxiety levels.

Premises

[P1]A cluttered, untidy home has been linked to a greater likelihood of depression, but a busy work life usually leaves little time to address it. [P2] Quarantine gives people the time to declutter and tidy their homes, building a living space that enhances rather than harms their mental health. [C] Because it lets you declutter your living space, quarantine is not bad for our mental health.

Counter-arguments

This argument rests on a simplistic worldview. A tidy workspace can elevate happiness under normal circumstances but in the midst of a global pandemic when people are concerned about the health of their loved ones, their financial security, and their job security, the impacts of a tidier home on mental health are likely to be drowned out by the stress and anxiety of the moment.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Quarantine imposes stresses that more than offset any of the benefits of decluttering.