The dreams of Antoine de Saint-Exupery They were woven in Department 605 of the Güemes Gallery. As director of Aeroposta Argentina, he lived there from 1929 to 1931. He started his career as a writer (this is where his pen came to life). Night flight) and met his wife Consuelo. He used to say, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”an idea that could be applicable today, where we live hyper-connected, over-informed and emotionally overloaded lives.
According to a study from the University of Colorado, constant exposure to multiple digital stimuli increases the level of perceived anxiety by 37% and reduces the ability to concentrate sustainably.. Researchers describe this phenomenon as chronic cognitive fatigue, a condition that is quietly spreading among teenagers and adults.
Psychologist Rocío Ramos Paul, specialist in emotional behavior, confirms: “We live in a world in which we are always busy and need to find solutions quickly and effectively.” This rhythm leaves us energy for what’s important: calm and emotional connection.. This overload causes us to feel guilty for not performing, even when our body and mind are crying out for a break.”
The emotional satiety has become a symptom of the times. This is what research led by Susan Brown, a social psychologist at Stanford University, has found People who consciously reduce their obligations and stimuli report 23% higher well-being than those who maintain saturated routines. “It’s not about having fewer things,” says Brown, “but about carrying less emotional weight.”
The invisible costs of this excess are irritability, apathy, disconnection, and the constant feeling of being “on edge.” For Marta Llodrà Serra, psychologist and researcher at the University of the Balearic Islands and author of a study on psychological well-being, “Emotional minimalism is a form of mental hygiene. It consists of deciding where to spend emotional energy rather than scattering it in a thousand directions.”. For the specialist, This sustained practice “improves self-esteem, promotes emotional regulation, and expands one’s sense of meaning in life.”
Inspired by positive psychology, conscious distance and voluntary simplicity, Emotional minimalism suggests letting go of attachments, thoughts and routines that no longer nourish. “The first battle is against the thoughts that demand that we be effective for everyone,” says Ramos Paul. “Learning to say no without guilt is an act of self-care.”
Science supports this idea. A study led by Michael Green, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Toronto, showed that reducing emotional and cognitive load improves mental clarity and the ability to enjoy. ““When the brain has fewer emotional problems,” Green said, “it has more room for creativity, empathy and calm.”
Jorge R., a 34-year-old pharmacist, remembers the moment he realized his exhaustion wasn’t just physical. “I came home with my head full of things to do but no energy at all,” he says. I was annoyed by everything and felt like my life had become noise. The day I forgot my sister’s birthday, I realized I was living on automatic.” Since, decided to simplify: he reduced commitments, limited the use of networks and started doing that Prioritize rest. “I learned that not everything that is urgent is important,” he says, “and that silence can also be restorative.”
What Jorge experienced is a reflection of an increasingly widespread phenomenon. According to a study by Laura Kim, a clinical psychologist at Columbia University, 62% of people admit that they feel emotionally full at least once a week. “Excessive stimuli and lack of breaks – explains Kim – lead to a form of emotional contamination that affects attention, sleep and empathy.”
Detecting “internal noise” is not always obvious. Many times It shows up in everyday gestures: impatience, lack of concentration or exhaustion for no apparent reason. “We have become accustomed to thinking that there is value in being effective for everyone,” explains Ramos Paul, “but this sustained effectiveness comes at a price: we lose the ability to have fun and be present.”
Recognizing which attachments, habits, or thoughts are causing wear and tear is an essential step. This was the result of a study led by Helen Moore, a psychologist at the University of Oxford People who recognize their patterns of emotional overwhelm early show 25% fewer anxiety symptoms and a remarkable improvement in emotional self-regulation. “The saturated mind functions like a room full of objects: there is no room to move or breathe,” analyzes Moore. “We confuse caring with carrying,” adds Llodrà Serra, “and the result is silent emotional exhaustion.”
For Melina F., 38 years old, a technology specialist, the breaking point was imprisonment. “I was working more than 10 hours a day, answering messages at any time, and feeling guilty if I didn’t respond quickly. When it all stopped, I found a silence that frightened me.” I didn’t know how to do nothing. “That’s when I realized I was trapped in a wheel that wasn’t taking me anywhere.”. Melina started therapy. “I learned that letting go doesn’t mean losing,” he adds, “it means freeing up space.” I left relationships that were no longer good for me, I set boundaries for myself at work, and for the first time I felt light.”
Letting go is not always easy. Andrew Keller, a psychologist at the University of Melbourne, published a study on emotional detachment and resilience showing that people who practice conscious detachment have a greater ability to adapt to uncertainty and higher levels of life satisfaction. “Detachment is not indifference,” he comments, “it is the ability to form an attachment without being caught up in the need for things to be the way you want them to be.”. Ramos Paul agrees: “When we start deciding which bonds and responsibilities we want to maintain, discomfort initially sets in. We feel less effective, like we’re leaving things undone. But in reality, we learn to prioritize. And that turns into well-being over time.” This was shown by a study from the University of California Those who regularly perform letting go exercises, such as writing to let go of recurring thoughts or reduce the burden of networking, experience 30% fewer stress symptoms and an increase in the perception of inner peace. Lead author Rachel Lee explains, “Letting go means reconnecting with yourself.”
In practice, it can mean several things: stop catering to other people’s expectations, end a friendship that has become demanding, or simply give yourself permission to rest without guilt. The essence is to understand that emotional well-being does not depend on having more, but on making better choices. Thomas Evans, a specialist at Harvard University, studied the psychological benefits of clear out (order) emotionally. “Those who eliminate unnecessary obligations and focus on meaningful activities,” he says, “show a sustained decrease in anxiety and an increase in daily gratitude.”
Emotional minimalism is inserted into a global course that favors deceleration: Slow living, digital detox either clear out emotional are different expressions of the same need: Regaining inner space despite overstimulation. Eleanor Brooks, a social psychologist at the University of Cambridge, led research into the trend. For her, “more and more people associate well-being with the conscious reduction of stimuli, tasks and connections that make no sense. This simplification increases the feeling of meaning in life.”
At the population level, the trend is already evident in certain habits. David Park, a behavioral psychologist at Seoul University, led a survey that found this 48% of young people aged 25 to 40 in developed countries have implemented some form of voluntary simplification from limiting screen use to reorganizing social routines. “The urge to simplify arises as a need to adapt in the face of constant sensory overload: less consumption, less noise, more interior space,” he warns.
Kim has received scientific evidence to support this direction. In his most recent research, he showed that those who practice some form of conscious separation or reduction experience a 35% reduction in perceived stress levels and a greater sense of vital balance. “Simplifying means setting priorities –shows–: The mind becomes more aligned when it understands what deserves its energy.” Llodrà Serra added: “Emotional minimalism has become a tool of internal regulation. People do not strive to have less, but to feel less scattered,” adding that this choice favors “a more stable well-being over time.”
The trend also influences work areas. Lee noticed this “The break becomes an organizational value: “Companies that implement digital separation policies and more humane work schedules see improvements in mental health and actual productivity.” He also found that emotional relaxation practices are associated with “significant reductions in stress symptoms among employees who use them regularly.”
Brown managed to demonstrate lasting effects: “It’s not about removal for the sake of removal; it’s about giving what remains more depth.” For his part, Evans found that those who eliminate meaningless obligations and prioritize meaningful activities show a sustained decrease in anxiety and an increase in everyday gratitude. Simplifying helps to identify which experiences are nourishing and which just fill time.”
Letting go is an act of self-love. In times of noise, it chooses silence. As Saint-Exupéry said, balance occurs when we stop carrying around the unnecessaryThere the simple regains its power and tries to make the essential visible by trying to explain The little prince
10 recommendations to practice emotional minimalism
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