Anyone afraid of showering?

I have become afraid of taking a shower in my house. It is a combination of it being too much of a bother and feeling afraid that someone will break into my house while I am in the shower.

I am also getting a little paranoid again, and starting to sleep more.

I think I need a med tweak. My pdoc is taking me off risperdone and I think that going to the lower dose a few weeks ago is causing this. It stinks because risperdone was working. My body just can't tolerate it. My prolactin levels are in the 120s. I don't think it was that high when I was nursing because I had periods when I was nursing. I haven't had a period since April which is about a month after I went on Risperdone.

Anyway I am mostly worried about the shower thing. I went two weeks without a shower and I finally told my mother about it and she offered her shower to me, so I got clean today.

Sometimes I get images in my head of people breaking in and hurting me, and then authorities would come and find me in there undressed, which for some reason makes it worse (I'm weird, I know), but when that image pops up, I do some fast self-talk to rationalize away the fear.

I also have a hard time getting the energy up to take a shower when I'm depressed. It becomes this big, scary task that just seems like too much of a hassle. When that happens, I add shower to my goal list for the day and usually that shames me into taking one.

I am afraid of showering because I am afraid I will fall in the shower. I used to have glass doors in the shower that I could put my hand on to balance when I closed my eyes to spray shampoo out of my hair but a door broke and my organizer replaced it with a shower curtain and rod that is not stable enough to hold onto.

I never bathe when i am home alone..for the exact same reason...i wait till my husband arrives home and then shower...also if i am home alone (very very very very rare)i sleep fully clothed on top of the blankets with my cell phone pre dialed 9-1-1...

I often feel very paranoid when I take showers, because there is a huge mirror that takes up the whole wall and since we have a glass door it just kind of freaks me out. When I'm sleep deprived, which is a LOT, I tend to hallucinate and things in the shower and mirror have gotten quite scary. I live out in the country so I'm not very afraid of someone breaking in, but I can see how that could be a very horrible possibility. I hope you are able to overcome this fear, and I wish you luck.

yes, it is a huge obstacle for us. thank you for thread...sorry others have issues too but glad to know we not alone.

I became very paranoid to take a shower while alone at home ever since there was a home invasion by two men who just got paroled from prision. They entered a drs. house, raping and killing the wife, daughter and youngest daughter and then burned the house down.

Ever since I heard about that I became very paranoid to take a shower alone. I wait until my husband is home to take a shower. I also make sure all the doors are locked about 10 times a day.

I don't like showering home alone or just when the kids are home. But Then again I don't listening to music at night either, I don't like anything that interferes with my senses.

I am not afraid of showering but put it off because of my shower. It is small, dark, low on water pressure and drains slowly. I hate it but I have found another option. I started going to the Y to exercise and they have wonderful showers. Now I go to the Y three times a week and do my showering there. I have even pondered going there to shower without exercising. LOL

I take my showers with my toddler son while my husband is home. My son plays with his toys in a little bath water and grins and me and my husband is home in the living room so I feel safe. I know eventually my son will get too big for this but for now it's working!

I have the same problem sometimes.

I was talking about this to my completely sane, no mental disorders best friend, and even she is scared of showering sometime.

I'm affraid that something will happen to my kids if I shower....they'll be alone if I do. Also...I can't stand the pelting of a shower anymore, and sometimes a bath seems too time consuming.

I hate being in the shower, i always imagine other people breaking into the house and getting me. What's funny is that when I am showering with my 2 year old daughter I don't get nervous.

So I don't know if it is something to be worried about. It seems pretty common among bipolar people and some non bipolar people.

I definitely feel symptoms coming back, though.

I too have the same issues you right about. Most of the time I do not shower simply because I don't remember to. Other times even when I do remember it seems like such a task that I can't seem to find the energy to get up. When I actually do take a shower its very hurried. I hear strange noises or voices when I'm in there. My average shower time is probably about 3 minutes.

I enjoy the warmth of a shower. But also get a bit anxious when I'm home alone. The spray dulls out any noises you ought to hear and be aware of

That's strange that we all have this issue with showering. I thought I was the only one. I usually take a shower when my mate is home, but if he's late returning for whatever reason, I make sure the door is locked, get my phone, take it into the bathroom and lock that door too.

Most days I feel too tired to shower (I envision myself walking into it with all of my clothes on), but I do it anyway. It's a hassle, but I feel better about myself once I'm clean. It's also relaxing, at least when my mate is here.

I hate showering right now because my whole body feels made of lead. It exhausts me to complete the process. I don't so much worry about being attacked. We have a double deadbolted front door and live in the second story. I do feel like I'm being watched sometimes in the shower and I have to look around the curtain just to make sure.

Since I was 10 I've preferred showers to baths. But about 6 months ago I developed a Phobia to showering and now only take baths. I don't know why, but I feel safer in a bath than the shower.

Hi, Im very new here, about 10 minutes new to be exact. have many, many issues, but this caught my eye. I thought this was my dirty little secret. I am not "afraid" to shower... I just don't want to. It's like a huge chore. I dred it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a funky, nasty person. If you knew me, you would never suspect this of me. But truth is, I do the under arms... more deoderent, and go. I may drag myself to the shower once or twice a week. the only time I look forward to a shower is on Sunday's when I wash my bed sheets. I sleep so good on freshly washed sheets in Gain, and a fresh shower.
I didn't used to be this way.......

Me too......

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showt...ghlight=shower

Showers are what makes me able to function.....
stiff muscles...hot water washes them away
Anxiety attacks.....hot water washes them away also
hot humid weather that makes me sweat just moving around.....hot then cool water washes that sticky feeling away.
I have 5 dogs posted around my house & in my master bedroom...NO ONE WILL GET INTO MY HOUSE without my knowing it....feel very safe.

I have a huge walk in shower with a rain shower head that feels so wonderful.

Showers are the only thing that physically gets me through life.

I get like this when I'm depressed. It's not that I don't WANT to shower, it's that I don't have the energy to do it. I think about showering, but I don't do it. I wash my face and I'll wash under arms with facecloth, like you say, and put on deodorant, but I just can't make myself get in the shower. I isolate at the same time so I don't have to go out and see anybody. If I DO have to go out, I'll wash my hair in the sink and wash with a washcloth sometimes, and sometimes I force myself to get a shower. When I go to the doctor I get a shower, but to go for groceries I won't.

I remember when I was young (I'm 57) my Mom would wash with a washcloth every day and bath only once a week. That's the way everybody did things then. They only got a bath on Saturday, to be clean to go to church.

Then, when I'm not depressed, am feeling good, I shower/bath every day.