[hamster-bamster]

1. I bought a variety of shower gels, from Target, Yves Rocher, and CVS.

2. I bought a very fun looking and functional thingie that hangs on the shower, with plastic white birdies as decor - funny, but why not. From the Container Store.

3. I bought, from Target, a suction cup that I attached to the tiled wall above the bath tub, opposite the shower head. Besides the cup, it has slots for toothbrushes. I put several new toothbrushes there, one in each slot, and put the toothpaste in the cup.

4. I bought several clear acrylic shelves from the Container Store and had them attached to the wall in the bathroom (it is a good size bathroom). Two shelves hold perfume bottles and the third shelf holds a deodorant and more shower gels (what didn't fit in the shower). I bought a sampler of eau de parfum bottles from Yves Rocher (cheap) and I will use them to decide which ones I like. Also bought some eau de toilette and eau de parfum from Target and Ross.

5. I bought cupboard organizers for the vanity (the deep space under the sink) and stuffed them with extra toiletries that I bought in bulk because I already know that I like the brand. Toothbrushes from Costco, toothpaste and fluoride rinse on sale at Target, etc.

6. From those experimental scented purchases, I am choosing what I like enough to later buy more and what would remain a one time experiment. I can already say that my favorite is Yves Rocher Laotian Lotus Flower scent. It is simply divine. I have a deodorant and shower gel with that scent, and I will see if they have an eau de toilette, too.

Having the toothpaste in the shower means that I am brushing my teeth while nice warm water is pouring on me. It makes it 2 in 1 and painless. Easier than having to brush teeth as a separate task.

I like scents, so I look forward to washing my body and then choosing which eau de parfum to use. So it is all fun and thinking about what I like and what I don't so much care for is fun. I have enough supplies for this fun to last for months, and afterwards I will know what products I like and will buy them in bulk when on sale.

I still don't floss and have trouble washing my hair, because I have a lot of hair, which is hard to wash. But I do take showers (every other day) and brush my teeth without thinking of it as a chore. The nighttime toothbrushing (not in the shower, but at the sink) is hit or miss, because I get too tired.

I am trying to indulge that occasional urge to spend money by buying something that is helpful, cannot go bad, and can last and be useful for a long time. This scented showering thing is an example.

[donna450]

For me I get migraines from all kinds of scents. I have two perfumes I use and have for at least 20 years...the first and almost everyday one is Charlie and the other is Chanel #5 which maybe once a month. My daughter comes over or my grandaughter either wearing or using scented body spray or yesterday using a scented hairspray I had to distance my self. Strong smells of any kind will usually give me an instant migraine. I usually have to buy anything that is unscented.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[hamster-bamster]

I have migraines, but scents do not trigger me.

Chanel number 5...mmmm....

[venusss]

I always joke that the amount I spend on nice shower gels would feed a third world country.

What actually makes me want to shower is having a nice bathroom and access to water. I lived in house that had a well and it tent to run dry (father would measure the amount of water and tell us if we can bath or "quick shower"). I lived in ****** dorm with hostel/beach style shower. But before exam we would take hour long showers, just to get out of studying. Sometimes somebody would peek in or turn the lights off or steal the keys from our room (so funny!). I lived with mom at place that used to be grandparent's house. Mom always says that "well, they run out of money by the time it came to building the bathroom". And since then there never was money/effort to make it better. In winter the bathroom gets cold (like 8°C cold), so it's question of "I'm I so dirty it's worth showering in the cold (we have portable heater but it doesn't work. Plus, both me and mom are scared it will "electrocute" us, a fear my grandmother insitelled in us).

So now having a bathroom which is always warmish and I can use all the water I want (well.... all the water I can afford...). I like showering. Shower gels for which I paid amount that would "feed third world country" sure help).

[-jimi-]

Sorry to intrude in the BP forum but maybe I'm allowed since I have had mania in my life. Heh. Anyway.

I'm into simplicity so I have no extras. Sure I like scents but more burning incense or adding a little fragrant oil to when I scrub floors (I don't use perfumed products but a pinesol like thing that is sold here that is a byproduct from pine, it has a slight pine smell is all). I'm not into gels and butters and lotions and all that. I never saw the point. My skin doesn't dry out to need lotion because I only shower when I need to. I have long enough hair to use excess shampoo on my body and if I need a little more I use soap. Because I need a palmful of shampoo anyway. All extra I use is conditioner and only if my hair tends to knot, or I rather not use it.

So those things simply cannot lure me into the shower. I'm sitting here putting my shower off until tomorrow.

I noticed with decreased mental or physical energy, something happens with socalled simple tasks. I came to realize they are not simple. What makes them hard is that when down or tired, the clustering up behavior might fall apart. So what was just one thing, take a shower, ends up many things. It includes... take right sock off, take left sock off.... etc... step into bathroom, get into shower, get the water temp right... it is an endless DO DO DO. So no wonder it feels like a chore!

I'm not sure what the real cure is here. I'm very sure that if this is a constant problem, it's needed to do MORE to trim up that autopilot again. I noticed that with cooking. When I more or less stopped cooking for a long time, I lost the flow with it. Getting the flow back it no longer feels like a total mental PAIN. I'm happy it takes no energy to make a meal.

If the autopilot is intact, another problem might happen, lack of stimulus. A shower is a time alone and those times can be uncomfortable. I have not felt that in shower so much since above happens to me, but it happened for a long time when I was supposed to get to bed. I could feel sleepy, then I thought of being in bed ALONE WITH MYSELF and I suddenly felt a strong resistance and I no longer wanted to sleep. Because I didn't want that time just for me inside my head. Showers can be the same. Then if you don't like a lot of self care and shower more like I do, maybe you need a distraction. Even if I hate showers because all the "steps" I have a little time of doing nothing when I'm actually sort of done doing and just let the water flow. For a while I had a battery radio and took baths. It had to be talk radio and not junk. These days I sort of have a topic. I usually have it set before the shower. Then I think about that for as long as I need. The topic needs to be something that interests you but doesn't upset.

Also, one thing I noticed when I'm not really in a good shape for showers or chores and whatnot, is that I build up dread. All the awfulness about the task, I torture myself in my head with. So I actually get phobic. I actually sometimes find myself doing it realizing the dread was worse than the task. So as long as I remember to, I forbid myself to think about what I need to do. I tell myself it doesn't get done just because I think of it. Because not only can it make me do things "twice", thoughts about how I'm lazy not doing it sneaks in and of course those thoughts don't help. So instead, I put what I need to do on a list. I kind of need that not to forget. Then I cant dwell on what I need to do until it is time to do it. If I put it off a little I can't dwell, I have to do it at once or let it go. For me it does save mental energy.

We're all different so any advice is good. What helps one might not help another but if many people have advice maybe some people can find advice that suits them. So I' definitely not saying scents are bad, I'm just saying for me personally it's not my thing.

[hamster-bamster]

Oh, yeah. I have been to places with no showers or limited supply of hot water in the shower. It does make me appreciate unlimited hot water in California, and, yes, that the bathroom is nice and warm.

[hamster-bamster]

Jimi,

You are right in that when the autopilot fails us and a seemingly simple task becomes not so simple, and, you actually analyze the task, then you see how complex and multistep it is.

[unaluna]

Dental hygienists have told me they floss while watching tv. Seems gross, but after a while you lesrn not to fling food particles across the room. The point of flossing is really to massage the gums. So i keep my floss next to my main comfy chair and just do it whenever. Downton Abbey, Dr Phil, Maverick...

Thanks for the hints on making it lovely. I have to let myself have that. Make it a spa experience, rather than a last minute rush out the door.

[hamster-bamster]

Laotian Lotus Flower Daily Hygiene Duo: Yves Rocher



But really, the scent is supremely pleasant.

[hamster-bamster]

I will try flossing while watching the Olympics

I raised boys so it took til they started dating that I discovered the world of bath and body works, I love their stuff. Anyway, Jimi's observationnof the complexities of taking a shower remind me of the trouble I had with my mother in law as she started suffering dementia.
I'm not saying we have dementia!!! Just that there are many steps to the whole process and decisions to make and when our bodies and brains are completely exhausted from depression, processes and decisions are difficult to complete. I know there are days when I really do not want to do my hair and it seriously only takes about 5 minutes to do. Its just one more thing I have to do.

[nycgal448]

For mos on/off nad the same prob. hope it works!!!

[nycgal448]

Oh, btw.. I, too love to spend. I spent thousands on dvds..
stopped for awhile, started up slowly again. yea, bi polar
is monotonous and great.. all rolled into one!!!

[Marshellette]

Wow, you make bathtub super fun, rub a dub dub, rubber ducky in the tub! I personally hate showering as well but I do it before doctor's appointments and before work because I would have a breather if anyone caught me smelling bad. I love my perfume which smells of sweet almonds and candy and is all natural that I use after bathing.

[Marshellette]

Originally Posted by nycgal448

Oh, btw.. I, too love to spend. I spent thousands on dvds..
stopped for awhile, started up slowly again. yea, bi polar
is monotonous and great.. all rolled into one!!!

Oh God, yes! Bipolars love their plastic. I spent hundreds on makeup, I have so many different eye shadows in cranberry red and on a trip to Phoenix that I did not even need.

[donna450]

I have bipolar....depressed right now...I'm thinking that I need to start exercising. I remember several years ago I would walk about 90 min twice a day about 3x a week. I was in a fairly even mood for a long time. But thinking and doing it is about as far as earth and mars. It's not easy but once you start it gets easier each time....but for some unholy reason I still fight myself to take a shower and I go through periods where I don't want to cook a meal for my family. There's alot of thought and doing to make a meal. Sometimes I don't eat or just have cereal. Lol. No doubt I just might be lazy....but since having bipolar over 40 years a shower has always been hard. Could it be that we know we'll feel better afterwards and we don't want to deal with another feeling??????????

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[hamster-bamster]

Cooking a meal involves even more steps than taking a shower...