for me it's hard to comb, let alone style my hair before i leave the house. i sometimes leave the house without looking at the mirror cause if if i look i wouldn't leave the house

i can wash my face and apply lotion. but basic make-up (concealer, mascara) takes the wind out of me

I also have a hard time with self-care when i'm depressed in the Summer, Fall and Winter. I find myself showering every other day in the evening. It's too hard to face a shower when i wake up. My doctor says i am on 'The European Plan.' I start getting up later and later, until i'm getting up at noon and dozing away the afternoon. Then i'm awake until the small hours of the morning.

Just this evening i was miserable loitering in the mall -- one of the few activities i can do with my stinking schedule -- and i decided to make a change. I'm going to start getting up at 7:00am and keeping a schedule and showering every day first thing. The extra hours of light will help with my depression and i will have a more predictable day with less of a sense of chaos. I'll eat regular meals and get my dog out regularly. I'll be able to tackle stubborn chores like laundry.

I started watching what i eat on March 7, so that's been improving for a month now. I started formally dieting on April 1 and that's going well, with a loss of three pounds. I've exercised a couple times as well, so i've made progress in these areas of my life and now i just have to start keeping regular hours again and stop being a vampire.

[wildflowerchild25]

When I'm depressed everything is a chore. Showering is just awful. When I'm stable I'll style my hair - blow dry with mousse. Depressed I just let it air dry. When it was long I could get away with not showering or washing it for three days because I could put it up in a ponytail. Now I can't do that but I can still go every other day.

I haven't worn makes in years. I have a feminist objection to it, in which I am outraged that I should HAVE to, so I don't. But it's also laziness. I definitely don't leave enough time to put on makeup in the morning. I only wear it for things like weddings. I don't even think I have any right now.

But the showering and doing my hair...just terrible when I'm depressed.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I wear sweats whenever I leave my house. The other day I went to a pdoc appointment and I looked at myself before I got out of my car. I was almost too disgusted with myself to go in. I don't shower everyday because you're not supposed to wash your hair everyday or blow dry either, so aim for every other day. I haven't styled my hair or done my makeup in months. Yea, I'm a mess lol

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[hopeless2015]

I've thought I was coming out of my depression but I'm not so sure I've been making it to work and shower Monterey but I don't do my hair..let it air dry on wear make-up every couple days there was a time I wouldn't leave the house without it let alone go to work without any, kinda think if I'm showing up I'm doing good

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[cashart10]

I'm in the midst of depression. When I have no where to go, I will go days without a shower until sometimes even my husband insists I take one. Even then, I don't blow dry my hair or fix myself up. If I'm being honest, I can even go days without brushing my teeth. I will wear the same clothes over and again.

However, even when I am severely depressed, if I have to go anywhere, I will shower, fix my hair and put on makeup. It is simply embedded in me that no one (aside from family) can see me such a mess. My therapist says that I am able to cope and function better than I think I can solely on the fact that I am so put together when I see her.

[Nammu]

Sleeping is the hardest self care for me to practice. It took me years to learn that a good bedtime will keep both mania and the resultant crash away. A schedule is so square.

[MusicLover82]

I've gotten into the habit of not brushing my teeth often enough and also showering every other day (although I'll still do a quick bird bath to freshen up on my off days). And I don't fix my hair (except for special occasions), I air-dry it and scrunch product in it (it's naturally wavy) and then I run the heater in my car to air-dry it faster before I get to work. I also don't do my makeup until I get to work, and even then it is minimal (mascara, lipstick, a little concealer). That's my routine, stable or not. I'm just lazy and often in a hurry to get out of the house. :-P

[BastetsMuse]

Originally Posted by dciree

for me it's hard to comb, let alone style my hair before i leave the house. i sometimes leave the house without looking at the mirror cause if if i look i wouldn't leave the house

i can wash my face and apply lotion. but basic make-up (concealer, mascara) takes the wind out of me

It's hard for me to take showers and get hair styled and makeup these days. I don't go out unless I take a shower and comb my hair (and put on moisturizer). Being 54, I put on makeup if I have an appointment or want to look really good, but more times than not I don't bother with it. I'm lucky that my husband thinks I'm beautiful without the makeup.

[BastetsMuse]

Originally Posted by cashart10

However, even when I am severely depressed, if I have to go anywhere, I will shower, fix my hair and put on makeup. It is simply embedded in me that no one (aside from family) can see me such a mess. My therapist says that I am able to cope and function better than I think I can solely on the fact that I am so put together when I see her.

I think our therapists are full of good intentions when they say that if we put ourselves together for them we're functioning well. Of course we put ourselves together for that appointment! It's part of hiding the crazy.

[moonlitwish]

I went through this. Now that I'm out of it, I can't soap up or wash my hair everyday because my skin adjusted and is drier. So on the upside, you may need less grooming when you get to the other side of the depression.

*~*moonlitwish*~*

When I am depressed yes. I can lean on the depressed side frequently and self care has always been an issue. I had to simplify my life in various ways due to illness and bipolar. I am taking great strides to once again improve my self care.

I wish I had tips on how to help but mine probably wouldn't be useful to you.