Mood can affect many different aspects of our life, including hygiene. It's important to have good hygiene, but sometimes we sink too low and then it's impossible to shower. Depression sucks.

Now for the TMI question: What is the longest you've gone without a shower?

[Fuzzybear]

I’ve voted I really don’t like showers (can’t have an overhead shower as lt makes my rash worse. And mood definitely impacts my not wanting to go through the complicated and painful ritual to bathe or shower bear

to all who also don’t “like” showers

ETA I voted “more than 5 days” ...

I said "more than 5 days"

I try to shower once a week (not because I want too, I wouldn't shower at all if I could), I just think once a week is a good target for me- I don't do things that make me sweat, and I don't do a job that makes me dirty every day

that said, I've gone a few weeks without showers- longer in hospital

I'm not exactly sure how long, but definitely longer than 5 days. Sometimes if I get really disgusting feeling or stinky I might do a washcloth bath. When I do shower I often just shower from the neck down. For some reason, washing my hair is particularly hard for me to do when depressed.

Even when not really depressed, I don't shower every day on disability, but I do shower or wash up more often. When I was working full-time, I showered pretty much every workday and some weekend days, but washed my hair every other workday. Washing my hair every day would actually not be good for it, unless I had been sweating a lot. My hair is not oily. My hair has grown quite curly as I've grown older. I can easily get away with days without washing it and have it still look good...to a point.

[~Christina]

I shower daily regardless of how I feel , just a law to my self. I only wash my hair twice a week unless I’m super sweating. It’s not good to wash hair daily.

The water feels so wonderful when I’m in it

I had the flu a couple years back I didn’t shower for 3 days. I felt disgusting but was too dizzy to take the risk.

[Sunflower123]

I had a major operation a while back (not for the wrist surgery I just had) and recovery was slow and spotty. I was not in a position to shower for 17 days if I calculate correctly.

I shower daily or at least every other day when I’m doing well. It can be several days when I’m not. Unfortunately my hair requires daily attention so that’s annoying.

[scatterbrained04]

I tend to shower daily no matter how I feel. If I'm incredibly bad, I might skip one day, on a weekend, but that's pretty rare. I enjoy them, and they help me feel slightly better.

[hopeless2015]

I know I have gone 5 days or more when really depressed. When I'm doing well I shower every day before work and wash hair every 2 or 3 days. I usually dont shower on sundays for some reason

[Carmina]

I feel awful admitting this but when I'm low I really have to push myself to do self care and have gone without showering a couple of weeks.

When I was in my teens after I had a really bad incident with abuse I stopped altogether and didn't even clean my teeth for weeks.

[Blueberrybook]

Over 5 days, but I was in the hospital recovering from surgery at the time. Wasn't able to get one until the 6th day, but I didn't have soap or shampoo, just hospital issue liquid soap you press out of a dispenser. I didn't really feel clean until I was home & able to take a shower with my own soap and shampoo, not to mention, shave my underarms and legs.

I like to have a shower or bathe daily as well as wash my hair daily, sometimes twice in one day such as we went to the zoo, and it was superhot, and I sweated a ton. I pretty much feel like I have to shower every morning. On the rare occasion when there is not time for that (early pdoc appt., etc.), I shower ASAP once I am home. And I have to shower every time after I've gone swimming.

On the odd occasion, like I'm sick and most especially sick with a stomach bug, I will go a day without showering & washing my hair, but I usually feel pretty gross by then.

[Faltering]

Only a couple days because I have anxiety about staying clean. Even my deepest depression can't override that fear. I find showering to be a chore but a daily necessity.

[Carmina]

How do you all do it? When I'm in my deepest depression I just want to curl up and die, sometimes I try to hurt myself, the last thing I feel like doing is showering, washing, even eating. I cut off all contact with others, even my daughter who I love so much and who at those times is the only thing that stops me killing myself (although I can't tell her that which is why I cut myself off, to protect her).

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by Carmina

How do you all do it? When I'm in my deepest depression I just want to curl up and die, sometimes I try to hurt myself, the last thing I feel like doing is showering, washing, even eating. I cut off all contact with others, even my daughter who I love so much and who at those times is the only thing that stops me killing myself (although I can't tell her that which is why I cut myself off, to protect her).

I can get very depressed and might wait 3 days at my worst. I will shower; yet I am sometimes doing it for those around me, not so much for myself, especially with prolonged paralyzing depressions.

I feel having other people in the house helps me to keep up with hygiene.

Yes, during those times, I want to give up, too.
By the way, it's nice to have you posting!


WC

[Fuzzybear]

I feel like deleting my post now. I actually find showers scary

Papa bear doesn’t worry about how often I shower though.. I don’t upset him. Maybe it’s because we are bears

2.5 weeks in my record. I'm pretty horrified, but at that point I really wasnt doing well. A lot of things slid while I focused on survival.

I'm surprised with how many people voted 5+ days!

I've gone 5 days without a shower, exactly. I've done it when manic, surprisingly. I didn't want to "waste time with meaningless things when there is stuff to be done."

Guess I'm different. But when depressed, probably more like 3.

[Carmina]

Originally Posted by Wild Coyote

I can get very depressed and might wait 3 days at my worst. I will shower; yet I am sometimes doing it for those around me, not so much for myself, especially with prolonged paralyzing depressions.

I feel having other people in the house helps me to keep up with hygiene.

Yes, during those times, I want to give up, too.
By the way, it's nice to have you posting!


WC

Thanks - I guess not having others in the house is a factor for me, I get very lonely but at the same time don't call anyone as I feel I'm a burden on them.

Originally Posted by Fuzzybear

I feel like deleting my post now. I actually find showers scary

Papa bear doesn’t worry about how often I shower though.. I don’t upset him. Maybe it’s because we are bears

Please don't feel like that, Fuzzybear. I can sort of relate to this. Showering can be an excruciating task at times. I didn't mention that shaving my legs can seem like a major punishment to me, always has. I dread it. I've gone months without shaving my legs, even wearing jeans much of the summer. My sweet hubby never holds that against me either. I'm sort of lucky he's European. Many European women never shaved their legs until more recent years. Those that did were usually suspected as being prostitutes. This is true. My Czech hubby said that growing up (he's in his 50s now), the average Czech didn't bathe much more than once per week. That's all Czechs. Really, bathing a lot only became common in the US as a result of product marketing in the early 20th century. Marketing can be often be shaming and succeeds at changing people's priorities and attitudes. Nowadays, some young women are made to feel that extreme grooming is mandatory. I'm talking Brazilian waxing kind of grooming. I think that's totally horrible. Thank goodness I'm my current age and with whom I'm with.

[bizi]

oh yeah,
5 days or more even when I am hypomanic.
bizi

[TheSeaCat]

When I was working full time I would take a shower every night and wash my hair every other day, when I didn't wash my hair I would supplement with dry shampoo. Now that I am trying to find a medication combo that makes me not have issues I take a shower every other day. I think the longest I have gone without a shower is maybe three days and I think I was still highly depressed after being fired and just didn't give a crap about anything.

[Sunflower123]

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

Please don't feel like that, Fuzzybear. I can sort of relate to this. Showering can be an excruciating task at times. I didn't mention that shaving my legs can seem like a major punishment to me, always has. I dread it. I've gone months without shaving my legs, even wearing jeans much of the summer. My sweet hubby never holds that against me either. I'm sort of lucky he's European. Many European women never shaved their legs until more recent years. Those that did were usually suspected as being prostitutes. This is true. My Czech hubby said that growing up (he's in his 50s now), the average Czech didn't bathe much more than once per week. That's all Czechs. Really, bathing a lot only became common in the US as a result of product marketing in the early 20th century. Marketing can be often be shaming and succeeds at changing people's priorities and attitudes. Nowadays, some young women are made to feel that extreme grooming is mandatory. I'm talking Brazilian waxing kind of grooming. I think that's totally horrible. Thank goodness I'm my current age and with whom I'm with.

Shaving my legs is pure torture for me and I have to shave them year round for water aerobics. I just always dread it for some reason though when I start it’s not that bad. I know what you mean. I’ve gone months before as well.

[Pookyl]

I can’t seem to have a shower often regardless of mood. I don’t know why I find it so hard.
My hair is very fine and brittle thanks to meds so I can’t wash it too often.
I don’t shave - I get my legs and underarms waxed once every 12 weeks.
I wear expensive perfume so people are always commenting how nice I smell.

[BipolaRNurse]

I've been known to go 2 months without a full shower. I'd wipe myself all over with baby wipes and put talcum powder & deodorant on every few days, but it took an act of Congress to get me in the shower. Especially when I was depressed. It was just too much to bother with, I hated being naked and cold, and I didn't want to change clothes because I hated doing laundry. I do pretty well now, I shower at least once a week (and that's OK for someone my age with dry skin who doesn't sweat much), more often if I do sweat. I like being clean, and every time I shower I ask myself what the big deal is. Once I'm in, it feels like a treat what with the soap that makes luxurious lather and the scrubbers that get rid of all the dead skin. It's getting in there that's the hardest part of the procedure, and I have to fight myself every. darn. time.

[Nammu]

Getting out of bed was a major hurdle....shower? Ha! I didn't comb my hair for days...shower? Ha! My poor cat didn't get his litter box changed everyday either, but the guy kept using it! Good cat.

I've gone without running water during a three week long power outage. I think the longest I've gone because of depression was more like a week though.