i literally have not showered in four days. like, the last time was... monday morning. now it's friday evening. i have greasy hair and i smell, and i need to shave everywhere.

i'm depressed. i just can't find the motivation in me to look after myself. when i am depressed, i become scared of water. i don't know why.

anyone else?

[gayleggg]

I don't think it's disgusting. You're sick and when we are sick we sometimes can't take care of ourselves. I know when I'm depressed it's harder for me to get motivated to get cleaned up. Be gentle with yourself.

Originally Posted by gayleggg

I don't think it's disgusting. You're sick and when we are sick we sometimes can't take care of ourselves. I know when I'm depressed it's harder for me to get motivated to get cleaned up. Be gentle with yourself.

someone once told me (i think actually on this forum), that their's really no point to t

i shouldn't worry about it.

if you're not going anywhere/ seeing anyone/ have no reason too, it's okay to do that.

i don't think it's disgusting at all

About a year ago, I was clinically depressed: I was showering once every five days, I stopped shaving, and I wasn't changing my clothes very often. My psychologist told me that I was slipping on my activities of daily living (ADL), and he recommended that I start exercising. I told him that I wasn't going to join a gym. He said that I didn't have to join a gym, for all I had to do was take a brisk walk every day. I was thinking, hey, I can't even get off the couch and this guy wants me to walk every day. Well, I started walking. And I started showering. And I started shaving. And I started changing my clothes. Exercise was helping me feel better about my self.

I can't say it's disgusting or not disgusting. If you feel it's disgusting, then it's a problem.

[-jimi-]

Different things disgust different people. I like being clean but when I'm not doing well it's a hassle to shower and also then I'm also very sensitive to water. It's like it scares me or something, it's very offputting. Something that disgusts me though that I know is unusual in today's culture is shaving. When I think of it it makes me gag.

[Hellion]

I've gone longer than that without a shower...depression can kill motivation for anything really. Though in general if you aren't going anywhere/have no one to see I do not think it matters so much unless it gets to the point you feel dirty and want one...sometimes a bath is easier than a shower since you can lay there instead of standing if you have a bathtub anyways.

I also don't shave everywhere...but that's not just due to it taking too much effort even if I have the energy I don't...so its mostly by choice. Some people think even a showered/clean female with body hair is gross...don't really get that its not like women with hair avoid applying soap to said hair.

As a teen I gave in and shaved legs/arm-pits whenever I could muster the effort(had depression since i was a kid so still had it then) or would wear clothes to not show if I hadn't to avoid getting made fun of for hair being female, but not anymore except arm-pits in the summer when its hot since I sweat quite a bit and then they itch and that's it...But really its not necessary for hygiene, a simple shower is enough so times when you're really having difficulties maybe just sticking to basic showering nessesities like hair washing, scrub up with soap rinse and then its over with. I guess for me with a lot of things sometimes I might end up not doing something I should because I can not do it as completely as normal...so sometimes just worrying about the basic necessity's of the chore helps make it a little less overwhelming.

[bronzeowl]

Originally Posted by shattered sanity

someone once told me (i think actually on this forum), that their's really no point to t

i shouldn't worry about it.

if you're not going anywhere/ seeing anyone/ have no reason too, it's okay to do that.

i don't think it's disgusting at all

For hygienic reasons, I don't necessarily agree with that (I used to get frequent yeast infections - for a reason). But from a cultural/social perspective, it's right. If you're not going anywhere, seeing anyone, etc and it just takes too much energy, don't worry about it.

I used to go days without showering. I just didn't have the energy. Now, the only reason I shower and bathe daily is boredom. I made it routine. They say bathing is less sanitary, but I bathe daily and deal with less infections now than I did when I didn't at all. Bathing helps me with the pains I deal with (chronic pain from depression and the eating disorder), and if you get pains, I recommend trying it. I found that simply making it a habit has made it go from a chore, to a way to relax. So, now I have the opposite problem. I bathe too darn much.

However, I don't think it's a bad thing not to. Everyone copes with depression differently, and I have been there. Not wanting to groom myself at all. Going days - in one case, weeks - without showering. I understand, and don't think anyone should beat themselves up over it.

As far as shaving goes, I don't do that, anyway. That is 100% a social cultural thing, and is optional. And if you don't have the energy to do that, it's perfectly okay. Just take care of yourself. Sometimes, we have to put our mental health and recovery first.

[Clara22]

In 2014, I used to wash my hair only every 3 weeks. I do not know if it was disgusting but I just could not do it more often. My hair was like a homeless's

[Blue_Bird]

I used to go days without showering etc. when I was really depressed. I shower at least every other day now, and I feel much better. I think maybe going to the store and buying yourself some self care stuff could help you get motivated. A new razor or veet(or other) hair removal, a bath basket containing different soaps, body washes, scrubs and shampoo. Get some comfy pajamas and maybe some candles to light in the bathroom. Make it more of a relaxing thing and focus on how the water relaxes your muscles and how comfortable you feel afterwards. I think making it more of a pleasant experience can help rather than just say jumping in the shower getting wet getting out drying off and still feeling like crap.

[TheOriginalMe]

When I was a kid we didn't have a shower, only a bath. There were four of us kids and my mum. The only way we had of heating water for a bath was by lighting a coal fire underneath a stone boiler, the hot water then circulated into a storage tank. To heat enough water for all of us to have a bath took all day. Coal was expensive, we were poor, there were frequent miners strikes, in summer it was too hot to light the fire. The point to this story is that until I was 18 and left home I never thought of it as normal to bath (or shower) every day, often just a lick with a flannel and soapy water was enough. Then this year when I had my bathroom refitted I didn't have a bath or a shower, I used baby wipes on the areas that mattered. I went 10 days like that without getting too smelly. I used dry shampoo on my hair just to stop it looking too greasy. As for shaving, well in my opinion it doesn't matter one way or the other.

Missing a shower for a few days doesn't really matter, missing a shower for a few weeks definitely does matter. You will feel a bit more comfortable in yourself if you do shower, it will be worth the effort even though the thought is intimidating.

[-jimi-]

I think we're different. If I force myself to shower when I don't feel well I make it as minimalistic as possible. Just shower. Add shampoo and soap. Rinse. Done. No frills. For me that worked better than trying to mask showering as a pleasant experience, then I'd just feel bad because I still feared and hated it.

Also when I'm really unwell I do NOT shower. I only wash out my hair with clothes on. Separately wash pits and change clothes. I don't care if people say it is disgusting. It makes me cleaner and I don' have to suffer through the torture of nakedness and water.

[Bark]

-hides under the sheets-

I have shower issues. Just washing my body is usually okay but I have to force myself to. Washing my hair... much more difficult. I really need a shower but I've been putting it off. I made it a point to shower today. I've spent the last maybe half an hour on here instead of showering. When I'm feeling depressed it's much worse.

I use deodorant and change my clothes daily. I don't seem to smell too much; I know some people can't go a day before they start to smell. From comments people make they don't seem to notice.

It used to be a lot worse. I'm better now. But it's still a struggle. And I can't help but feel I'd be called disgusting.

[Angelique67]

It's hard for me because of my back. Very painful to do it. Unfortunately there's no tub, only a small shower stall. I'd really like to move!

i showered today. first time in 5 days. thank goodness. was hard but i did it.