Poll Do You Have Problems With Personal Hygiene?

[grace5555]

Yes, Evie - i struggle to both extremes. It is all connected to trauma and flashbacks for me and very hard to be "normal" in this area.

 

[nic]

I actually have the opposite issue. I shower too much, and because of that my skin is always dry. I think it has to do with wanting to wash all the "bad stuff" away and be "clean" both physically and metaphorically. I've also struggled a bit with minor OCD around this issue, but I'm getting better.

 

[grace5555]

I know what you mean - that is what I meant by extremes - some days I can't quit showering, etc. and other days I cannot force myself to become vulnerable by changing clothes. I hate how that sounds but it is me. =\

 

[northernpunch]

I actually rub my chin nowadays and if the hair is starting to grow too long there on the face I figure it must be time to get cleaned up. Of course, if I have urgent matters to deal with I will shower first. I also wear clean underwear and clothes and will wash the hands and face, even do a facile sponge bath if it gets rank, I do not want to smell, ya know. But it seems kind of futile to be overly sensitive about getting all washed up when I am already all washed up and gonna die right away anyway, OOOPs there's that damned C-PTSD again

 

[Cecilia]

I am a cleany. If my house is not organized and clean then I get very panicky and depressed. My husband got very angry at me for vacuuming the floor at 2 a.m., but I could not sleep and could not stand a mess.

For the most part if my house is clean and my toes are pedicured; my world is calm.

 

[linasmom]

I am a neat freak and have been known to take 3 showers in one day without ever stepping out of the house. My husband thinks I'm OCD but I think it's just a form of the PTSD.

I love to vacuum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 541]

Another neat freak and bath freak too.... I don't care how sick I am, I have to have a bath, and soak. The house has to be neat and clean too. I have to have order, in order to feel calm and collected.......

 

[kers]

other days I cannot force myself to become vulnerable by changing clothes

Grace, this is exactly how I often feel! I am so relieved to know that others experience this, too. When I struggle to bathe, it's often because I want to shower but can't bear to get undressed. A lot of times I'll wash my face and do my hair, then try to rely on perfume. I feel like a freak, but it's all I can manage some days.

 

[JustJane]

Wow. I just had my hair cut short because I never bothered to brush it and would get so many tangles that when I did have to go somewhere, I'd just throw a ski-style hat on to cover my hair. I knew that wasn't a solution, so finally cut it short - like 3" at the longest strand.

It's the second time in a year that my hair was completely beyond my ability to keep it orderly.

And I have gone for a month without showering. If I was aware of BO, I washed my underarms, but that was all. I don't work and if I did, I know I would take a shower before going to work everyday. If I had a tub, I would soak every day. But no tub and no room for a tub. Just my luck.

 

[hodge]

Do you mean for me specifically Claire? I do have some sensory overload with showering and I do tend to neglect personal hygeine very much so when depressed, so I guess partially. But I made this poll because I wanted to see if this is just me, or if others also have difficulty.

Upstream, I'm like you I think, I feel more motivated to shower and so on if I have to go out, I have less problem with it then actually. I am actually very good with my personal hygeine right now, I shower daily, sometimes twice a day, it's just that it's always an effort for me, I guess that's what I am asking really, do other people find it a pain in the arse and wish they didn't have to do it, because that is totally me. Like for example, my mum loves showering, doing her hair, all that stuff. But I really can't be bothered. I'm not really interested in what I wear either. I make myself look presentable more for the sake of those around me than for myself, because I couldn't care less personally.

I feel pretty much the same way, Evie. I'm most motivated to bath if I have to go out or meet someone. It seems like a chore lately. A bath used to relax me and still does sometimes, but often it's also a time and place where a lot of emotions come to the surface and I cry there. Maybe there's some sensory overload going on there; I'm not sure.

I have had a hard time caring about what I wear, my hair, my appearance in general. I have improved a bit, though. I bought some eye shadow a couple weeks ago, and I've been trying to wear a bit of makeup, going with the theory that trying to look nice on the outside helps the mood inside. It helps a bit.

Oh, and I also tend to avoid the hassle of shaving unless it's summer and I'm wearing shorts and sleeveless tops or going swimming.

 

[Lucky Laser]

I think my problem with hygiene is that I think about it too much. When I look in the mirror I usually see an ugly person (something I have struggled with since my trauma) and I shower two or three times a day sometimes to make sure that I am not gross (ie. unlovable). Also, sometimes when I am out and stressed I feel like I am taking on the dirt of other people... like strangers are touching me but without touching me, and I want to wash the creepies off.

Buuut, that second thing might just be a coincidence because my Mom is a nurse and always insisted on everything being really, really clean.

 

[upstream]

Lucky, have you ever seen the TV show "How to look good naked" ?

It's a makeover show where they take women who hate the way they look and change their perceptions of themselves. Eye opening show...