LOL GORDO....hahaha...Thank you for making me laugh...I needed that badly....

one way I cope is baths so its a nightly routine. I often dont feel likw brushing teeth if a bad day but force myself on that.

I can totally relate to this. I went 5 days once time without showering and depression is the reason.

It does take extra effort for me when I am really depressed. One the days that I am off work and don't have to go anywhere I don't even get up and get dressed...I just don't have the energy to let alone get up and leave the house and do something. I try not to be too hard on myself since I know that this is a part of the depression and that beating myself up about it is only going to make me feel worse.

Thank you, rae, for sharing this. Like someone else already said, I thought I was the only one.

I actually twice skipped showering and wiped down my body with baby wipes so that I didn't smell. My depression can immobilize me to some new depths. I always feel better after showering. This last Christmas I was given some great body products from Bath and Body works which delight me in their indulgence.

I really am glad to be on this board today. I don't feel so all alone.

Thank you all so much for all the support and encouragement. It means so much to me to know I'm not alone in my struggles with this. I finally did it early this am at 3 couldn't sleep and was starting to get itchy skin. I kept reading all your replies over and over until finally it all sunk in that I could really tackle it and this time without beating myself up about it. I found it much easier knowing others feel this way and not beating myself up helped me actually want to do it in the end. I still had a lot of anxiety during the shower because I have this OCD thing about hair especially in the shower but it's done for know. Legs shaved, lotion all over, most of face routine done, teeth flossed and brushed. Now just have to pluck the eyebrows. Usually I try break it down by doing a little of this at a time. Like say shave with the electric razor and floss then take a break until I feel like I can go on to the next and so on an so forth until done. Again I'm so happy to have found this site when I did. This is the first time I 've ever joined an online support group before or posted like this and to my amazement it's been way more than I ever expected. I guess I was always a bit sceptical and even intimidated or scared but now I am glad I reached out because I have felt alone and like no one understood before now. Thank you all again. BTW someone mentioned showering possibly wanting to shower with my husband and no I'm more like the other person who said she would rather not shower with her hubby. LOL I totally understand that!! You made me laugh so hard I almost spit my tea out.

Reading what you wrote could have been my own story 6 yrs ago. I got to the point I was so seditive I developed blood clots in my lungs and nearly died from it. I had to spend a month in a nursing home to recouperate (I wasn only 52). That nursing home stay opened my eyes to what my furture would be like if I didn't make drastic changes soon. I had to make myself get dressed and not spend 24 hrs a day watching TV and move more. I began walking for exercise and eventually lost 136# and for the first time in 26 yrs I don't take deppression medicine. A miracle will never come along and change things for you, you must make the changes yourself and rejoin the world of the living. Best of luck to you!

I can and do relate. The Partial Hospitalization Program I attended call personal hygiene the ADL (Activities of Daily Living). I do find that when I am depressed it does help to stick to a routine. In my case I am staying out of the pool for a week or two until my physical therapist for my rotator cuff to heal, and I have to do these stupid exercises instead. They are stupid but they do help. In my case I am still dealing with mood swings that have pretty sensitive triggers.

Mike

This is great. So glad you were able to overcome some difficulties in your life.

Hi, I haven't been on Chronic pain sight in a very long time. Probably no one remembers me. However right now I am going through the same thing as rae. It been a pattern through out most of my life. Depression takes hold, I feel exhausted, I get so depressed I then just don't care. I use a lot of lotion, bathing the smelly part of my body with wet ones or a watch cloth, using baby powder, and baby lotion, get by by shaving my legs with an electric mans razor. I live a lone so no one says anything. Through doing this gives me great anxiety, trying to shower every day or even every other day is so hard to do. I have lost track of how long I have gone without bathing my whole body, However I keep my wet ones, deodorant, powder, lotion and dry shampoo as staples. I wish so much I could jump in the shower with someone I would be easier. I have a therapy appointment tomorrow and I need to discuss my depression. I am so used to putting on a fake smile with my fibro that I do this when I am depressed also. However this is getting very tiresome now. I getting to the point that I am very moody and nasty, and am not able to fake how I feel anymore. I need to write a journal to figure out why I am feeling this way. I guess I like to come back to Chronic pain site. When I was here over a year ago there just a lot of fighting. I know that new people have joined and some have left. I left before because I just didn't feel safe sharing my thoughts before, but I decide perhaps it ok to try again. I will at least be looking at posts for now. I hope that I can help others here also.