Why is basic hygiene so difficult when you're depressed?

[clean_mind]

I'm the kind of person who normally likes to take good care of herself. I'm not excessive about it but I do take pride in good hygiene and grooming. Normally. But if I'm in a low I go days without showering, brushing my teeth or putting on clean clothes. It all takes so much more effort. I hate my body getting wet. I hate the cold of stepping out of the shower. It's awful. Then of course I feel even more depressed cause now I'm depressed AND gross.

[thisisfredsmith]

Q: Why is basic hygiene so difficult when you're depressed?

A: Identify the basic pattern of your specific vicious cycle. I have a white board at home, so I draw on it to identify a sequence within the pattern.

This process in itself will take some of the negative energy off of your behavior, as you're able to self-identify it. This ability will typically lead to discovering the source of your issue, from which there you can begin uncovering the issue surrounding your depression.

I'd be more than happy to go further along in your journey of discovery, if you allow it. Thank you.

[clean_mind]

Yes I would love more details on that. What specifically should I be identifying?
Should it be something like March 2 - didn't bother showering
March 3 didn't brush teeth, feeling low....?

[thisisfredsmith]

Thank you for your trust. Here's a simple formula I use:

Thoughts; lead to Feelings; lead to Actions; lead to Results.

1. Identify your thoughts. Specifically what thoughts are you consistently thinking that's making you appear to feel depressed?

2. How do you feel? Depressed? That's more of an evaluation.
Be more specific. Are you scared? Worried? Nervous? Anxious? What combinations of feelings are leading to the depression symptom? Get a list of emotion words from anywhere online and properly identify the feeling. This is key.

3. Actions- what specific action steps must you take to handle the thoughts that lead to those feelings? Could it be a misinterpreted thought? English is multifaceted. Could the words you are using to identify the thought, or the actual interpretation of the thought have a completely different meaning? Is that meaning what is leading to a misunderstanding?

4. Results= implied. Through consistent troubleshooting and feedback from this process, you'll be able to identify specific action steps you need to handle the thoughts. The byproduct typically is the result you want.

Thanks again for everything. Please let me know if you get stuck on any of these steps.

[TheCloud]

Being dirty is a lot healthier than being depressed. I would focus more on the latter; figure out what's going on inside your head, and then when you're not depressed anymore, you can take a shower whenever you need to. If you focus on details that don't matter when it comes to your depression, you'll never get to the root of it. If brushing your teeth were all it took, you'd be all better by now. Find out what's really going on, and put your mental resources into that instead, and the hygiene issue will take care of itself.

[shawnnash]

It is normal not wanting to do a ritual sometimes. My friend, I suggest you read The Art of War by Steven Pressfield; beat the resistance within. All the best!