HI,
It was a major goal that I was working up to for several days and I finally did it.

I had been sponge bathing for over a week but I can tolerate that only slightly more than showering.

Showering is good.

Sometimes it is necessary to make one goal at a time.

M.

Oh Mari I am so with you. Bargining with myself.
Just the challange to get undressed, into the shower, have to dry off, the hair is wet....shaving the legs, ha ha,
It is like facing a marathon.

I have to litterly bargain at night that if I get my shower, I will wash my hair the next day. Then if I get in the shower I don;t have to shave my legs.
My loungers are my fav friend.

I stall dressing,some days I don't and then have to shower or DH would likely pinch his nose.

But as soon as I can in the evening, even if outside, I live far off the road, I sit in my loungers.

Why does a simple shower feel like such a major task?
Why is it so physically or emotionally exhausting to just do it?
But I am so refreshed when I get it done!

I think showers for guys are so easy.by the time they wash their hair and lather, out the shower they go.

Hi,
I don't know why showers are so hard.

Maybe I used up much of my life time quota when I was a teenager.
I used to shower two or three times a day because we lived in a house with out air conditioning and I needed to cool down.


M.

i almost posted about it but was so embarrassed. i can't even say how long it had been.

here, it is harder because of the whole "bathroom arrangement" thing. there are a dozen things i have to move/clean move back/clean before and after. the before is no biggie and i can spread it over time. it's the after that gets me. come out of the shower all refreshed, and i have to do a bunch of stuff which gets me sweaty. OR, in winter, FREEZING COLD. if i don't do it the shower police come huffing and puffing and do it. then i feel bad emotionally instead of physically. either way i feel bad when i come out of the shower here.

i try to focus on the physical cleanliness feeling, to contrast it. that does help some. but not enough to get me in the shower as often as i'd need, or even LIKE. there are times i really want to shower and do not just because it is too hard - with all the collateral stuff.

Di, i do that too about bargaining about doing the hair separately. but the truth is, it's easier if i do it in the shower... so...

however, i usually do my legs separately. i used to do them in the shower when i was in a different situation. but not always. i have always at times just done my legs. and that helps. one less thing. but it's more the post-shower maintenance things that are crazy around here.

i make do a lot with "localized" washes with or without a soapy washcloth as works best. in between showers.

and bless whoever invented wet towelettes! LOL. those are another quick-fix of mine.

Anyway, Good Job, Mari!!! One down, ... ehhh...

(a lifetime to go?, ROFL )

~ waves ~

oh and...

i prefer to take showers evening time too. but the shower police here doesn't agree. "it keeps the humidity in." the shower police doesn't believe keeping the vent on for a while is enough. and mind, in summer, all the windows are open and fans going. in winter, the heat is going - which DRIES OUT the air. so you tell me. logic??? hello???

i don't know what is worse, the getting to have fewer showers because of it, or the sum of discord and lack of harmony that would infuse the household if i took an evening shower whenever i wanted one.

~ waves ~

Waves,
The title of your post reminded me about rain.
For a few days I was spending mental energy thinking about how to get clean without showering -- swimming, catching rain, . . . I ran out of ideas soon.

I've decided the problem is the water mostly.
But all the other stuff including what you and others have listed is part of the problem too.

I used to be a real clean freak about myself.
I have adjusted my cleanliness issues in order to avoid the shower. I could go a very long time without cleaning at all if I did not go out.

M.

I admit... I love long hot showers and baths... but absolutely hate them too...

I can't get in and out of the bath by myself.... and showers feel as though I am being hit by about a zillion sharp needles... I can't feel hot or cold... just pain... I have to watch for steam plus I have a thermometer ducky that tells me when it's too hot.

I have been avoiding this by taking sponge baths...

But really... since I stay in bed most of the day... bathing/showering just isn't that big of a deal for me... I do think about bathing/showering... but think why bother...


Abbie

Dear Abbie,
It makes me feel sad for you that you stay in bed that much and ae isolated form other people and suffer with this pain.
you poor thing.
((((((HUGS))))))
beth

(((((((((((((( Abbie ))))))))))))))

i feel for you. your post made me realize how fortunate i am that i can feel hot and cold, and that those "water needles" sometimes actually feel pleasant (if not too strong) ... providing massage when muscles are sore... tolerable heat providing - even temporary - relief from cervical pain. Because i am not affected by your condition of course. I am sad that you cannot experience these things.

I have spent long periods in bed... or doing the shuffle from bed to couch. I keep on and keep on keeping on hoping that there will be a reprieve for you soon. I know all will not be fixed. But for some betterment. You are such a sweet person. It seems so unfair.

At times like this, thinking of your situation right now for instance, and thinking of when i have been bound up simply in depression ... a sharp contrast strikes me with regard to how people sometimes say "we choose" our lives, our path, etc, and i think what total garbage. Yes, in many situations, there are still choices that can be made. The different roads are present....BUT, as i see it...

We need to be somewhat well before we even have the strength to choose.

Right now, i am very proud of you for having the strength to hang in there. Because that alone takes a lot.

~ waves ~

This is such an issue for me, I just hate it too, but I have to go do it or else the chlorine in my hair will hurt it. I think this is the one thing from going to the big pool thast will IRK me no end this summer. I feel for you all, showers and bathing in general is such a PITA and hard to get motivated to do when you're at all depressed.