Q. I find many tasks challenging when I’m depressed, but showering feels especially difficult. Why is that? And what can I do about it?
If you have depression, you know how challenging everyday efforts can be.
Cooking, cleaning, socializing — all of these can feel as if you’re trudging through the mud, said Dr. Lindsay Standeven, a psychiatrist and professor at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Difficulties with grooming and hygiene are especially common with depression, she said. But because uncleanliness can be associated with laziness or even immorality, people with depression might be afraid to discuss their symptoms with their doctor. And that shame, combined with the low self-esteem possibly triggered by not bathing, can fuel depressive symptoms even further, Dr. Standeven said.
If you’re wrestling with stepping into the shower, or know someone who is, it’s important to give yourself or others grace, experts say.
Why does depression make it hard to shower?
Part of it is simply because keeping up with your hygiene — like brushing teeth and washing hands — requires energy, and a common symptom of depression is fatigue.
So even if you want to shower, you may not have the energy to do so, said Christine Judd, a psychotherapist and mental health social worker in Australia.