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- Certain mental illnesses might cause people to wash too much or obsess about cleanliness. The mental illness we most commonly associate with cleanliness is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/mental-illness-can-impact-hygieneYes, Mental Illness Can Impact Your Hygiene. Here's What You ...
Nov 1, 2023 · I may have developed an Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on hygiene and cleanliness. I am at ease and happy in a clean room, space, or home. I feel very uncomfortable in a messy and dirty...
Why Do We Prioritize Personal Hygiene? Have you ever wondered what drives your daily routine of brushing your teeth, showering, or washing your hands? While these tasks can seem mundane, they reflect a complex interplay of psychological, social, and cultural factors.
- Sebastian Evans
- Overview
- ‘Why is it so hard to brush my teeth or shower?’
- ‘Can you be too hygienic?’
- What to do when mental illness is affecting your relationship with hygiene
Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and even sensory processing disorders can impact our personal hygiene. Let’s talk about it.
“It’s Not Just You” is a column written by mental health journalist Sian Ferguson, dedicated to exploring the lesser-known, under-discussed symptoms of mental illness. Sian knows firsthand the power of hearing, “Hey, it’s not just you.” While you might be familiar with your run-of-the-mill sadness or anxiety, there’s so much more to mental health than that — so let’s talk about it!
One of the worst things about mental illness is how it seeps into so many parts of your life, affecting even the most mundane things, like showering and brushing your teeth.
And we often struggle to talk about this part of mental health. One of the reasons why we struggle to talk about it is because hygiene is moralized when it shouldn’t be.
Practicing hygiene is a good thing because it can prevent disease and help us care for our bodies. But unfortunately, we often associate a lack of hygiene with poverty, laziness, homelessness — all things we, as a society, discriminate against.
What this means is that there’s a lot of shame around hygiene. This shame can fuel both obsessions with hygiene, and the stigma surrounding mental illnesses that make it hard for us to practice basic hygiene.
Although I have a number of mental illnesses, I haven’t had much of a problem with showering. But one week many years ago, when I was feeling particularly depressed, I struggled to brush my teeth. I must have brushed my teeth only twice that week.
I know what you’re thinking — gross. Yup, I thought that too.
Yet I couldn’t bring myself to brush my teeth. I could wash my body, I could get dressed, I could even leave my house but the thought of brushing my teeth was repulsive to me. And what’s worse is that I couldn’t bring myself to tell my therapist, because I felt so ashamed and disgusting.
A lot of people struggle to do basic hygiene tasks when depressed. This can include showering, washing their hands, brushing their teeth, doing laundry, or brushing their hair.
“They report not having enough energy to do simple self-care tasks, such as brushing their teeth or washing their hair,” says Melissa A. Jones, PhD, HSPP, a clinical psychologist based in Indiana. “Many of them do not take care of their personal hygiene needs unless they are reminded by a family member to do so.”
But why is this? Why does depression make it so hard to shower? Manly says that major depression is often characterized by diminished interest in activities, as well as fatigue. In other words, you probably have little motivation or energy to maintain hygiene while depressed.
You certainly can be too obsessed with hygiene. Certain mental illnesses might cause people to wash too much or obsess about cleanliness.
The mental illness we most commonly associate with cleanliness is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Pop culture’s depictions of OCD, like in “Monk,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Glee” mean we often think of people with OCD as fastidious, super-organized germophobes who are convenient punchlines for thoughtless jokes.
OCD isn’t always about cleanliness — and even when it is, it’s often misunderstood. OCD involves obsessions (distressing thoughts that you can’t stop thinking about) and compulsions (rituals or actions you take to reduce your distress).
The obsessions could be about hygiene, but it could also be a fear like burning down your house, hurting someone or yourself, or angering God. When it does involve hygiene rituals, like washing your hands, the fear (or obsession) might be about germs — but it could also be about something else.
Manly explains that when you have hygiene-related OCD compulsions, you might wash your hands a set number of times or brush your teeth with a certain number of strokes.
“Those who have OCD may have difficulty attending to personal hygiene in a fluid manner, for they may feel the need to perform certain hygiene rituals repeatedly (such as washing hands a certain number of times) before moving to the next task,” Manly says. These compulsions can make it difficult for you to leave the house on time or function throughout the day.
Most people feel a little too lazy to shower once in a while. Most of us sometimes feel a little “gross” and decide to wash ourselves more vigorously than usual. So, how do you know it’s “bad enough” for you to need help?
In general, you should get help if an issue is making it hard for you to function. If you struggle to practice hygiene even when you know you should, or if you feel that you wash yourself excessively, you may need help.
Therapy is a great place to start. You might feel ashamed, as I did, to tell your therapist that you struggle to practice good hygiene. Please remember that this is a fairly common symptom of mental illness, and your therapist has probably helped people in your shoes before — and they’re there to help you, not judge you for your mental state.
As for washing excessively, Manly says that the root of the anxiety must be addressed in order to address the issue. This also often requires therapy.
“To reduce the level of washing in conjunction with therapy, the individual can also strive to reduce anxiety by learning to use calming breathing techniques, short meditations, and positive mantras,” Manly says. “Tools such as these can be used to calm the mind and body as they encourage self-soothing and self-control.”
No matter which self-care tools help you, it’s important to remind yourself that moralizing hygiene helps nobody.
Sep 9, 2021 · With OCD, obsessions can be about hygiene, but they can also be a fear like burning down your house, hurting someone or yourself, or angering God. When it does involve hygiene rituals, like washing your hands, the fear might be about germs, but it can also be about something else.
Taking the time to maintain personal hygiene provides a vast array of benefits for our mind, mood, and perception. Let’s dive into the intricacies of this relationship and see why clean habits are far more than just a path to physical health—they are gateways to a healthier mind.
- Sebastian Evans
Oct 4, 2024 · If the habit isn’t affecting you or causing you distress, OCD likely isn’t the culprit. But when OCD is at play, telling yourself to “just stop” being so obsessive about your cleaning and organizing is futile. That’s because OCD is a chronic condition that needs specific treatment.
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Jan 22, 2024 · People with “cleaning OCD” can be characterized by their overwhelming desire to repeatedly clean themselves, their homes, their environment, their belongings, and sometimes even other people. Washing and cleaning rituals are widely recognized symptoms of OCD.
