r/ADHD • u/Extreme_Foundation66 • 9d ago
Questions/Advice Hygiene with ADHD
Hi to all my ADHD friends!
I have ADHD and I have my whole life struggled with my hygiene.
I hate to talk about this but the few times I have done it with my friends with ADHD I feel less alone so I hope this will have the same effect. I also wanna say that I would appreciate if you kept your judgements and negative comments to yourself (since I’ve also experienced that when talking about this)
First of all, I absolutely hate to shower. It has so many steps, I hate the feeling of water on my body and I really struggle to start. This makes it harder for me to workout cause the thought of taking a shower is so overwhelming.
I also struggle with steps like brushing my teeth and remembering steps in my routine!
Also other weekly things like shaving, cutting my nails!
Please tell me that I’m not alone and if you’re having any advice or anything I would appreciate it! I’m really embarrassed about it!
Update: I’m genuinely so thankful for every single comment under this post! I’ve never felt this seen and understood before. I’m so proud of everyone that has shared their stories and I wish you all the best ❤️
1
u/NotASlaveToHelvetica 9d ago
I very much struggle with all of this, but I do wanna say that showing has gotten much easier once I realized I was also getting super over stimulated and decided to just remove some of that stimuli, so now I shower in the dark! Or, rather, with a small lamp, but definitely never the big overhead one. It's helped a lot!
I also have curly hair, which I saw in another comment you do too, and I will also say that freeing myself from strict curly girl hair stuff has helped too. Like being ok with my curls looking bad or just accepting that some days clean hair in a bun or clip or braid is better than hair that looks cute but took so long to style that I wanted to cry and I will be mad I have to wash out just to restyle again in a few days.
Also for me, doing something every day is easier than every week, so I stopped cutting my nails and I just file them with a fancy file every day now. And I stopped shavung. I mentioned this in a different comment too but I just use a beard trimmer if I feel like my leg hair needs to be invisible. It ends up looking like I maybe shaved yesterday but if anyone is paying that much attention to my legs there are other problems!!
Finally I think just finding a way to extend some kindness to yourself is important!! We live in a world that holds everyone to a reiculously high standard, and most people can't meet it. Just because other people shower after working out doesn't necessarily mean you need to. Maybe wipes of some kind works fine for a day. Maybe you can explore the art of the PTA with a washcloth. Clearly, you are not alone in this, even when it feels like you are. I hope you're finding tools in this thread! 💕💕💕