Self care can be a never ending struggle.
I’ll be posting tips that I have learnt to use to make looking after my mind, body and soul easier ❤️
TIP ONE:
When I was afraid to leave the house I would sit in the sun by a window and appreciate the sunshine on my body. I slowly built this up to sitting outside for 10 mins in the sun. The fresh air will help clear your mind and help you sleep.
Don’t forget the sunscreen! ☀️
SHOWERING WITH DEPRESSION
Showering can be so hard for people experiencing depression. It’s really a complex task that requires a lot of thought, prep and both physical and mental
energy!
My Tips
– Set a goal of how many times to shower a week. I had a three day rule or if I can’t answer my husbands question of when my last one was …it was time… 😪
– Brush your teeth in the shower it’s one less thing to think about doing. Which I will forgot about later. I have a spare tooth brush in the shower so I don’t need to remember to get it when I shower
– Have different shaped/ coloured shampoo bottles to your conditioner. I don’t know how many times I’ve washed my hair with shampoo over and over without conditioner. This is so frustrating.
– Shower with a buddy. 🤭 My buddy is lily my dog. Showering with her is more about looking after her rather than myself. It has made this dreaded activity fun. #smalldogoptimal
– Have music playing. Something to stop you from dissociating in the shower. Again Lily’s my distraction.
– Sit to shower. I don’t have the energy to stand to shower. So I sit. Not everyone is able to do that so maybe think about a safe shower chair/stool you could use. – Let you hair air dry if it’s not too cold. Lifting the hair dryer is exhausting and extremely noisy for me. So perhaps towel dry half and do the rest with the hair dryer.
– if you don’t want to wash your hair use dry shampoo or place some talcum powder on the roots of your hair. This will prevent your hair from having that greasy look.
– keep a routine of what time you normally shower to keep consistent with your hygiene.
OT for BPD 