What is bad hygiene and how does it play a role with our mental health?

Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc can impact our personal and environmental hygiene. Why does this happen and what can we do about it when it occurs to us?

What is poor personal hygiene:

• Not showering often

• Not brushing teeth

• Not washing hands before or after handling food

• Not washing hands after using the toilet

Poor personal hygiene can also include the opposite:

• Showering excessively, causing dry skin

• Brushing teeth too often

• Becoming obsessed with hygiene

• Changing clothing too often

What is poor environmental hygiene:

• Not regularly cleaning areas with heavy bacteria; bathrooms and kitchens

• Leaving garbage out

• Not doing laundry often

• Not cooking or storing food

Again, this can also include the opposite where it becomes an obsessive manner for these areas to be cleaned.

Mental illness seeps into the routines of everyday life, affecting the most basic skills such as showering and brushing your teeth. This is not often talked about because we associate poor hygiene with poverty, homelessness, laziness, etc. The shame because of societal pressures fuels both lack of hygiene due to mental illness stigma and/or obsessions with hygiene. 

How mental health can affect hygiene:

• People report not having enough energy to do simple tasks such as brushing their teeth or washing their hair

• Major depression is characterized by a diminished interest in activities; meaning depression creates little motivation to maintain hygiene

• Physical symptoms of depression such as physical pain can stop people from doing tasks

• Anxiety disorders and sensory processing disorders make it difficult to shower and maintain personal hygiene

• Hygiene related OCD compulsions feel the need to perform certain hygiene rituals repeatedly

• Certain cases of PTSD involve repetitive behaviors that are often created to reduce the stress and anxiety of the PTSD; including washing yourself repeatedly after traumatic experiences.
  

What to do when mental illnesses are affecting your hygiene:

• You should seek help if the issue is making it hard for you to function 

• Therapy is a great place to start addressing those issues

• Feeling ashamed of the issue is normal, but you should remember that it is a common symptom of mental illness

• Using self care tools such as breathing techniques, short meditations, and positive mantras can help reduce the anxiety that comes with hygiene care.