365 Day Mood Project

An additional note as of 4/7: So I write these 2 days in advance, just because it makes things easier, but today is especially shit. If you need to crash out? Crash the fuck out. Things are not good, and you’re not imagining it.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I didn’t have the energy to tackle washing my hair. Today is Easter, and I’m headed to a friend’s house later. So on Day 10? We’re tackling the hair.

When someone is in a deep depression, showering is one of the first things that gets thrown out the window for a lot of us. It’s the energy required to do it that often stops people, but the effects of not showering can often exacerbate a lot of rumination surrounding our worth.

You are not bad, worthless, or lazy because you have difficulty showering. You are not less than. You are a human being worthy of respect regardless.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are some tips for both wanting to shower and getting the most out of your shower:

MAKE IT FUN

Like with everything, if you can make it a treat instead of a chore, you’re more likely to do it. What could make it fun for you? A shower speaker so you can listen to an audiobook or some music? A fun shower curtain so your bathroom brings you joy to be in? Shower steamers so that everything smells good?

Additionally, if a shower doesn’t sound like a fun time to you, have a bath. Bring a book, use a bath bomb, make a cup of tea. There are no rules. Who cares how you bathe as long as it gets done and you feel good after?

SOME PRODUCT SUGGESTIONS for the plethora of maladies triggered by stress and depression

African Net Sponge (instead of your loofah)

For ease of showering, I recommend an African net sponge to pretty much everyone I know. They’re fantastic.

The design makes it easy to reach hard places like your back. To wash places like under your legs, you don’t have to bend over if you’re feeling low on energy. The nylon material is antimicrobial, so you don’t have to worry about bacteria the way you do with a loofah. Basically, they’re perfect.

Now, these have been used by black people and in West Africa for a long time, so I’m not going to pretend that I discovered this or invented this. Furthermore, because of its history, I always buy from businesses run by black women. One, because you know you’re going to get the real deal, and two, because I refuse to pay Jeff Bezos so he can profit off the ingenuity of black people. It just doesn’t sit right with me.

So if you’re going to grab one, I got mine from Cee Cee’s Closet NYC. You can order online and get it delivered.

Dial Antibacterial Soap (if you get stress sweats)

Depression and stress have always resulted in physical changes in my body. For a long time, I struggled with body odor, particularly in my armpits. Basically, when you’re stressed, your nervous system triggers a specific set of glands called your “eccrine” glands. The sweat from those glands tends to be more pungent, which is why stress sweat smells worse. Using antibacterial soap before my body wash went a long way towards addressing that. The smell is caused by the bacteria living on the body dining out on that sweat. Antibacterial soap will put a stop to that.

Eucerin Advanced Repair Moisturizer (if you get eczema)

Did I mention my body freaks out when I’m depressed? Well, it does. I tend to get eczema flare-ups when I get stressed and depressed. Now I believe they’re still investigating why this happens. There’s some thought that cortisol and adrenaline from stress may weaken the skin’s barrier. There’s also some other stuff like cytokines they’re looking into, but that’s all way over my head, so I won’t go into it. If you’re interested, though, the National Eczema Foundation has a website.

To deal with this, I use Eucerin Advanced Repair Moisturizer right when I hop out of the shower. It has colloidal oatmeal, which is known to help with this.

If it gets worse, I will use a hydrocortisone cream on spots. If it gets worse than that, a doctor can prescribe a steroid cream. If you have trouble going to a physical doctor, I’ve used Honeydew Care, a telehealth service.

Nizoral Shampoo (if you get dandruff)

Another nifty thing that you may not know can be aggravated by stress is good old dandruff! I unfortunately did know. LEARN FROM MY SUFFERING. Our good friend cortisol can increase sebum production in your head, which creates a happy home for the Malassezia fungus that causes dandruff. Nizoral has Ketoconazole, an antifungal agent, so it’ll keep the fungus in check. Lovely, I know, but you don’t have to live with it forever!

Inkey List Glycolic Acid Body Stick (for stubborn body odor)

When the antibacterial soap just isn’t cutting it, this can help. Glycolic acid is a chemical exfoliant, so it’ll create an acidic environment where bacteria can’t live. It’s my silver bullet for BO.

Now, I’m not going to tell you EXACTLY how to shower, because to me, that depends on how much energy you have. Some days I have an INTENSE bathing regimen. Lately, we’re just getting the basics done.

That said, hopefully, if you have some of the same struggles I do with the physical impacts of depression, this is a good starting point. These conditions can often cause an endless loop. You start getting down on yourself for suffering from them, so you feel more depressed, which starts the body’s physical response all over again, and so on. So we’re stopping the feedback loop.

With that, Day 10 is done, and I’m squeaky clean and headed to my friend’s house. Keep it pushing. Love you, mean it!