I hate to shower :( How often is "normal"?

[Anonymous]

I am doing this anonymously because I'm quite embarrassed.

I hate to take showers. The thought of water running over my body is making me feel so uncomfortable like hardly anything else in my everyday life, and I don't know why. It's quite a hurdle to do, especially in winter. I keep postponing showering until I have to, before I leave the house.

So I wonder, how often do you think one should shower? And how can I overcome my negative feelings towards it?

The thing is, otherwise I'm a very hygienic person, I wash my hands like 10 times a day, I am absolutely strict about knives and forks that have to be totally clean, I'm keen on keeping my home tidy and clean, I just really hate water on my body.

What to do?

And how often would you say is necessary?

[jogu656]

I shower every morning cold or hot, i suppose my response would be biased, i guess it depends, im sure its necessary but then again not daily, in the 1400s i read they used to shower once a year, but they were prone to diseases then again medicine wasnt as advance, so that is a loaded question, but like you mentioned you are very clean in everything else, in the retirement home i work for they only shower the elderly 3 times a week so im assuming thats a reasonable amount, i love feeling clean, smelling amazing so i shower daily, twice on days i hit the gym, so i guess if nobody complaints about you smelling bad you can get away with maybe once a week, plus there are alternatives like sponge baths but that still requires you getting wet and its much more of a process.

[AlfredM]

Well, if you live in the tropics here, I'd say at least once a day if you don't sweat easily, otherwise twice a day. I shower once daily even when I was visiting another country that experiences winter, mostly cause I was outdoor the whole day and I get sweaty and sticky and I needed to get rid of that. That was a winter with average of -6°C~6°C. Perhaps it's not a good idea if it was a lot colder. I've heard that most people only shower like once a week during winter, I can't imagine not showering that long, lol. Anyway, I can only advocate for the "normal" amount of shower in the tropical climate.

Well, I hope you're at least wiping your body with a damp towel or something as alternative.

[Cridders88]

I would seek professional help to try and overcome this fear. Especially as you say you are a hygienic person, so not showering must also be hard for you. Myself, I shower once a day, sometimes twice in hot weather in the Summer. I probably don't need to shower that often, but I just feel unclean unless I have had a shower in the morning before I embark on my day.

[Darius]

I agree with Cridder. You have a psychological hangup about this. Do you feel the same about tub baths? I shower every day because I like to.
How active are you? Do you sweat alot? If you don't shower, do you at least wash your dick and ass?

[Insertnamehere]

I shower every day and after work outs, duh. I appreciate when people do the same.

Uhm...I guess when you find people cringing at you as you walk by would be a good sign of : time for a shower.

Or you could go to the source and adress the issue at hand. why do you not like water running on you? Have you tried diving into a bath rather than shower?

[Emiliano]

Im with the people who say you might want to think about what about the sensation of water is so bothersome to you. Do you also dislike swimming?

[MikeW]

When I was growing up, my parents insisted we bathe once a week. Whether we needed it or not. The point being that the concept of showering daily ... as is now the norm in most "civilized" nations ... has not always been the case.

As for overcoming the negative feelings: You need to go into those feelings and find out where they're coming from. Chances are they are tactile memories that have become associated with some unpleasant sensation or emotion or both. Birthing trauma, for example. Or it could be any number of things. I'll forebear a list of potentials. Suffice it to say, the only way to get beyond any phobia of this sort is to go into and through it. Feel it to its source. Then just let it go.

[Pcolakuntryboy]

I shower every morning cold or hot, i suppose my response would be biased, i guess it depends, im sure its necessary but then again not daily, in the 1400s i read they used to shower once a year, but they were prone to diseases then again medicine wasnt as advance, so that is a loaded question, but like you mentioned you are very clean in everything else, in the retirement home i work for they only shower the elderly 3 times a week so im assuming thats a reasonable amount, i love feeling clean, smelling amazing so i shower daily, twice on days i hit the gym, so i guess if nobody complaints about you smelling bad you can get away with maybe once a week, plus there are alternatives like sponge baths but that still requires you getting wet and its much more of a process.

When you get older your skin stops producing as much oil, so you don't need to bathe as often. An elderly person may be able to bathe only three times a week, but a person in their 20's will need a shower every day. I'm 36 now and I have started noticing my skin is drier than it used to be, it's a shame too because I love my hot tub. 😩

If you use a bidet I'd say that would help delay a shower, but there's still the underarm issue.

[MickTheMousie]

If you ask most people, you NEED to shower daily, anything else is ¨disgusting¨ that's at least what i hear.
But for me because i have VERY dry skin, then i only shower when i need to, so every morning i make the smell test, and if i smell i take a shower, or if my skin/hair is greezy, then i'll shower too.
So i probably shower every 3-4th day