You are having a blast with your friends. It’s finally the weekend, and you feel like shrugging off the mental strain. But suddenly, nothing feels alright. There is something unseen bothering you. Consumed by dark thoughts, you feel like shouting out loud.
Your eyes begin to burn, and you start crying for no reason! Or maybe you don’t cry, but darkness is wrecking you from the inside out.
My friend, who is a psychiatrist, recently told me that every day people walk in the doors with more or less similar accounts. As the lines between work and life grow blurred, more people are getting under the impact of mental illnesses. It seeps in, influencing even the most mundane everyday tasks like bathing and eating.
Typically, we associate unhygienic living with poverty or laziness. Rarely do we ever link it to mental health? It’s a taboo subject. We do not want to accept that our loved ones or we are suffering from it. It is the demon people fight with every day.
There is a dire need to dedicate attention, concern, and time to addressing what distracts people from taking care of themselves.
Mental Illness can reduce life expectancy by 10 or 20 years. On the contrary, being cautious of your hygiene and grooming can help to pull you out of the shadows. It is only when a person begins to live for themselves that they can keep all mental negativity at bay.
What do good hygiene and grooming look like?
The definition varies from person to person. It includes anything that makes you feel good about yourself. For some people, a walk down the green lane of their street will boost up their optimistic hormones. As for others, having a day at a spa will do wonders. Following are the basics of good hygiene and grooming:
- Regular hand washing to get rid of the pesky germs
- Dental care to avoid tooth decay and gum diseases
- Bathing to keep the body clean
- 8 – 10 hours of sleep every day
- Regular haircut with a professional hairdresser
This is the criterion of good hygiene you must follow every day. You can perk it up by participating in a proper setup where an expert teaches you to take care of yourself.
A hygiene and grooming ritual is good for mental health
The first fact you must accept is that you will probably never look like media specimens. It should not be your aim. Instead, you must follow a grooming and hygiene ritual because:
– It will boost your confidence
When you begin to portray the image of a healthy body and a positive mind, you will automatically start to project a picture of an esteemed individual. Your personality brims with confidence, and there is an aura about you no one can beat. Those sweet smiles will never leave your face as you realize you are giving the best of what you have.
– It improves your social life
Proper hygiene and grooming contain substantial social benefits as it enhances the perception people have of you. It helps you to stand out in the crowd and impress people with your presence. You must have felt how there is one person that sparks the room with his/her lively nature. People like them have a wider circle of friends and seem like they are never unhappy.
– It helps you improve your career
People in excellent shape have a better chance of being hired as compared to those who are unkempt and shabby looking. Your appearance, the way you carry yourself, and how you speak can leave a lasting first impression. Also, when you are a part of a company, employers and coworkers tend to feel good when they are talking to a groomed, mature, and well-kept individual.
– It uplifts your physical health
A study that hit the headlines in 2017 discovered a link between high levels of stress and dying from cancer. Another study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) shows a strong connection between depression and diabetes.
Therefore, as you keep ignoring yourself under work or domestic pressures, you will end up in deep pits of mental strain that eventually take a toll on your physical health.
What to do when mental strain is affecting your hygiene?
No one knows better than you when to start taking care of yourself. There comes a point when you cannot function anymore. Essential elements, like bathing or falling asleep, seem to be the hardest tasks. That is when you need to take a stand yourself before things go beyond your control. And therapy is a great place to start.
Therapists come across such cases almost every day, and they will know how to help you out. Besides professional assistance, try formulating a routine for yourself. Enlist things that make you feel good about yourself.
Hang out with your friends more, watch a movie or a series each day, and wear what makes you happy. The last one is again, a tricky part. Some men prefer a casual tee with jeans. Others pick dress pants over mens pouch underwear and straight coats on the top.
To each their own!
However, make sure you are not wearing a weird color combination or following a dress code that doesn’t fall in line with your surroundings.
The Bottom Line
If you are in bad mental shape or know someone who is, you must let them seek professional assistance ASAP! Melissa A. Jones, a clinical psychologist in Indiana, stated that “Many of them do not take care of their personal hygiene needs unless they are reminded by a family member to do so.”
Ignoring your physical health is the last straw. It is when you slowly start your road toward self-destruction. Better steer clear from falling into the pit by seeking necessary measures right away.
We hope our blog enlightened you and helped you detect the symptoms within you or someone around you. If you have any remarks or would like to add something, feel free to share them below!
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