Problems with washing face, hair and brushing teeth

I don’t think it’s a sensory thing and I’m not depressed. I’m wondering if it’s the autism? 

Parents
  • I struggle to do these things as often as I (apparently!) "should". I say apparently because I'm still not convinced.

    For me, the infrequency & irregularity comes from a combination of:

    • It rarely seems uppermost in my mind (unless I'm going "out" e.g. for a meal)
    • Getting undressed, showered, and dressed again seems a less appealing used of time than whatever else I happen to be doing unless I'm very, very bored.
    • Less applicable as I've aged but the sensory process of getting wet in a cold bathroom before all the temperatures stabilise, and getting dry again in a draught, put me off.

    On the teeth question, I was asked by a new dentist recently how often I clean my teeth and I lied and said about once a day on average. He looked shocked and said that I really should be doing it twice a day. The next time I saw him I plucked up courage and told less of a lie and said it was about twice a week. He repeated his advice. The truth is I don't know how often I do it but I think it's about once a fortnight on average *and nothing bad has happened in over 50 years*! I apparently have really good teeth (according to my hygienist and dentist) despite doing apparently reckless things like go to bed without cleaning after eating sugary foods and my teeth have not dissolved! And my breath smells no worse than it does 30 minutes after cleaning my teeth and then having a coffee. Maybe it would smell better if I *did* clean my teeth twice a day but I don't see that as sufficient reason for all that bother. Having said that - I *will* clean and floss if my mouth feels like it needs it to *me*.

    One thing I can say in the opposite direction is that I'm starting to enjoy the simple pleasures in life (because apparently all of the complex pleasures are for younger people than me :-) ) and one of those is the refreshing feeling of washing my face before bed. So there's that :-).

Reply
  • I struggle to do these things as often as I (apparently!) "should". I say apparently because I'm still not convinced.

    For me, the infrequency & irregularity comes from a combination of:

    • It rarely seems uppermost in my mind (unless I'm going "out" e.g. for a meal)
    • Getting undressed, showered, and dressed again seems a less appealing used of time than whatever else I happen to be doing unless I'm very, very bored.
    • Less applicable as I've aged but the sensory process of getting wet in a cold bathroom before all the temperatures stabilise, and getting dry again in a draught, put me off.

    On the teeth question, I was asked by a new dentist recently how often I clean my teeth and I lied and said about once a day on average. He looked shocked and said that I really should be doing it twice a day. The next time I saw him I plucked up courage and told less of a lie and said it was about twice a week. He repeated his advice. The truth is I don't know how often I do it but I think it's about once a fortnight on average *and nothing bad has happened in over 50 years*! I apparently have really good teeth (according to my hygienist and dentist) despite doing apparently reckless things like go to bed without cleaning after eating sugary foods and my teeth have not dissolved! And my breath smells no worse than it does 30 minutes after cleaning my teeth and then having a coffee. Maybe it would smell better if I *did* clean my teeth twice a day but I don't see that as sufficient reason for all that bother. Having said that - I *will* clean and floss if my mouth feels like it needs it to *me*.

    One thing I can say in the opposite direction is that I'm starting to enjoy the simple pleasures in life (because apparently all of the complex pleasures are for younger people than me :-) ) and one of those is the refreshing feeling of washing my face before bed. So there's that :-).

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