Disclaimer: I shower every day, don’t worry. Doesn’t mean it’s easy though.
Anybody else dread showering because of the explosion of sensory stimuli? I used to love relaxing in the shower, but lately I’ve hated it especially getting in and out because of the radical change in moisture, temperature, and comfort.
Same. Same. Same.
I’ve tried showering a few times but I generally don’t not unless I really have to. I hate the force of the water coming down on me and hitting my skin, not with force that’s not really right but it hits it with the splats like rain falling. I hate rain and avoid it if possible.
I prefer bathing. It’s much kinder to my sensory issues. Everything is still and the temperature is near perfect, unlike my shower which cycles between hot and cold for some unknown reason that I can’t fathom.
I don't like a shower but I do enjoy a bath. Have to get the temperature right though. Showers I struggle with. Again the temperature has to be right and this seems to be harder with a shower some how. The water needs to fully cover me or I have massive sensory issues with one part of my body feeling cold and I don't find many showers, including my own, that do this. The water also has to be the right pressure. I don't like it when it feels like my shower is hail stoning on me but I also don't like it when it feels like a pathetic trickle.
I find it helpful to see it as a means to an end - where I live the summers are long and hot (over 30C most days) and as I often do a lot of manual labout I can get through 3 showers a day because of the amount of sweating I do.
I shower when I get up, again after going ot the gym or after a day of work and once more before bed (no way I'm going to get frisky without being fresh).
Thinking about washing away the dirt and sweat and coming out fresh is what drives it.
In the winters the days are typically low to mid 20C so if feels a lot colder at night as there is no heating here and I focus on getting under the shower to feel wrapped in the hot water downpour for a long soak. Savouring it helps me look forward to it and makes the dance on the cold floor worth it.
If it gets too humid then the post shower routine (shaving, moisturising, deodourant, brushing teeth etc) is mostly moved to the bedroom with me wrapping up in warm slippers and a bathrobe. Popping into the bathroom to finish brushing teeth takes only a few seconds.
So the key seems to be finding something to look forward to while mitigating the negatives with planning.
Oooh, see, I feel the opposite. Where I'm from, it's brutally hot in the summer, and I only like warm showers. Winters, I can just towel off my hair with the water running, dry my body quickly before the steam dissipates, and wrap myself in blankets. But in the summer, it's just misery.
Yep, I loathe showering. It's slightly better in the summer when not as cold, but still I have to psyche myself up to do it
It can be a bit of trial and error but it did me some good! Good luck 
If I shower I have the wide setting as the fine one is hard and feels like prickles. I'm m not keen on the coldness after except when it's hot.
Except in extreme heat I prefer to relax in a bath with my chosen bath soak. The wrong perfume and it isn't relaxing.
Good advice, I should be mindful of the shower head. Right now I’m using my brother-in-law’s shower during weekdays, but I think it’s adjustable? I’ll see tomorrow morning if I can make that a softer flow.
Yeah I get what you are saying about baths. I have a really fancy jacuzzi bathtub in the house we’re moving out of, but I’ve barely used it just because I feel like it’s a little uncomfortable.
Maybe a different shower head would help, one with a softer flow rather than a hard jet? I love my rainfall shower and use the lower moveable one for doing my undercarriage, but I have to be careful I don't give myself an involuntary enema!
I'd love to be able to have a bath, I can get in them OK, but getting out again is difficult and the bath we have is uncomfortable.
If only my mum was like yours when it comes to having baths lol, she just moans and says that it’s unhygienic and I will stink, even though it’s only been a day, sometimes I avoid having a bath for two days, but that’s only if my mum forgets.
because my mum will start moaning about having a bath.
Can you elaborate this, because my mum also used to moan about me taking a bath, but her complaint was that I only had a bath last week. She insisted a bath once a month was more than enough.
Ooo stimming to cope with it! Why haven’t I thought of that? I usually just force myself into it mentally kicking and screaming, so maybe doing a little stim before stepping in/out will help. Thanks!
Ahh I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with showers! I really don't like the transition into and out of the shower (especially in the winter when there's an obvious temperature difference), and i don't like that period of time when you get out of the shower and you're soaking and trying to get dry.
But! I love being in the shower. I love water, and how calming, relaxing and refreshed I feel during it. I always do feel better after having a shower too (once I'm dry and gotten ready).
When I was a kid/teen I used to hate the transition so much that I did avoid showering and had to be told by my parents to shower. But.. I've learned strategies like stimming to cope with that bit now and it's always worth it for me (water is a big source of sensory joy for me).
I also love getting into fresh clothes, so that's a bonus too.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one struggling with this.
Yeah, I also switched my showers to the morning routine because otherwise I would skip it or put it off in the evenings.
I put my daily shower in my morning routine, so I’m basically forced to get on with it (although I’m still running late sometimes because of the time it takes me to convince myself to step into the shower), but there are phases where it’s harder. Sometimes I fall asleep in full sports clothing just because I wasn’t able to bring myself to shower (I know it’s nasty, but that’s the reality and my morning shower fixes that). Back in the day I used to shower in the evenings, but at some point that led to me showering at midnight or even 1 or 2am after sitting on the bathroom floor for hours, trying to build up the strength to go through with it.
Exactly the same here. I nixed swimming altogether about five-six years ago. Getting wet is hard enough, but chlorine? No thanks.
Ahhhh, someone else.
I have always found it hard to get into a shower. Can take me 10 mins or more to build up to stepping in and getting wet.
Once in it is ok, although I don't like the sensation of being wet.
I don't like swimming either.
You know what? Something that has changed is that I now shower in the morning rather than at night. Maybe the sensations of showering are more intense in the morning?
