Why You Should Start Caring About How You Look

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Over the years, iv'e known a ton of people with autism and aspergers and one thing I notice about many people on the spectrum is that they have poor appearance and hygiene due to not caring about how they look. They don't comb their hair, they don't shower, they don't put any effort into clothes selection or style, they don't bother working out. And the sad thing is that many of them aren't terrible looking guys, they just don't see the point of caring about how they look so others think they're ugly. The experts say autism does not affect personal appearance but too many of us don't take personal hygiene seriously enough. And as a guy who's known over 100 people with it, I definitely know this is true.


Here's the truth about life, not only does your behavior affects how people treat you but so does your appearance. It's why those with baby faces are more likely to come off as innocent, why nobody wants to hit a woman, or why nobody takes a little kid's opinion too seriously. It's also why everybody thought Susan Boyle was going to suck simply because she was ugly and plain. Whether you like it or not, you are being judged by your appearance and others are making assumptions about you even if it's sub-conscious.

There are some things about your appearance that you can't change. But there are some things that you CAN change and this will make people think more highly of you. You can first start off by giving a sht about how you look. Comb your hair, shower every single day, shave, get better clothes, get a better haircut, wear nice and fitting clothes, find a style for you. Because if you dress like a slob, people will see you as lazy, unintelligent, or not as friendly. That's why it's always important to care about how you look, I don't care who you are.

Secondly, start working out to either lose or gain weight. I know that many people with autism/aspergers dislike exercising but there are so many health benefits to running or working out with weights. For one thing, you're going to get a better body and this will make you feel better about yourself and as a result you will become more confident. Also, aerobic exercising increases the hardness of your erections and releases endorphins which helps fight off stress.

Nutrition is equally important. There's an old saying that your body will treat you the same way you treat it. If all you are doing is eating junk, then your body will punish you for it but if you are eating plenty of good and healthy food, your body will reward you. If you feel like you need to gain muscle, start working out with weights and eat plenty of protein.


And even though appearance matters, it is not everything because you know what else people judge you on? Your behavior and character. You can be the reincarnation of a greek god but if you never take work seriously, or show up to work shirtless and start farting stairway to heaven do you think anybody is going to take you seriously? Probably not...

But on the bright side though, you'll probably be a hit on Youtube.

The minute I become independent, I'll make sure to do these things. My mother has always taught me to care about my appearance, but not be vain. You made excellent points.

I have too many food aversions to eat healthy. I want to be a healthy eater more than anything, but I can't do it.

You should write for Wikihow.

I gave up years ago.

I drink beer.

I say the wrong thing.

I don't get clothes.

Years behind fashion without knowing what fashion actually is.

I don't think there is argument against the statement that looks are important in society unfortunately. The problem is people's looks can betray them as the saying goes. Some people can have a less attractive appearance and have a nice personality and yet other people can judge you as a bad person because of your appearance and not care about your personality. This is one of the biggest problems in western society, looks affect people's job prospects, relationship prospects and even friendship prospects. I suppose it is the sad and unfair truth but when I can't motivate myself to maintain personal hygiene I'm not really helping myself, even though the lack of motivation is caused by the low self esteem and having no friends in the first place.

I have the same problem. Severe sensitivity has ruined my ability to eat many things. My stomach sucks, it's literally broken. I get stomach aches CONSTANTLY, and adding onto this I'm extremely reactive to cheeses vegetables and hot food (I love all of them but I just can't eat them).

I did all those things while I held down a job ... erm, several jobs ... for 30 years. I was exhausted, terrified, and independent. And well-dressed etc. Each day I flung myself from bed to shower to clothes according to the day of the week, walked a couple of miles to work accompanied by my invisible friend, a commando, who talked the whole way, saying "We'll stick together, you'll make it" etc. Twice a day. I think he was my guardian angel in disguise. But it was the only way to be respectable.

Except my hair - always wet. Had to keep flinging myself outwards; stopping to dry hair would have put me back to bed.

SO! I have taken my retirement and I have my guaranteed retirement money and I live in a shack and I don't need my commando and dad-blast-it if anybody thinks I'm going to get back on the merry-go-round!

When people's opinion of me created my salary, I managed. But now - nope.

I realized this late....but it still not enough.

I also think that eating healthy is a big issue in this society. Healthy foods can cost twice as much as fattening foods, organic healthy foods can be three times as much. Not to mention, the schools don't care about your health. I'll give an example, gym used to be six months long, now it's three months long. It's pretty pathetic. I know a bunch of kids (myself included, because I obviously know myself) who want to be healthy, but their families cannot afford it or someone thinks there's an issue with them. My mother thought I had anorexia when I wanted to eat healthy. The only thing she said was, "You are not a teenage girl." Boys can have body issues too! I'm tired of it all being centred around girls.

^^

I agree with OP.

Looks play a huge part in how people judge and respect you.

When I was thirty plus pounds heavier, miserable, and eating really unhealthy stuff people didn't like me much. My self confidence was shot to pieces.

Obviously I wasn't taking care of myself and of course people pick up on that.

Women avoided me, and people didn't want to even talk to me.


I had to take small steps to improve myself.
People have a lot more respect for me now, and I look and feel a lot better.

But I still struggle most days to find the motivation to keep my head up and not to fall back into the all to familiar clutches of my depression.

I'm not saying changing your appearance will be a magic cure all for all your problems but taking care of yourself can help enormously.

I totally agree with OP.

No one wants to be around a smelly unkempt slob.

I take my personal hygiene seriously, it's almost an OCD thing. If I don't brush my teeth and shower the first few minutes I'm awake, I start to panic and feel disgusting.

Fix yourself up ffs

Why?
What's the point?
Attract people so they can be left in no doubt of my inability to connect with others?

I so want to say 'Hey Rally that isn't true'

I can't though, inside I'm like 'Sing it ma sistah'.

Well bugger it then I guess I'll shave.

Actually I haven't experienced a total dearth of female interest lately, it's just tough to fixate on aspects of my background I can talk about without seeming robotic &/or feral. I'll try & gradually darken my clothes I think. I don't really live somewhere I can dress formally & stay clean but I can at least keep things sharp.