Can't Take Care of Myself, Help!!

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I have been left completely alone in the house for two weeks and I don't know I'm going to manage. I am no good at cleaning and I forget to brush my hair, teeth, or bathe. I am scared to leave the house to go to the grocery store and my fridge is near empty.

Basically I'm f***ed up bad enough that I'm having trouble taking care of myself.

Help anybody??

List are a wonderful thing. Plan out your daily tasks - write them down and stick them in obvious spots. Sticky notes are great for this.

Examples:

- On the bathroom mirror: MORNING --> take shower, wash face, brush teeth, comb hair. EVENING --> Wash face, brush teeth.

- On the fridge: TUESDAY --> shopping / buy: bread, OJ, jam, apples, lettuce, chicken, potatoes.

A little pre-planning can go a long way - good luck

Thank you. That might work.

Do you have a dry erase board? much of the time I write reminders for me to do things I might forget about on one of those I have or sticky notes or paper I tape to the wall where I will see it . That is the only way I can figure to try and remember little things like that, aside from just attempting to remember and forgetting regardless. Why are you afraid to go to the grocery store?

I'm afraid to leave the house most days due to anxiety disorder.

Take some time to exercise some consciousness about your body. Really, if it helps you, get to a mirror, and look over your body. Examine what you see.

Run your fingers through your hair. Do the follicles seem healthy? Is there too much grease build-up for your liking? In your experience, what makes you feel better about the hair? Bathing and using a good shampoo and conditioner.

After you bathe and fully dry your hair, compare how you felt before with how you feel afterward. Clean hair has greater volume, feels lighter, and provides better insulation. It feels better to run your fingers through. Try to remember that this is a thing that helps you feel better.

Get to know your gums. They ought to be a soft pink, but just remember what color they are when they are healthy. When you clean them regularly, they stay that nice soft pink color, and they don't develop any redness. Take note of the fact that they feel slightly itchy if you don't brush or floss for a couple of days, and they start looking a slightly more "inflamed" color in places. Paying attention to these details helps you remember to brush.

Spend some time getting to know your refrigerator. Stand in the door for a few minutes, taking care not to leave it open long enough to let in too much heat (I would say five minutes, and close), and take some time to take an inventory of what is in there. Think about what you are going to do with what is in there, and think about what you would need to have the meals that you have in mind. Compare the types of foods you have swirling around in your mind to what you see in the refrigerator, and think about how nice the shelves would look with the stuff you don't need OUT and the stuff you need IN.

The trick I am suggesting comes down to developing familiarity and friendly relations with things in your environment...and with your body.

Leaving the house ought to work the same. Find a small grocer or convenience store near you, and just get to know the manager. Develop ongoing relations. Try to talk about your situation, and try to familiarize yourself with who is going to be there and when. Even if it's just some poor quality gas station a couple of blocks from you, it gives you access to food and contact with somebody who is aware of your situation.

That makes sense, do you take any meds for it? Admittedly there are times I am afraid to leave my house over anxiety...so might pre-emptively take some Valium so I don't have a panic attack triggered if I am that on edge...or I have a drink or smoke a bowl(not saying drugs/meds are the most wonderful coping mechanism but don't see what else to do). Also I do not drive when I leave my house I either walk or take the bus so don't have to worry about impaired driving on my part either. Part of it is also just the fear of having a panic attack in public....Then there are times I just end up staying home even if its something I really want to do.

Is this general agrophobia or something more specific?

I went through severe anxiety attacks and agoraphobia, it sucks that you're dealing with this. What helped me was to become aware of my self-talk. Things I was telling myself that was causing my anxiety and fear.

If you can understand what you're saying to yourself, then you can change it. It takes work and practice, but whatever you're feeling is based on negative dialogue, all or nothing thinking and irrational belief(s). Listen to your negative dialogue and change it to realistic, supportive and positive self-talk. The more you do it, the easier and better it gets. Hope that helps.

Many stores have a service that is not advertised.... they deliver groceries to your door. Normally done for elderly, people with certain disabilities or mothers of newborns who cannot leave the home.

You can call your closest grocery store and ask if they have such a service.

You need to make contact with the outside world in a way that connects you to interaction with a person. Consider phoning an anonymous helpline; it will be hard to pick up the phone and dial, hard to talk at first though that is par for the course and people on the other end understand how hard it can be. This might help you find some energy afterwards, it can recharge the batteries a bit, so to speak.