Hygiene issues-- Am I really that disgusting?

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I have heard that there is a psychological reason that people enjoy putting others off with body odor or excessive weight. It forms a much needed barrier between themselves and others, which only the offending person knows the reason for.

It is a way to help encourage people to leave you alone. Why make yourself more approachable when you don't want to be approached?

That wouldn't be why I'd sometimes go out without showering though, even though I want people to leave me alone. The more I have to do to go out the more time I have to decide to stay home so sometimes if I feel like going out I need to throw on some clothes and go or I'll end up just staying home.

I was raised on bath night once a week, usually Sunday.. the whole every day thing actually came as a surprise to me and seemed to appear out of nowhere somewhere in the early 80's - I put it down to advertising (I still stick to baths - showers make my flesh creep).

I've slowly learned to conform to the norms.. I now change clothes every other day instead of once a week, clean my armpits with antibacterial handwash (which seems to me to be a better idea than buying expensive perfumes.. easier to stop the smell at source) and it seems to suffice.

It still feels pointless.. but it's at least a routine that doesn't eat into my day too much.

My parents, interestingly, still stick to the old once a week ritual and don't smell at all, so maybe I'm overdoing it... but I know there are some that are hypersensitive to this stuff.

(The increase in changing clothes has created quite a lot of extra work though, and the house is now covered with drying clothes.. No idea how people cope with more often, or families.. they must live under piles of wet clothes permanently!).

I was too and Sunday night was bath night.



They don't. They either have a dryer at home or go to the laundromat. It was less than a year ago that I was still doing almost all my laundry by hand. I moved and in my new place I can't do laundry by hand because you can't plug up and unplug the bathroom sink easily and it's too small. Also we don't have an outdoor porch more for extra room to hang dripping clothes. We just have the rack in the tub. There is a dryer in the hall and a laundromat nearby though. My mother still does hers by hand.

I like the feeling of being fresh and clean. So I shower once every day or two. I think it's good to change clothes every day or two to maintain a fresh scent and clean looking clothes. Most people gain a musky scent after a couple days being unwashed in various spots, not always enough for other people around to smell, but still it's a unclean smell. I suppose it's not bad as long as it doesn't linger into other people's noses. People tend to also get oily/grimy/smelly hair if they don't wash it after a few days or so at least that I what I have noticed.

i didn't get to bathe for a week while in hospital, and i reeked. i hate being dirty.

I think that most people who have the mentality that you do think that nobody notices their poor hygiene, but in reality, people do. Not only do people notice it, but they do not appreciate it, and would prefer to not be around it.

I once knew a guy who obviously re-wore his tee shirts constantly. He reeked. I doubt he knew that he reeked, otherwise I think that he would probably wash his clothes more often. He would than complain about not being able to get a girlfriend. He was pretty sensitive, so I wasn't about to be the one to inform him that his poor hygiene could be a factor. I'm sure he would have just responded by insulting me, so I wasn't about to do him a favor in exchange for an insult. No one else told him either, and I started avoiding him because he was gross, and rude to me...but the "gross" was definitely a factor.

I shower every time I got out but not if I'm staying at home not doing anything (mostly on weekends but before I was working or on holidays occasionally several days in a row). I usually brush my teeth once a day, occasionally twice but also often one, so probably about 5 times a week :p. I wear the same clothes 2-3 times* although tops will usually only be worn once. (I do the sniff test haha). *underwear and socks are only ever worn once.

However I am really paranoid about smelling. Sometimes I think I can smell myself and I get incredibly selfconscious about it. I carry deodorant around in my bag. I think I have bad foot odor and sometimes b.o from armpits.

I know this is a stupid question to ask people that have never seen me let alone smelt me but after reading the comments on the first page I"m even more insecure about my b.o.

Do you think it's likely that I DO smell? No one has ever pointed that out to me (and been in a few relationships and Ive at times told my bf's they smell because I am very sensitive to this stuff ...I only mention that because i feel considering I have said it to them they would have said it to me in return if it was true right? ).

Would really like opinions on this! (Although they may just completely and truly crush my self esteem and even though I can change it now the shame of having gone around most of my life literally smelling will be difficult to overcome).

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