I have a lot of trouble actually leaving my room and, as a result, sometimes won’t eat for a day or two and won’t bathe or shave for longer. How do you guys convince yourselves to go out and at least eat something?
I pretty much only eat when my alarm tells me it’s Geodon time. Food is so much effort, especially during the summer when everything is just raw produce.
I hate showering, but my fiancé came up with a reward system for me. Basically, if I keep myself clean, I get oral. It has been an excellent motivator for me. I highly recommend it.
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My motivation to bathe is when I can’t stand my own smell. And I bathe before going out so I don’t embarrass myself in public. For eating I find that I like cooked food but I don’t always feel like cooking . So I keep healthy instant or pre-cooked food on hand. I find that it’s good to mix my days and cook when I feel like interspersed with days when I just open a can.
I recommend that on your days that you occasionally feel motivated to eat something more than canned food is to cook up a whole bunch of something you really like and eat of it for the next few days or even freeze it so you can thaw it and eat at your leisure, Like one day, cook up a bunch of chicken pieces and all you have to do for the next few days is open your bedroom door, walk to the refrigerator and grab a chicken leg. Meat is deceptively easy to cook.
Getting a microwave oven will help too. You want to eat as healthy as possible because it will save your health when you get older like me. When old folk tell you health tips it is because they’re true and they know from experience.
But yeah, buy a can opener and buy tuna on sale. Get a big bowl and make up a big batch of tuna salad with mayonnaise and chopped onions and relish and put it in your refrigerator. Wouldn’t it be easy to have a big bowl of food waiting for you to walk in and spoon in a bowl? It takes 60 seconds. You can force yourself to leave your room for two minutes at a time, can’t you?
Maybe the solution is to buy a mini- fridge for $80.00 and put it in your room and stock it up once a week with easy food so you have food without going out. But I would strongly urge you to leave your room when you can.
Yeah, healthy canned food is an option. Open a can of vegetables or soup or chili, put it I the microwave and in 50 seconds you get a semi-healthy meal. Microwave ovens are ridiculously cheap, I’ve seen them on sale for as little as $30.00 ! But yeah, if you have readymade easily prepared or pre-cooked food you are more likely to want to go out of your room to eat it.
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Smelling good is good for the limbic system, which is good for your mental illness. Honestly, I don’t shower everyday but I try. I also don’t want to be embarrassed smelling in public. My mom also reminds me to shower. I also get pleasure from showering now and don’t get panic attacks anymore. I end up feeling refreshed.
I eat 2-3 times a day because I’m hungry. Food gives me pleasure. I also don’t feel well when I don’t eat.
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The main reason I shower almost every day is I don’t want people to make remarks about my hygiene in public. I am really self-conscious about it so I keep my beard trimmed and shave regularly, on top of brushing my teeth once a day for fresh breath. I’m almost vegetarian, still eat meat but not as often. I can’t cook at all, so I’ll either get a sandwich and soup or salad at the many restaurants downstairs or when I’ll shop for food I will choose easy-to-prepare meals like chili, tuna can, cheese slices, cereal. Lots of fruits and I try to incorporate vegetables too.
I’ve just recently changed my diet, on some days I will starve because I’m too lazy to get something or the fridge is empty, it’s like fasting, but I won’t go a day without eating. Been there, done that, it isn’t a good idea for mental stability.
Good advice from everybody in this thread! 
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I try to eat healthy foods that require light cooking and are easy to prepare, like eggs, canned kidney beans, frozen veggies etc…
My motivation is pretty low - I shower like once every 5 days or so and use an Electric shaver.
Thank goodness I don’t sweat a lot or have body odor.
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@cj9556 I dislike sex and being touched a lot of the time, so that doesn’t sound like a great motivator for me, but I’m glad it works for you and your fiancé.
@77nick77 I actually have a mini fridge, but it’s empty most of the time. That’s all really great advice, but getting the ingredients sounds difficult. Sometimes it’s hard to leave the room for even two minutes. The house is a whole other story.
@astefano Yeah, I usually feel better after taking a shower, it’s just doing it that’s difficult.
@ekoms I am also mostly vegetarian because a lot of the people I live with are, but quite a few moved out and new people moved in so that may begin to change. I’m too poor to eat out, but I’m trying to get into the habit of making healthy food.
@Wave I have trouble trusting canned/frozen food, but I’ve been trying to eat fruits and eggs.
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I don’t have a problem.
I eat at least 2 meals a day.
Usually some type of steak or chicken is involved.
And shower sometimes up to 3 times a day.
I usually try go for a walk when I first wake up in the morning or whenever I wake up if it’s the afternoon or midnight and come home and shower to start my day. I just don’t feel right if I haven’t been cleaned, it starts my day horribly it’s like a horrible feeling I have when I’m not wide awake after a coffee and a shower and fresh clothes on. makes me feel depressed and not right for the day.
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I think that I would feel the same way if I could convince myself to actually do those things, but alas, I cannot.
I have trouble leaving my room too. I am in an assisted living center where we have day treatment, so I have to go to day treatment during the week days. I don’t go much of anywhere else. We go to town once a week as a group. I’ve been doing okay with the showering lately. For a while, when I was drinking a lot, I hardly ever showered. I was always sweating out alcohol, so I looked greasy. I’m glad those days are gone. I’ve never had any trouble eating. In fact, I like it too much. I always have to fight to keep my weight down. For a while I was walking back and forth briskly in my room for two hours a day. That helped burn calories, so I could eat more. My feet and knees hurt when I did this, so I’m cutting back on my walking in my room.
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you’ll get there don’t worry just bit at a time force yourself into doing so.
I made a list. I’m going to take a shower, do laundry, go to the library, and do my dishes this afternoon. First time leaving my room in four days. First time leaving my house in longer.
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Good luck 
I did it! 15151515151515
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You need a routine you follow regularly. I have a set shower time at 8 pm. If I miss my 8 pm shower time and go off schedule it often takes me hours to get in. Also have scheduled times during the day for meals. I also just tend to not eat if I don’t have it worked into my normal routine.
Routine, routine, routine. Vastly important for mental illness. Do everything the same time every day so it becomes a reflex almost.
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