Ah yes, I see we are doing Shower Discourse yet again

Disabled folks who have trouble with showering regularly (whether due to Dysautonomia or depression or something else): please be gentle with yourself today

#NEISvoid

also seriously, no judgements. sometimes showering is just Not A Thing Your BodyMind Can Do. And sure, there's a lot you can maybe do with wipes or dry shampoo or whatever.

But I just want you to know that I don't think you're less of a person if you're kinda ripe rn.

Also maybe you would like to laugh, so here it is, my favorite shower joke: https://twitter.com/wool_ewe/status/1360313132451790851?s=19

I currently have three modes for getting myself clean(er):

1. Wipe myself down with a washcloth and soap

2. What I call a "rinse" (sit in my shower chair under tepid water for a bit)

3. A shower but I focus on cleaning whatever is most dirty

Technically I *could* do what a lot of people consider a typical shower, where I shampoo my hair and use soap to wash all over my body

But if I do that, I basically crash for more than a day so that is a For Special Occasions or Extreme Filth type of shower for me

Anyway, maybe someday showering will be easier again and I can get that delicious clean feeling more regularly

But if you're in a similar situation wrt energy and showering, or just. Getting the executive functioning to shower, or whatever. You're not alone, and I don't judge.

After my lumbar puncture this fall I was *exceedingly* smelly due to a combo of The Pain Sweats and needing to stay horizontal so my spinal CSF leak would hopefully heal

So I basically just used Water Wipes on whatever I could reach every day or so

You do what you can

Anyway, if you're able to shower as often as you want to or whenever you feel dirty, I'm honestly very happy for you

But please don't judge those of us who uh...cannot do that

And also please do not forget that we exist

Because forgetting that disabled people exist, like "of course I wasn't talking about you! I'm just talking about a thing that affects you"

Is, uh, not great https://twitter.com/Pastalijah/status/1385604539168948224?s=19

Also I honestly wish I could just mute the word "shower" forever and never actually have to see this discourse again

But then I'd miss out on talking about shower chairs, feeling tired after showers, tips for when showers are difficult, etc

Also, I don't feel like I'm qualified to talk about race as it relates to shower discourse

But if you want to learn more, because it definitely plays a role, here is a good thread https://twitter.com/thespinsterymc/status/1378820613939281923?s=19

TBH I usually try to stay out of Shower Discourse because it's just the same dang arguments every time basically

But I hate that there are people reading the latest round of snarky comments, and feeling judged for being too sick to shower regularly (or at all)