Baths vs. Showers and Why This Schizoaffective Prefers the Bath

A lot of people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and other mental illnesses complain that they don’t like to shower when they're sick. I don’t either—I prefer baths. In my humble opinion, a good hot bath is so much better than a shower, whether or not you have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Here’s why.

I Prefer a Hot Bath to a Shower for Self-Care

Right off the bat, it’s so much easier to shave your legs in a bath. (If you don’t shave your legs you might want to skip to the next paragraph.) This is wisdom. Taking baths actually lends an air of ritualistic self-indulgence to shaving one’s legs—because I take baths, I actually look forward to when I have to shave my legs, and I keep my legs clean-shaven even through the winter.

There’s an air of self-indulgence to taking baths in general. Bathing is downright meditative. Instead of starting each day with a quick shower, I end it with a blissful bath.

A lot of people are surprised that I wash my long hair in the bath. Up until very recently, I was mixing up my bathing routine every few days with a shower to wash my hair. I have to admit, once I was in a shower, it wasn’t that bad. It just wasn’t as nice as taking a bath. But the night before last, I washed my hair in the bath, and I think I’m going to stick with that. It feels right.

Is Schizoaffective Disorder to Blame for My Dirty Hair?

I don’t know if this has anything to do with my schizoaffective disorder, but I hate washing my hair. I love bathing, but not washing my hair.

I’ve always hated this task. I live in the United States of America, in a culture where we bathe (preferably shower) every day and, for the most part, are expected to wash our hair once a day. The only excuse I can give for my dislike of washing my hair is that it takes up so much energy. If baths feel pampering, washing my hair feels like a chore, especially since I like to keep my hair long.

I Need My Energy to Battle Schizoaffective Disorder In and Out of The Bath (Or Shower)

A lot of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder complain about feeling like we don’t have enough energy to do basic, rudimentary tasks. We’re not lazy—it’s just that it takes a lot of energy to go through the day second-guessing your own thoughts. We are constantly facing battles with our own minds. That saps a lot of energy.

I do my best to be clean and presentable. I bathe every day, and on days when my hair may be a bit greasy, I wear it tied back. And anyway, they say it’s good for your hair not to wash it every day. My duel with my hair doesn’t mean I dislike fashion. I express myself a lot with fashion—I wear statement t-shirts and distinctive silver jewelry. I do what I can. I brush my hair a lot and try to brush away the guilt instilled by so much advertising to wash, wash, wash--and, of course, to use as much shampoo as possible.

Reasons I Prefer Baths to Showers