Poor hygiene affects more than just your physical appearance. It goes beyond dirty clothes, ungroomed hair, dirty nails, and body odor. Poor hygiene can also affect one’s mental health, make one more susceptible to diseases, and even hinder one’s self-esteem.
Here are some more ways that poor hygiene can hinder one’s growth:
Depleted Mental Health
A cloudy appearance can cause social and professional isolation, leading to increased mental health issues. Feelings of loneliness and failure can harm your mental health and lead to chronic depression or anxiety. Poor hygiene and mental health issues can lead to a lack of growth for many people. The lack of cleanliness is a symptom of a mental disorder, and everyone deserves the assistance that ShowerUp can provide.
Increased Health Risks
Poor hygiene can also increase your chance of catching illness or disease. For many communities experiencing homelessness, their risk of infection is heightened due to the lack of personal hygiene resources and the lack of a secure roof over their head. Many diseases affecting the skin surface and gastrointestinal tract come from poor bathing, dirty clothes, and not washing your hands. The CDC’s list of hygiene-related illnesses includes parasitic fungal infections that will remain in or on your body until they are treated.
Lack of Self-Esteem
Self-esteem and physical appearance are related to one another. How you care for your appearance is connected to your self-image and how others perceive you. If people avoid you at work or social situations because of poor hygiene, your self-esteem will likely suffer. This can lead to a downward spiral of poor self-esteem, causing a why-bother view of personal hygiene and leading to further avoidance and isolation.
Get Involved with ShowerUp
Our mission at ShowerUp is to provide all those experiencing homelessness with the hygiene services necessary to improve their life quality. If you are interested in getting involved at one of our locations – Nashville, Wichita, Huntsville, Chicago, Boston, Hartford, Chattanooga – donate today to contribute to our communities.
