How my mental state is sabotaging my beauty routine — and I’ve finally learned to stop judging myself for it glamor

In fact, various search terms on the topic are trending on TikTok — like “skincare for depression” and “sad 60-second routine” with videos showing how difficult it is to maintain a beauty routine when you’re in poor mental health.

In one video, subtitled “At least something…” a crying woman looks at herself in the bathroom mirror, splashes water on her face, pats it dry with a towel and walks away. In another post, which begins with the title “Realistic Morning Routine of a Depressed Lawyer,” the creator washes her face but doesn’t brush her teeth, pragmatically mixes foundation with moisturizer, and simply puts her hair up because she has “no can muster motivation for a hairstyle”.

Some users, like @skinfiltrator, offer practical skincare advice in times when the psyche is drained: “I suffer from chronic depression and wanted to show how I balance my skincare routine with my mental health,” says the creator in one of the videos. “I try to use what I have around me instead of going to the bathroom.” She then shares her stripped-down routine for bad mental health days: applying cleanser, misting face with water, rubbing with a cotton pad dipped in micellar water, and applying moisturizer. It is important for the creator to mention that this routine can also be too much on some days: “And you know what? If you’re feeling too depressed to do it yourself, that’s okay too,” she adds.

So the relationship between our mental health and our beauty and wellness routine can be a very complicated one, which can be linked to our sense of self-worth during periods of depression, explains clinical psychologist Dr. Linnie Telford: “When we have a low mood and feel incapable and unmotivated to do basic routine tasks, it can come with a lack of self-esteem, but also with hopelessness and helplessness or fatigue.” It is normal that we then have less energy to take care of our appearance. It is particularly important to label the lack of motivation for routines as laziness. Because it is and remains a symptom that should not be taken lightly, says Telford.

So what can we do when we find ourselves in such a mental health dip?

It seems counterintuitive, but much of the advice that the National Health Service puts out, for example, is aimed at self-care to improve mood. But how are we supposed to practice more self-care when just brushing your teeth can feel like climbing Mount Everest? Not to mention following a nine-step spa skincare routine à la Kim Kardashian.

“You have to get rid of the idea that you have to be motivated to do all these self-care exercises,” Telford said. It is not important to go straight from depression to a walking self-love center, but to pick out small exercises that remind you that you are capable of action: “Try to break down the actions into individual steps; often we are overwhelmed by what we feel we must do and the need to do it all in its entirety. For example, instead of going through a full beauty routine, wouldn’t it be a good start to wash your face every morning for a week? Or make a commitment to brush your teeth before 2 p.m.?”

This is where my therapist, my best friend, and Dr. Telford agrees: Too often when we’re feeling down, we think it has to be “all or nothing” — it is something much better than nothing, and even the smallest effort can help us feel better. So, on her advice (three medics can’t be wrong, right?), I drag myself out of my pit, where I’m lying in bed, watching serial killer documentaries with the curtains drawn, ignoring WhatsApp messages, and slowly getting into the shower, switching to wash my hair.

Baby steps – and lower expectations

At first my legs feel like lead and my mind is kind of blurry – like white noise. That’s a bad idea, it doesn’t feel good I guess. But slowly, as I feel the warm water on my skin and inhale the soothing vanilla scent of my shampoo, I start to feel less foggy. A little lighter. Afterwards, I’m a little happy about how clean my scalp feels. Who knows, I might even shave my legs tomorrow. But just maybe. baby steps And next time I guess an episode like this, hopefully I’m not being too hard on myself.

This article comes from our GLAMOR colleagues from UK.

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