#depression hack

Do you have trouble getting out of bed to brush your teeth? Or have trouble brushing your teeth in general? I feel you, brushing your teeth has a lot of steps. What if you could boil it down to one?

Consider: dry brush your teeth. This helps get the big particles out so they don't build up and create plaque and irritate your gums / cause cavities. This is honestly the most important part of dental hygiene, toothpaste be damned.

Take that a step further -or, backwards? Why should you have to go all the way to the bathroom if you're not gonna rinse? Just keep your tooth brush by your bed. Now you don't have to get up, it's right there and you don't have to deal with toothpaste or water on your face. If you can swish with water or something after to make sure all the loose stuff is out, that's good too. (I literally just swallow it)

Upping the game a bit: when brushing with toothpaste just spit it out. Don't bother with rinsing. I have special prescription fluoride toothpaste I'm not supposed to rinse out, and since I removed that step it's been SO much easier to brush my teeth. It takes a little getting used to but you won't notice it after a while. And ofc you can bring that to your bed too. Maybe keep a lil cup or trashcan to spit into.

Other options: alcohol free mouthwash (the fluoride stuff). If brushing is too much work, just swish some mouthwash. But also if brushing is too much work I'd recommend an electric. It's worth it, teeth are much more expensive.

Get a smaller toothbrush. Try a kid's toothbrush, they're smaller and softer bristled so it's easier on your gums and easier to brush your back teeth. This can help with texture issues.

Get some floss picks. If you think you can manage a normal roll, go for it. If not I highly recommend the picks. Takes all the stress and dexterity out of trying to keep the floss tensioned. (I'd suggest picks with a slightly wavy handle, the straight ones are a little harder to maneuver).

Final, easiest option: try to swish some water around after eating anything. It'll help remove loose food and neutralize sugars/acids. My dentist told me to do this (in addition to everything else) so it's a good fall back.

In summary: brushing your teeth is honestly really difficult if you're depressed or chronically ill and or disabled. There's no shame in that. So fuck the rules: brush in bed, rinse in the kitchen, floss at the dinner table.

Hopefully you can try just one of these suggestions to make things easier for you. You don't have to do all of them. In fact, that'd be completely counter to the point.

TL;DR

Dry brush, no water or toothpaste

Dry brush in bed

Don't rinse after using toothpaste, just spit it out

Same thing but in bed (maybe get a cup)

Use alcohol free fluoride mouthwash (or whatever you can get)

Can also be done in bed (again, get a cup)

Get a smaller, softer toothbrush (kids brush)

And/ or an electric toothbrush (try a kid's brush)

Get floss picks (keep by your bed)

If you can't do any of these, just rinse with water after eating.

Remember, anything is better than nothing!

This is all fairly cheap too! Prices under the cut.

Mental health has been shit lately and I’m moving in a month and I don’t currently have a dishwasher so my dishes are piled high and I don’t have clean utensils anymore

So I made a deal with myself: clean all your dishes and buy plastic utensils and paper plates and bowls

So I cleaned everything, put it all away, and now I won’t clean a single dish until I move next month and have a dishwasher