Social Anxiety Disorder sufferers please give it a try. It's free, worked a 100% for me and you have nothing to lose. Updates on my progress at the bottom of this post.
It was in the daily soaps I was using.
For 50 years I suffered badly from various forms of anxiety disorders/depression and many other issues. On about the 12th November the year I was watching a video explaining the damaging chemicals in soaps. Because your skin is the largest organ of your body and is porous it will absorb what you put on it. As I was desperate to find a solution to my issues I decided to try showering without soap and shampoo to see what would happen.
On a normal day out and about, usually only for short periods any incident was more than likely to send my anxiety through the roof. Those who have anxiety disorders will know what I am talking about. It could be a stranger approaching me asking for money. A loud noise. Somebody disrespecting me. Walking through a crowd or sometimes only one person coming towards me. I would often return home a bundle of anxiety nerves and would have to lie down to destress for an hour or more. I used to have serious depression issues and when things got really bad I would spend up to a week in my apartment without leaving.
Getting back to my results of not using soaps. Almost all of us are brain washed into believing that using soaps is a must. After showering soap free from day one I was aware that my anxiety didn't hit the ceiling when an incident occurred. It stayed stable. This started to get me excited and wondering what would happen if I continued with my soap free showers. I continued to shower without soap for another 5 days and my health started to improve in leaps and bounds. Even my depression and any bad body odour I had disappeared completely. On day 7 I decided to use soap again, but just once. I can't remember what happened that day but I continued for another week with soap free showers thereafter and my health continued to improve to a point that it put a smile on my face.
On 27th November I purchased a chemical free soap from a health shop. I used it to wash myself, shampoo my hair and shave with. Within hours my anxiety was back with a vengeance. I used it for two days in a row so as to gather more evidence and be 100% sure that it was a problem. All I can tell you it was a very very bad day for me. This morning I went soap free again and within hours my health started to improve again. I can't wait to see what happens next. In conclusion there was something in both my regular supermarket soaps and health shop chemical free soap that was causing my anxiety disorder.
I would also recommended that you go deodorant free so as to monitor your body odour improving. Even after exercising I smelt great.
To all Social Anxiety Disorder sufferers please try this and let me know if you get the same results as I am currently getting. If it works for you all I ask is that you help others with Social Anxiety Disorders and leave a comment. I have no doubt in my mind that if it cured my Social Anxiety Disorder then it has to work for many others. As trying this idea costs you nothing you have nothing to lose, hopefully just your Social Anxiety Disorder . Good luck!!
Going soap free could help with general depression, anxiety etc. The list of things is has cured for me is growing longer daily. Please read the updates below as they contain more valuable information.
Update 1/12/17
Just had another soap free shower and I feel even better that yesterday. Currently I do use a little shaving cream to shave with but that's it and doesn't seem to affect my progress. I just returned from a walk in the park and my anxiety was almost at zero and I feel great. Please keep in mind that I don't smoke, drink or do drugs/medication so my progress will probably be different to yours. Just came back from the shops where I spoke to 2 people which is something I would usually avoid doing. I was slightly nervous but being only my second non soap free day I am still a little bit fragile. One thing I realized was that women will have an issue with no makeup and perfume. I think that as long as you can go soap free then perfume and makeup could be okay to continue using regardless but this is just guesswork.
Update 2/12/17
Had another soap free shower at 9am. This is the earliest shower I have had in a very long time. Usually I only get up at after 1pm to shower. I purchased some face cloths yesterday which I found much easier to use whilst showering. I am feeling very clean and refreshed in spite of using no soap. I'm thinking about approaching my local newspaper to see if they will share my story. Let's see what today brings. Okay so I didn't get much sleep as usual last night however I fell asleep earlier than usual. I spent the day relaxing and watching my favorite TV shows back to back. At about 5.30pm I went out to the shops. I went to a few big retailers with lots of people all around me and my anxiety was possibly at zero. What a pleasure.
Update 3/12/17
Had my 4th soap free shower at 11am. I had a better nights sleep. Just returned from a brisk walk in the park. I had absolutely no fear of the dogs that came close to me. People were greeting me and giving me a big smile. All this is not normal for me and it makes me feel great. No more "Fight, Freeze, Flee decisions". I think it is because the dogs didn't sense any fear and the people didn't sense any negativity. What's also great is I still have my normal anxiety as a warning system which hasn't been destroyed by medication that I was subjected to in the past.
Update 4/12/17
Had my 5th soap free shower at 10am. II noticed my craving for sweet things and crisps has dramatically diminished.
Update 6/12/17
Yesterday I did a 400+ km trip from Tralee to Galway, Ireland. I was desperate for a haircut and my barber was in Galway so I decided to go for it. I wanted to test out my motion sickness issue. The trip there was 2 bus trips ( 2.5 hrs & 1.45: total 4.15 hrs) I was feeling sick after about 2hrs into the trip. This to me was a a vast improvement. I could read my bus timetable without feeling immediate nausea. I had my haircut, spent about an hour in Galway and then started my return journey. I was unwell during my 1.45hr first part of my return journey. I had obviously taken on too much at this stage. Fortunately I went walkabout in a town called Limerick whilst waiting for the remainder of my trip which I decided to do by train. The train trip was great with no motion sickness. I was however very tired and just wanted to get into bed. I woke up at 7am and returned at 9pm so it was a long day for me. However I still had the energy to make dinner and get the best nights sleep since I can remember. This morning I had my 7th soap free shower and I feel great a smell great too.
Update 18/12/17
Okay so I haven't done an update in a while. I am still anxiety and depression free and taking my soap free showers. Unfortunately I've had a rotary cuff injury which still hasn't healed after 7 months. If it wasn't for this injury I would be ready for full time employment.
Check my blog for continued updates: @readallaboutit
I'm not surprised. I have become very sensitive to smell myself. I get the most severe migraines from things like washing detergent or some cheap perfumes. It is so bad that even the smell of the neighbour showering or spraying on deodorant can trigger a migraine. I am relatively close the the neighbour where my office is LOL!
Have you tried completely natural products. I can't suggest anything off hand, but literally the homemade type of stuff?
I tried an olive based natural soap and my anxiety disorder came back within hours. The longer I go soap free the more I realize that I don't need the stuff. I'm not sure what it is in the soaps that cause this to happen but at this stage I don't even want to try anything as it's more than likely going to put me back there again. Some industrial dish washing liquids make my nose run almost immediately when doing the dishes. Not in its usual form but when it is mixed with water. I think the manufacturers deliberately put certain ingredients into their products tempting you to go out and buy more of their products to solve a problem created by them. Example the bath soap makes you smell when you sweat so you then need the us their deodorants to combat the smell. I bet if you take any product of theirs you will experience a side effect and they will undoubtedly have another product offering a solution. I have been soap free for 6 weeks now and have no intention of using soap again. It's just a psychological thing of not using soap I struggled with at first. I removed all soaps from my bathroom which made it easier. I had no Idea that I had a Social Anxiety Disorder my whole life until I started reading up about it and was only diagnosed a few years ago. I thought I just had a nervous personality. Many people have it but just haven't realized that it is not normal. If I were you I would go soap free for a few days and see what happens. You've got nothing to lose and you may be surprised at the results. I've realized that we have been scammed our whole lives by these businesses so that they can make huge profits.
Oliva soap description: Made from pure unrefined olive oil, Oliva is kind and gentle to the skin. Oliva is not tested on animals, contains no artificial colours or perfumes, is completely vegetarian. 100% biodegradable.
I wouldn't be surprised by any of that. I haven't used normal soap on my face since I was a teenager. I've used a very old brand that was PH balanced long before it was a fashion, but I found that that too has become rubbish. Now I actually wash my face with blend of a paraben free gel like face wash we get here and aqueous cream. I keep telling people that you don't need to scrub your body. You only need to clean it. People have bought into the 'germ free' lie that makes them sick. Without the good germs we are sick and even more prone.
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I also find that diffusing essensial oils and using a salt lamp at night to be very helpful with anxiety levels, but by far the most effective method is being on a wholefoods/paleo based diet and regular exercise...it does wonders for anxiety levels!
Thanks for your post :) was a great and very interesting read :)
Hi iamluna you are not the first person to mention a salt lamp so I will see where I can get one. It may help me sleep better. Exercise definitely helps in my experience but doesn't cure the disorder and only gives temporary alleviation. I will also look into your recommended diet. However going soap free as I have eliminated my anxiety disorder completely and I mean completely in under 24 hours or less. After that I started to experience normal and much much lower anxiety levels. We are being poisoned by these big companies through our daily soaps, foods and drinking water. Probably through many other ways as well. People have been so brainwashed will their daily advertising that they have been convinced that they need these products. It's all about making money out of you. I was on anxiety medication and all it does is kill your anxiety which is not safe and can make you say and do crazy things. I took myself off them after a year of being drugged up. Doctors and big business don't want cures as it is bad for business. The deeper I dig the more dirt I find. I'm not sure what ingredient in the soap is causing it but all I can tell you is that you will find salt in almost every product you use. Good luck and thank you for your reply.
What is a salt lamp? Have you ever tried peppermint oil? I find this helps when I get anxiety attacks :-)
Upvoted and Followed :-)
Thats amazing, Ill try that for sure!!
This is an interesting concept, do you know what the ideas behind why this may work may be? Have you heard of a company called faith in nature? They make natural soaps, you may like :-)
Nice Post :-)
Upvoted and Followed :-)
Hi george mason firstly this worked 100% for me and I don't see why it shouldn't work for others too. I was watching an advert at the end of an Alex Jones video regarding the harmful chemicals in our soaps. Shortly thereafter I decided to try showering soap free and within a day I noticed my anxiety didn't take off like it usually did. The days following that my anxiety levels came right down. So I discovered this by accident. I have tried an olive based more natural soap but my anxiety came right back. I have had no side effects after going soap free for 3+ months and for now I am not willing to try any alternative natural soaps as I don't want to risk going back into a state of anxiety disorder. I'm leaning towards salt being the culprit as we bombard our bodies with salt in just about everything we eat, drink and put on our skin and in our bodies. Salt is used to create the foam in our soaps and shampoos and could be the biggest health danger for us. Thanks for commenting.
Thats an interesting concept, for certain a lot of the chemicals in products are massively toxic towards humans so this is not overly surprising, I am wondering however what is the exact chemical that may be causing this?
Do you use an alternative to soap? Salt can certainly be toxic in large quantities.
Did you look at faith in nature? I know they make chemical free soap but I am unsure if it is salt free, what symptoms of anxiety did you have before this?
I have anxiety myself an am always looking for solutions.
Hi georgemason please read my first post on this subject as it contains as it should answer your questions and give you a day to day account of how things happened: https://steemit.com/anxiety/@readallaboutit/suffer-from-anxiety-disorders-depression-etc-try-this-it-s-free-and-easy-and-worked-100-for-me I haven't used any soaps whatsoever for the past 3+ months. If they froth up then they contain salt as far as I know. As we consume salt in almost all ways then we are overdosing on the stuff with soaps being the biggest culprit. Currently I am not interested in finding an alternative soap as it is not required. In my opinion all these alternative soaps are just produced to make money out of people. Please try having soap free showers for 24/48 hours and then we can compare notes. Remember not showering doesn't work, you have to have hot showers to decrease the existing salts/chemicals in your body for it to start working. I am more than prepared to walk you through the process by answering any of your questions. If you could place any future questions in my latest post it would be of help to me and others to see them. Good luck.
This is a very interesting concept, I will have a look more into this and let you know how I get on, thanks for sharing this info for everyone :-)
Followed and Upvoted :-)
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