I’m 15M and my father (45M) has extremely poor hygiene habits that affect the entire home. He showers about once a month, doesn’t use shampoo, and uses the same bar of soap for a ridiculous amount of time. He also doesn’t properly wash his clothes and just leaves dirty, sweaty clothing hanging in his room instead of cleaning them.
He uses the bathroom and doesn’t even flush properly, and it’s honestly disgusting. The smell that comes out of it is so bad it hits you immediately and makes you feel sick. It’s not just a “gross moment,” it lingers and ruins the whole environment every time it happens. I end up feeling frustrated and stressed because it feels like basic hygiene and respect is completely ignored, and I’m the one left dealing with the consequences of it every day.
Living in this environment has seriously messed with my head. I’ve developed what feels like extreme contamination anxiety because of it. I can’t comfortably touch anything outside my room without wearing latex gloves. Even basic things in the house feel stressful or “unsafe” to me now. It’s gotten to the point where I avoid contact with shared spaces as much as possible.
Even showering has become difficult. I only do it about once a week because using the shared bathroom makes me feel extremely anxious and uncomfortable due to how the rest of the house is.
I’ve tried talking to my mother (40F) about it multiple times, but she completely dismisses me. She says I’m being disrespectful toward my father and that I should stop exaggerating. She treats it like I’m the problem for even bringing it up.
But I feel like nobody is actually understanding what this is doing to me mentally. I live in constant stress in my own home and it’s starting to feel unbearable.
I keep wondering if I’m actually wrong here or if this situation really is as bad as it feels.