Friday Five: Therapy

This week's Friday Five:

1. How is a therapeutic shower or bath different from a utilitarian shower or bath? A therapeutic shower/bath is solely for relaxation and is typically longer, whereas a utilitarian shower/bath is a hygienic necessity and is typically shorter. For a therapeutic shower, I'd use products for the purpose of altering my mood and pampering my skin. For a utilitarian shower, I probably wouldn't care so much about what the products are, so long as they're skin-safe and make me clean. My showers are usually somewhere in the middle, because I try to make something that is a hygienic necessity into something more enjoyable. I've been loving Herbal Essences Naked Moisture Shampoo, which smells like eucalyptus and mint and sometimes I wash my hair for like, two minutes straight just so I can continue to bask in the scent. (It's also inexpensive.) I'm also obsessed with the Cherry Soda Sugar Scrub from Whipped Cosmetics; I'm usually far too lazy to use body scrub, but the scent of this one makes me wanna use it all the damn time and I've almost gone through an entire tub in the span of two months.
   
   
2. What are your therapy foods? Do you have different kinds of therapy foods for different kinds of emotional situations? There is something therapeutic about eating a hot bowl of noodle soup like ramen or udon. I always feel happy after eating it. Don't get me wrong, I love salty, greasy foods like pizza and fries, but they can make me feel gassy and bloated. Whereas noodle soup just makes me feel good and warm and cozy. I haven't noticed that I go for different types of food in different kinds of emotional situations, though.
   
   
   
3. What physical activities are especially therapeutic? Napping. And taking a long walk with a friend on a really nice day.
   
   
4. When seeking the company of others for therapy, is it better to talk about the issue that’s causing you stress, or to talk about anything else? The issue that's causing me stress, so then we can move on and talk about other things. I like to solve my problems rather than pretend that they don't exist.
   
   
5. Sometimes therapy is about maintenance, not crisis.  What regular activities do you pursue for therapeutic maintenance? Smoking. If I don't have one in three to four hours, I will go fucking Hulk on you. Other than that, I would say shopping for makeup, watching YouTube videos while painting my nails, reading, and going out to eat with my friends.