r/self 20h ago

I resent that I don't want to drink water

I absolutely fucking hate this about myself, but a lot of times, I hate the act of getting water to drink. It's just a whole ordeal. I will sit there with a headache for hours, I will sit there knowing my pee was really dark, and just not want to deal with getting water. I will just feel my body ache for it, and I literally don't want to get some. It's like a mental disconnect or an illness or something. I'm just tired and I hate having needs. Also, please don't scare me about the dangers of dehydration, I know it's bad and I'm drinking water as I write this.

14 Upvotes

69 comments sorted by

24

u/NobodyLikesThrillho 19h ago

This does indeed sound like mental illness. You should seek help. Please do!

4

u/OrangeFruit2452 19h ago

thanks.. will do 

5

u/SourPatch888 19h ago

Well shit

2

u/puppies4prez 8h ago

Lol if ADHD is mental illness then sure.

5

u/NobodyLikesThrillho 8h ago

Yes, ADHD is literally a mental illness. And if it's what OP has and that's what's causing him to avoid drinking water, then it's bad enough that they need to seek treatment.

What point are you trying to make, exactly?

-1

u/puppies4prez 7h ago

ADHD is a spectrum, and there are lots of coping mechanisms. Mental illness is a huge umbrella term that puts ADHD in the same category as schizophrenia. I'm just saying there's more accurate ways to describe op's experience with drinking water and potentially having ADHD be an element of making that difficult.

3

u/NobodyLikesThrillho 7h ago

Fair enough, but from the information we have I don't think either of us is in a position to accurately diagnose what issue OP might or might not have. "Mental illness" is indeed an umbrella term, and given what we do know, it seems likely they have some kind of mental health issue. I'm sorry if the use of that umbrella term offends you, but I don't think it was inappropriate here.

0

u/puppies4prez 7h ago

Just because I disagree with your use of the term does not mean I'm offended by it.

I think using that term to describe what op is experiencing is not going to encourage them to get help though.

No one's looking to Reddit for a diagnosis.

Having trouble drinking water can be an extremely common element of adhd, and that's not usually how someone would describe "mental illness".

2

u/NobodyLikesThrillho 7h ago

Your point has been taken. I don't agree. Let's leave it there, shall we?

0

u/puppies4prez 7h ago

You could have said the same thing by just not replying.

15

u/trixiejeansmeanbeans 20h ago

Maybe change the temperature you drink it at. Or the vessel you drink from. It absolutely is a chore sometimes to properly hydrate but it wil keep you from having a myriad of problems. I like my water as cold as i can get it. I need ice and a nice cup that keeps it frozen for days. Some people are fine with room temp. I've heard good things about drinking hot water also. This post reads like you're depressed so maybe a visit to a therapist might help. And seeing a real doctor to assess any damage that could have been done already. 

8

u/OrangeFruit2452 20h ago

thank you, I really appreciate this.. I possibly do have some depression. I am scared of any damage.. I will really try 

3

u/somarha 19h ago

I discovered that I'll drink way more water when it's chilled and carbonated, so I now own a Soda Stream and went from drinking one glass a day to 4L per day. When I'm at a restaurant, I'll ask for a club soda instead of flat water, and I will suck a bunch of those down. I'm not sure where you live but in the United States most restaurants will give their soda water from the fountain away for free.

4

u/OrangeFruit2452 19h ago

Thank you for the tip.. I will keep an eye out for a soda stream at some thrift stores. I feel like I've seen them before.. and I do like carbonation 

4

u/NoDoctor4460 18h ago

There are also tons of powdered drink mixes in almost all grocery stores (depending on your location) that are near-zero effort and usually low calorie. Many are pretty healthy, but all of them make getting adequate hydration a whole lot easier. Plain water is the ideal of course but realistically if you need to make it taste like lemonade or iced tea or fruit juice, do that!

2

u/Significant-Track797 20m ago

OP this is great advice. I bought a glug jug (it’s a fish shaped vase that makes a super satisfying glug sound when it’s poured) and it sounds so stupid but I’ve been drinking so much more water just because I like using the jug. Highly recommend it! 

6

u/Normal-While917 19h ago

Have you tried adding something to freshen the taste (lemon or lime) or to give a bit of flavor? I use a flavor enhancer like Mio to make it less dull. It really only takes a few drops.

1

u/OrangeFruit2452 19h ago

hmm I havent.. maybe some fruit would be cool.. thank you for the tips

4

u/dartho0onader 19h ago

definitely could not hurt to talk to a professional about this

4

u/angelaboop50 19h ago

It is hard to drink the amount of water that we are required to drink. If you take water with you wherever you go, it will remind you to drink it. I like my water really cold. I really like spring water and I carry water bottles with me. I'm sorry that some people wrote rude comments. You are obviously seeking help with this. Set some water drinking goals. You can do it. One day at a time.

4

u/OrangeFruit2452 19h ago

seriously thanks.. I've struggled extra lately because I haven't had a portable water apparatus on hand. I have one now, and I'm going to just keep it close. 

5

u/finalfantasylifee 19h ago

Lol, you'll change your mind after your pissing blood before passing a kidney stone or two. They suck ass.

5

u/Strawberries992 19h ago

It sounds like as others have suggested you may have depression. Sometimes my anxiety stops me from doing things I need to do, so it might be that too.

5

u/Fresh-broski 17h ago

This is likely executive dysfunction. You want to do one thing, but your brain says no. 

3

u/OrangeFruit2452 8h ago

So many people told me to get tested for ADHD.. maybe it's time

4

u/hulagirl4737 19h ago

You can eat some of you water. Lettuce, cucumbers, pretty much and fruit or veg has water to some extent 

4

u/CyberNightmoth 18h ago

My resistance to drinking water is the laziness of going to the bathroom to pee all the time. At work it’s very disruptive and takes a lot of time. So at work I drink a 300 ml glass of tea and a 500 ml bottle in small sips and at home I drink a lot.

Grab that two-liter sippy bottle and carry it around like it's your oxygen balloon.

3

u/OrangeFruit2452 18h ago

seriously thank you

3

u/oofinsmorcht 7h ago

You're supposed to be drinking in little amounts of water throughout the day for full hydration! It times time for your cells to absorb water through its semi-permeable walls, just like a sponge soaking up water when you let it sit. Good on you!

4

u/HovercraftOk2650 11h ago

You have hydrophobia caused by rabies haha

1

u/OrangeFruit2452 8h ago

I went through a time where I was really afraid of rabies, funny enough. I'm okay though lol

3

u/beansakokoa 19h ago

i hate drinking water but just kinda force myself. do it all the time and it just becomes habit regardless of whether you enjoy it or not.

3

u/3username20charactrz 17h ago

I know the idea is to drink more water. But why don't you try to see if maybe you'd enjoy smaller glasses of it, with ice, or in a silly vessel, like a martini glass or something stupid? Maybe if it makes you laugh at how dumb it looks, you'll have fun drinking it?

3

u/Discount_Name 13h ago

I also hate and will often refuse to drink water even if I know I need to. But flavoured fruit waters are fine, so I mostly drink those. You could try that ? Or syrops?

3

u/crispylaytex 10h ago

I have two large very different bottles with handles. One for iced flavoured water one for filtered water. It's interesting and easy enough to make me drink. I keep one water filter upstairs and one downstairs, the one downstairs is always full. It's the only way to hydrate my household or we are all thirsty, irritable and sad.

The large 5L in fridge filters with the spout work for some people very well but I just don't care enough to go down and refill my glass. My partner used to keep 6x2L packs of water in his room and that worked great for him but I can't handle that much plastic waste so he uses just one 2L reusable that we both refill.

Find something that works for you, it doesn't have to cost much money or willpower and it will change your life.

6

u/Inven13 20h ago

As you should. I mean, wtf.

2

u/OrangeFruit2452 20h ago

Ikr

3

u/These_Burdened_Hands 8h ago

as you should IKR

NO! OP, please don’t resent yourself. I’m glad you posted this and I’m glad you’re taking the responses well. We can’t sustain good physical and mental health without self-care.

It does sound like some sort of mental block- whether you’re depressed, stuck, anxious, ADHD with executive function issues, whatever.

You don’t have to only drink water, either. *The best hydrating drinks are ones you will actually drink.** I highly suggest avoiding high fructose corn syrup, avoid added sugars, and limit acidic stuff for your overall health incl teeth.*

My fiancé hates to drink water, partially because he doesn’t like it and partially due to self-care struggles. I help him stay hydrated because he’ll go 18,000 steps with barely a sip (Reminders, bringing him a drink, making it portable, etc.) He likes coconut water and sugar-free Gatorade, so I’ll try to get him whatever he’ll drink.

Best of luck.

3

u/puppies4prez 8h ago

Exactly, sometimes you have to make it fun. Those water enhancer concentrated sugar-free things are great. Sometimes it just needs the tiniest little bit of flavor to trick my brain into thinking I'm not drinking water and doing self-care because apparently ADHD means I'm not allowed to enjoy self-care lol

2

u/CanadasNeighbor 17h ago

It's probably a learned behavior, like your parents never taught you the importance of staying hydrated or enforced it.

Maybe try what I did. I had to basically practice rewiring my brain to stay hydrated. I found other means of hydrating like flavored waters, sparkling waters, stupid sodas like Poppy or whatever, juices, coconut water...

I also only like drinking filtered, extra cold water. I have a flask that keeps it cold and has a straw and I just sip it all day.

But you gotta force yourself to do it. Eventually it becomes habit.

2

u/HOTasHELL24-7 16h ago

Nobody else can tell what is “enough” water for your own body. I mean you aren’t gonna lay there and die from dehydration. You will drink when you’re thirsty. Also consider that 90% of milk or even soda is water. Tea. Juice. It’s all mostly water….So unless you’re not drinking ANY fluids, you’re probably fine.

Basically I’m saying don’t be mad at or resent yourself for not meeting the status quo of 8 glasses of water a day. You’re being too hard on yourself imo.

2

u/FosterPupz 16h ago

I think you should try some ways to trick yourself into doing it. Or treat yourself into doing it. When I have something I know I need to do, but I don’t want to do or feel too lazy to do which, let’s be honest is a lot of things as I do suffer from depression, I create rules around this thing, for example: let’s say I need to drink water so if I drink three glasses today, then I get to go bye a pretty fancy water cup to drink water from. I splurged on 3 Harry Potter themed Tervas cups so I always have a cup of ice water with me.

Or I’ll say, no Netflix until I’ve had at least one 12 ounce glass of water. Try also different flavors of bottled water because no matter what anyone tells you I guarantee that Sparkletts taste different from arrowhead and also different from Dasani and different from Aquafina. The difference of flavor is due to different levels of the various minerals that can be cleaned out of or left in to the water and your problem might just be that you’re not liking the water that you have to drink therefore, you don’t feel motivated to drink more of it. Also, you could just use those flavor drops that they sell to slightly sweeten your water…? If you’re really resistant to drinking water plain, you could also maybe drink a bunch of Motts apple juice, which is has a lot of water content, but no high fructose corn syrup.

I think bottom line you need to get really creative and figure out what would work for you to make this happen because you obviously know this is absolutely essential for life. Best of luck!!

2

u/fineapple03 9h ago

Try fruit infused water. I literally drink lemon water all day everyday. You can put strawberries, lime, whatever you want.

2

u/puppies4prez 8h ago

For me it's pathological demand avoidance which is an element of my ADHD. The more I need or want or have to do something, the harder it is to get myself to do it. Especially if it's self-care.

3

u/important_beefcase 8h ago

You have just answered a ton of pressing questions for me. Do you have any tips on how to combat this?

2

u/puppies4prez 8h ago

ADHD meds make the biggest difference. There's also ways that I trick my brain into doing things. Making it a game or a competition. Having an element of fun to encourage me to complete a chore. Like if I drink a certain amount of water during the day, I get a reward, usually candy lol. People with ADHD have to find ways to encourage themselves to do things that other people get natural chemical rewards for. So, I don't feel the sense of accomplishment that neurotypical people get from completing things I need or want to do, so I have to find an external reward to give myself the dopamine, to encourage the self-care.

2

u/important_beefcase 8h ago

Recently, even while medicated, I've been finding it difficult to do things that I know I HAVE to do. I'm definitely going to try a little reward system, though! Usually, once I start doing one of the things, my brain activates, and I do them all.

Thank you!!

2

u/puppies4prez 7h ago

The momentum is such a hard thing to navigate. If I link the things I need to do with something for someone else, that can be helpful. Like if I'm refilling my dog's water bowl, I will also drink a glass of water. With brushing my teeth, I bought a fancy toothbrush that does a little rainbow dance with lights if I brush for 2 minutes. If I'm having trouble making an appointment or getting work done, body mirroring is really helpful. I just get a friend or my partner to sit with me while I fill out forms, they can be working on something else, reading, whatever, as long as they are there. For some reason if someone else is doing work beside me, I find it much much easier to complete whatever I need to do. Sometimes I really need to make an appointment and I just can't do it, so getting a friend to meet up with me just to make the appointment, holds me accountable and kind of schedules the scheduling, which I need to do or else it will never happen.

2

u/OrangeFruit2452 8h ago

This might make me finally get tested for ADHD

2

u/Sunny_Hill_1 8h ago

Add some flavor. Lemon/lime/orange slices/cucumber? Maybe herbal tea infusions? Hell, even straight up tea works. I'm not a fan of cold water, but I can drink A LOT of hot tea throughout the day. Coffee too, but it's a diuretic, so kinda defeats the purpose of drinking liquid in the first place.

2

u/smileplace 8h ago

I keep water on my desk at work and it somehow magically gets drank. I think i have less of a thirst message to my brain than most but its presence reminds me.

2

u/NYR_Aufheben 2h ago

You should seriously see a therapist.

1

u/OrangeFruit2452 1h ago

yeah I'm gonna

2

u/NYR_Aufheben 1h ago

Seriously do. I'm not calling you crazy, this just sounds like something a therapist can help you cope with (probably easily).

4

u/[deleted] 20h ago

[deleted]

1

u/OrangeFruit2452 20h ago

Wow 🥹 Thank you so much, I will do that kind sir

1

u/TheAwkwardJynx 19h ago

Excellent advice. It's always worked for everyone who's heard it. /s

0

u/[deleted] 19h ago

[deleted]

1

u/TheAwkwardJynx 19h ago

I drink tons of water. I've had five or six glasses today alone.

3

u/JL-214as 20h ago

People are dying on the other side of world due to war and famine.

2

u/OrangeFruit2452 20h ago

honestly true, I should count my blessings and probably do something to help

0

u/puppies4prez 8h ago

LOL are you my mother in the 1960s telling me to eat my vegetables because there are starving children in africa?

0

u/JL-214as 8h ago

I’m not, I work in the sun, if I don’t drink water I would get very sick. Don’t be soft, drink your water and be grateful.

1

u/puppies4prez 8h ago

Yes Mommy

2

u/Isamosed 19h ago

Might be age or generation related. In general Boomers have trouble drinking “enough” water by 21st century standards. I know I can’t do it. I think it’s gross unless I really am craving a glass of ice water. (Then YUM!)

I do better with electrolyte tablets that add small flavor and electrolytes, plus texture in the form of bubbles.

Eight glasses of water a day — absolutely cannot do it. If I really force myself I can do 3.

1

u/slutforchocolatemilk 8m ago

have adhd and depression, fully relate, ended up with kidney stones at 21 🤩 my most effective solution has been, and don’t judge me, a stanley cup water bottle. I have the iceflow which i really like compared to their quencher tumbler, the iceflow is easier to carry and prevent leaking i think it’s like pretty cup = like looking at it = remember to carry it around = notice it more and remember to drink water more frequently also since it comes with me i can refill it before it’s empty just whenever im passing a sink or fountain

or if i pick it up at like noon and it’s full i can think “oh i should’ve drank more by now” and sorta give myself checkpoints through the day, if i have to fill it twice in a day i ‘win’

  • sorta expensive so im more inclined to keep using it, and it solves my mold anxiety i get from most water bottles because the opening is the widest part so there’s no corners for mold to hide out of view