Rachel’s roommate went through a bad breakup a few months back. She wants to be supportive, but her roommate has taken to spending hours in the shower. She says it’s the only time her body feels good since her boyfriend left. But Rachel’s water bill is through the roof and she can’t afford it anymore. How can she be supportive without spending all her money?
Ayla Brown: Good morning, Rachel. How are we feeling? What’s going on in your house right now with your roommate?
Rachel: Oh, it’s been a little rough. Thank you for being here.
Ayla Brown: Thank you for calling in about it. Well, let’s get to the bottom of it.
Rachel: Okay. My roommate is a friend, you know, and we’ve lived together for a while now. And a few months ago, she broke up with her boyfriend. And, you know, of course, I’ve been there before, so I’m trying to be a shoulder she can lean on me as supportive as I can be to her. However, she’s been doing something that is affecting me. She’s taking very, very long showers on the daily. I mean, I’m talking I get to the point where I’m like, is she okay in there? She’ll be in there for over an hour most days. Wow.
Ayla Brown: Oh, that’s a long shower. What is she doing in there?
Rachel: I’ve never taking a shower that long in my entire life.
Ayla Brown: I would love to someday, but, like, no one’s got time for an hour shower.
Rachel: Well, yeah. And then, you know, you’re hogging the bathroom. And with that also comes pretty hefty bills, right? So for sure, our water and heating bills are absolutely outrageous. And I don’t really know what to say to her. Like I said, I’m trying to be supportive, but what is the deal with these showers? So I did ask her.
Ayla Brown: I was going to say, did you did you ask her? Yeah. Have you talked to her about it? What did she say?
Rachel: Yeah, I asked if everything was okay. And then we sat down and she did tell me that ever since this breakup, she just doesn’t feel good in her own skin. She feels like she’s not ready to have sex, is what she told me. So the only time she can feel really good and I guess in tune with herself is when she takes these long showers. Like for her. She told me it’s like therapy to take these showers.
Ayla Brown: Interesting. Now, if anything else is going wrong in her life, like let’s just take the relationship part of our about it. But like, if she went through a tough week at work, like are showers just her way of dealing with stress in general or is this really just because of the sadness of the breakup?
Rachel: I really think this is just from the sadness of the breakup. Like it’s just something she’s doing to get through it. I guess. She’s never done it before, and I don’t know what to say. Like, obviously I want to be supportive for the situation, but it’s hitting me. It’s hitting my wallet. I can’t afford my half of the bills.
