Is Laundry Detergent Supposed to Make you DEPRESSED?

Well ok, the title is... slightly misleading. I'll tell me story and cut to the chase rather quickly.

I was getting ready for bed just a few moments ago and was going through the whole night-time routine. Basically I started watching some good ol' tv show from a decade ago on the computer--a re-run most definitely. I brushed my teeth, slipped into more appropriate clothing, and turned off the lights.

I felt like sleeping on the floor, so I put my blankets and stuff on the ground and set up my lap-top near my bedding. I have been trying to keep myself looking presentable in college in case I meet a lady sometime during the day, or whatever... so I try to do a nominal amount of exercise before I nod off. The light from my laptop provided just enough light for me to do some crunches and push-ups in my makeshift bed (really something that could be done in the dark I suppose), so I did.

Anyway, after a little bit of work perspiration came about and I noticed a slight odor...

I smelt my blankets, looked around the room, then noticed the smell followed my wherever I turned.

I grab my shirt. Well, ok, its actually a pretty nice smell--familiar too. The smell is just a little sweet and then there is a human linger to it that makes it nice and natural. Then, it halts my curiosity and I know exactly what I am smelling.

Turns out, last time I did my laundry I was with a few of my lady friends and a shirt or two of mine got mixed in with their clothes during the "dryer" phase. Of course I used my own detergent during the wash phase but I did not use my own dryer sheets. I guess the combination was just perfect enough, perhaps equivalent in fact, to mimic the smell of my past girlfriend of almost a year--my only love.

The smell of the clothing, coupled with just a little bit of my own sweat proved to be reminiscent of... well... rather good moments I shared with her from a relationship that just recently came to a definite end.


I think I am over her, but that doesn't mean memories go away forever. Ah well though, eh? It was nice to express my in-the-moment surprise to a pair of eyes or two on ATS.

Please, feel free to share any times this sort of thing happened to you. It is nice to remember that you aren't alone in this kind of inconvenient coincidence.

The familiar scent of a lost love. You are certainly not alone on this one bud. I've been in love with a fair few women over the years and they all had their favourite perfumes. Now, if a stranger walks past me wearing a familiar perfume, I almost want to follow them round just to inhale 'that' scent. However, I don't because that would just be creepy.

reply to post by PhysicsAdept


really normal I think. As humans...we make associations through sight, sound and smell and touch.

That's why sometimes music makes you remember "the good ol' times"

Same thing with smell I guess. It is all written down somewhere in your database That smell relates to that moment, that person...etc.

reply to post by Wide-Eyes

I don't because that would just be creepy.

You think ?

reply to post by Wide-Eyes


Creepy for her maybe, but who knows maybe she'd be flattered

Some girls are into that hahaha, but yah probably not. It's odd how things in life come back to bite you, even if it's harmless before physiologically dissecting it.

reply to post by MarioOnTheFly


Very true, especially with something like smell really. A good portion of what makes you attracted to anyone cones from your sense of smell. Blame the pheromones!

I don't know if a lot of other people are like this but I know that when I am out and maybe looking at girls, I kind of automatically without even thinking about it assign a type of smell to the person. Some people to me just smell unattractive haha even sometimes when they are very technically pretty.

Scents often trigger strong memories because the olfactory lobe is located next to the memory center in the brain. Every time I smell a certain hair product, I'm 13 and at the beach again, and then a second later, I realize I'm 40. Buzzkill.

Yeah that is normal, one time I drank too much and punched a wall. It brought back some sweet memories.