Bathroom Anxiety

[innerpunk16]

Originally Posted by shyvr6

I think dramatic effects help get over the anxiety. Do like the movies do and start screaming stuff, lol. Omg, I didn't eat corn!

hahahah....your humor helps. thats what i think needs to be done, in order for these millions of people like me dont fear what is natural. There is such a taboo on poop.

Especially for women, since i have heard MANY A STORY about boys not realizing women outside their family did the deed.

I feel that as a girl, the need to be seen as perfect and attractive all the time effects our thinking. If we come out of the bathroom after a long period of time, or think we smell of the bathroom, we feel VERY unnattractive and self conscious.

[innerpunk16]

Originally Posted by MeganC

My problem is, I'll overhear one of these conversations (or somebody talking on her cell phone) and start giggling...then I'm sure I'm not imagining things when I feel the evil eye on me at the sink.

i HATE when people linger in the bathroom. especially on the phone, when im trying to relax and waiting to be alone.

[sassyinside]

I can not use public bathrooms at all I hold it till I get home. I don't like to use someone's bathroom that I don't know either. If I do have to use a public bathroom and someone comes in I stay in the stall till they are done and leave. How dumb am I.......

[shyguy87]

Believe it or not, I am more comfortable doing number 2 in a public restroom than using a urinal. Maybe it's because I have more privacy in a stall, but I just can't use a urinal when there is somebody else in the bathroom.

The only places where I don't like doing number 2 is a place like work. I fear I will encounter a supervisor/boss or that somebody I know will find out it's me and then make some stupid comment about me taking a dump.

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

Everybody poots, drops bombs and whizzes. Everybody.
People have diarrhea....constipation.....acid indigestion.....

Yes, I know. I've been in public restrooms and heard sounds that no human should ever have to hear. Loud blasting farts, followed by you-know-what hitting the water, followed by a stench so strong & horrific that it could knock down a charging bull. It's the fecal equivalent of an atomic bomb. Then the guy who just had a gastrointestinal explosion opens the stall door and walks right out without washing his hands. If lucky, he may have actually flushed so you don't have to see his work -- some guys don't flush as if this is some trophy to show off. Think about that the next time somebody wants to shake your hand & you'll understand why they simply bow in Japan instead.

Public bathrooms really need good exhaust fans -- preferably really loud ones. Or have music in public restrooms to cover the sounds that nobody wants to hear. I hate rap, but even loud rap music would be preferable to hearing some guy take a mega-dump.

I can't stand urinals. It is my theory that they were invented by a plumber who was either a sadist who hates the shy or an exhibitionist who loves to show off his equipment. The problem is that as a man I feel like a sissy using a stall to pee, thinking "are they wondering why I'm not using a urinal like a real man does?"

In any case, this is obviously a common problem. The bathroom phobia thread comes up at least once a month around here.

[shychick2]

Don't they have music/sounds in Japan to disguise noise?
I couldn't start to imagine being a man, you're right who would come up with the idea of urinals!

[tCOM]

I find that as long as I wear all my Buckeye garb, I can pretty much let loose with poopies just about anywhere...and, I love to talk about it afterwards..

[inthecave]

Originally Posted by shyvr6

I think dramatic effects help get over the anxiety. Do like the movies do and start screaming stuff, lol. Omg, I didn't eat corn!

[shorty56]

innerpunk16 - I've got exactly what you do. (I think). Most people in here began talking about restroom anxiety and trying to go in public. I don't think that is what you described. You are afraid of having to go, and the interruption that causes. Not the having to go. I have no problem going to the restroom, at home or in public, but I constantly fear having to.

For example, on a car trip. I fear having to stop and go to the restroom. It has nothing to do with the public restroom. It has everything to do with whomever is in the car with me having to be inconvenienced with me stopping to go. So, I tell myself, "no big deal". Well, what if once I stop, I have to go again. And have to stop again. And again. Then it is quite annoying to them. Same thing in meetings, partys, dinners, etc.

The fear of having to go causes me to get an upset stomach and I have to go. Kind of a self-fulfilled prophecy. I try to explain it as "Imagine being scared of heights, and every time you think of your fear you are instantly on a cliff-edge". That is what I do to myself.

[olmert]

Those who suffer from the inability to urinate in a bathroom if others are around may have a case of shy bladder syndrome (its medical name is paruresis). About 7% of the US population suffers to some extent, according to research studies.

If you have difficulty pooping in bathrooms, that condition is referred to as parcopresis.

As a former shy bladder sufferer who recovered after many years, I wrote and recently published a book to help others - women and men. Called "Bathrooms Make Me Nervous", it explores coping techniques and offers strategies for complete recovery. (note: many are applicable to conquering parcopresis, as well, since both are considered social anxiety disorders).

For more information, please log on to www.bathroomsmakemenervous.com.

[Halcyon Daze]

I am shy in this way too. I can't go if someone else is in the ladies room. I have to wait till they leave. I feel so awkward just waiting like that. I have bathroom issues, lol. It seems to come and go. I was fine for a few years, and then it will come back w/ a vengeance.
I try not to drink a lot so i don't have to go so much. I'm probably always dehydrated.

[Sydney04]

(Hi, I'm new btw. I guess I skipped the whole intro forum thing--maybe I'll go back and do that later--this thread just caught my attention)

Innerpunk and Shorty, what I'm dealing with is the exact same thing. It's not an issue with bathrooms, public or private, it's the fear of having to go (always at inconvenient times) or not making it in time, and it absolutely takes over my life. I don't know if I experience as many of the physical symptoms as you do, because often times when I get to the bathroom, I find I didn't need to go at all (and mine deals more with urination rather than number two).

So would this be considered a social phobia? A panic disorder? I've dealt with this for about 9 years. Have either of you had very much success with certain medications or therapies? (I take zoloft and buspar, which seems to take the edge off, but not completely)

You don't know how relieved I feel to see that I'm not the only one, because it really was starting to feel that way (I guess I was googling the wrong phrases all these years!). When/how did it start out for you? I hope you'll let me know how things are progressing for you and what you've found success with. And if there's anyone else that's dealing with it as well, I'd love to talk with you too.

[dan dre]

any Cures or ideas to eleviate the anxiety?

[yellowpaper]

I have anxiety that affects like... my stomach. I'm always afraid I'm going to throw up so my stomach gets upset a lot (like.. most of the day). It's actually a huge phobia of mine... and it sucks.

I also need to be around bathrooms bc I pee as often as I get the chance... I have anxiety over needing to pee.



Oh, and I absolutely will not use a public bathroom for anything but peeing. I'd die otherwise.. DIE.

[Munchkin07]

I'm 20 years old and suffer from this problem also. I'm bipolar and take medicine that makes me go to the bathroom all the time and I hate it.

I'm always very cautious when I have to go somewhere on the road. When I drive somewhere I tend to freak out when I feel that certain rumble in my stomach. If I don't have a bathroom nearby I freak out. I go to school from 8 am to 3 or 4 pm, and would not eat anything until I get home despite of the delicious foods they have at the school.

I'm so nervous to leave my house with this problem. There are times when I'm with my boyfriend it happens and I get so embarrassed asking him to pull over to a gas station or go home although he doesn't care.

I went to the doctors and told her everything. She said it's part bad bacteria/psychological problems. She said I need to eat something with good bacteria and tried out Activia and it really works. The first time you eat the yogurt, you will really feel it so I prefer to stay home that day because you will go constantly!