A large proportion of people have difficulty urinating in a public toilet. When they want to urinate, the bladder blocks. This is very difficult and can even become problematic.
Peeing in public
When you are away from home for a long time, there always comes a time when you have to go to the toilet to pee. For most people this is not a problem. They look for the nearest public toilet and can pass urine without any problems. They think peeing in a public toilet or in a urinal is the most normal thing in the world. However, for millions of people, urinating in public is a major problem. They have to deal with fear of urinating in public. It is often a difficult problem, especially for men: not every man is able to urinate in a urinal, when one or more men are standing next to you to urinate. Fear of urination is much less common among women: they have more privacy due to closed toilet doors. Yet there are women who suffer from fear of urinating in a public toilet. The sounds around them can be disturbing and the idea that others hear them urinating can make it difficult or block their ability to pass urine.
Blocking
Because people are afraid to urinate in public, the body blocks, so that they cannot urinate. No matter how hard you try, nothing comes. The first time this happens is strange and can immediately cause fear that it will happen again the next time. The problem can become worse and worse, so that eventually one can no longer urinate in public at all. People want and need to, but once they go to the toilet, nothing happens. Because one has an overfull bladder, this can lead to very unpleasant situations.
Social problem
Fear of urination can be a social problem, especially in men. A woman can sit on the toilet until things calm down or she can wait until someone else flushes the toilet and then quickly urinate. This is a bit more difficult with a man. There is not always a toilet with a closed door in a men’s toilet, often there is only one lockable toilet available and there is already a line of men waiting in front of it (yes really, they have the same problem as you). Waiting until there is no one in the toilet room is obviously very strange. For some people, the fear of urination is so great that they end up in social isolation. Eventually they no longer dare to go out because they are afraid of having to go to the toilet. If you can no longer urinate at work, a major problem has arisen.
How can you get rid of your fear of peeing?
You will be able to urinate at home or in a familiar environment. Family members or good friends are often not an obstacle either. The most important first step towards overcoming urinary anxiety is to confide in someone else, someone you trust. Start practicing in your own home with the help of the person you have confided in.
- The first step is to pee in the toilet while the other person stands in the hallway at a distance from the toilet. You keep the door locked.
- When this step is successful, go to the next step: you go to the toilet and leave the door ajar, the other person stands in the hallway.
- If this step is successful, go to the toilet with the door open while the other person stands halfway down the hallway.
- Then you go to the next step: you pee on the toilet, the other person stands next to you.
- As a final step, you and your counselor go to a urinal (or for the ladies, a public toilet).
You can also confide in several people about your problem, and often it will turn out that when you bring it up, others will admit that they also suffer from it.
More information
The website www.plasangst.info provides more information about this problem.