subject: Paruresis - Do you struggle to pee in public? [print this page] Paruresis - Do you struggle to pee in public?
Shy bladder syndrome is a form of social anxiety that prevents people from being able to pee in public restrooms. The condition is medically known as Paruresis and other common terms include bashful bladder, stage fright, and shy pee.
Shy bladder is a mental condition. It is the fear to pee in the prescence of others.
Most men have experienced the situation where they havehad 'stage fright' at the urinal for some reason or another. Most of the time they can go back into the restroom a short time later and pee freely. But for some people, this is an ongoing issue.
Many men cannot pee at urinals at all and always use the private cubilcles in public restrooms. For more severe Paruresis sufferers, peeing in a private cubicle is also often difficult. The restroomneeds to be designed in a certain way for some people to feel 'safe' about peeing.
A noisy restroom with lots of private cubicles that are completely shielded off (top and bottom) are much easier for Paruresis sufferers to pee in. Where as in more intimate locations, where it is very quiet and only a few people arein the restroom, it is much harder for Paruresis sufferers to pee.
It is thought up to 7% of people suffer from shy bladder. The condition is relatively unknown due to its embarrasing nature, but it is infact a very common condition.
It is also not restriced to men, some woman also struggle with the same issue.
Shy bladder can be overcome by varying different methods. First of all, some people are instantly cured just by knowing that they are not alone and that many offer people also struggle to pee in public.
Other methodsinclude seeing a therapist and taking part in support groups. Therapy often deals with the mental side of peeing in public, where as support groups offer moral support.
A common technique to deal with Paruresis is the pee buddy technique. This is where a trusted person acts as a 'pee buddy' and will hang around near by when the individual needs to pee. First, the pee buddy will be located several rooms away and eventually, as the individual becomes less sensitive, the pee buddy will move closer and closer. After a bit of practice the individual may be able to pee with the other person in the room.
For those of you who do not want to share the problem with others- there is an online digital download called The Paruresis Treatment System, where you can work through daily exercises to help overcome shy bladder in your own time.
