embarassing fears

[Rachel_123]

hi guys,

can i ask if anyone has a sort of "toilet" related phobia? i get very bad anxiety about going to places where there are no toilets as im scared i'll either get diarrhoea or be sick..

thanks...

rach
x

[miss_moose]

I have a similar anxiety, I need the loo frequently so i avoid alot of places where there are no toilets, or aren't alot of them.
I also get very anxious about using public toilets, so as much as i need to go, i will try and avoid it.

[nomorepanic]

Have you ever needed the toilet or being sick though?

It sounds like you are avoiding places to me because of "what ifs" and I bet they have never happened have they.

If it helps I have Crohn's disease and had a bad flare up and then the infection spread to my bladder and I needed to wee every 30 minutes.

I can tell you that I could continue my normal routine and go shopping etc and always find a loo so it wasn't a big issue.

Loos are all over the place in supermarkets, pubs, a lot of stores, retail parks - all over.

Don't give up going out cos trust me when you need a loo you can find one but I am betting that you don't need one you just think you do whereas I knew that I would need to use the loo every 30 mins. That is very different.

[Bill]

Interesting because 2 separate fears which are both connected...the fear of needing to pay a visit when we're out.

In one case you have the fear of not finding a loo and in the other case the fear of being too afraid to use it but both result in the same symptoms....the feeling of needing to go!

When we have this fear, we immediately become anxious and one of the common symptoms of anxiety is the constant feeling of needing a loo which then re-enforces the fear of needing one when we're out.

I used to suffer really badly with this fear. I feared needing a loo and I feared having to use it. I tried everything including eating lots of fruit the night before in the hope of clearing myself out before I went out but it never worked. I just needed the loo even more!

When I mentioned this problem to a doctor, he said to me "If I eat and drink normally, do I actually need a loo when I'm out?" I said Yes because I get so anxious to which there was no reply.

I'm not sure how wise it is but I've found 2 things have helped me and one supports the other...

If I knew I was going to be out for a long time, I avoided drinking anything for an hour or 2 before I went out. In this way, I knew I'd be "empty" so wouldn't actually need a loo.

Once I was out and busy doing whatever it was, I relaxed because any anxiety I felt before I went out would by then have eased. Therefore, the second part is that by keeping my mind occupied on doing whatever it was, was then keeping me relaxed because I wasn't allowing my mind to think about needing a loo.

Once I felt relaxed, I then allowed myself to drink while I was out because I knew I wouldn't need a loo because I was relaxed and because by the time the drink went through me, I'd be home again.

However, as Nic says, we don't normally feel we need a loo when we're out unless you've had alot to drink or focus too much on your anxiety but both are avoidable.:hugs:

[Rachel_123]

thanks bill, thats really good advice.

nomorepanic, your completely right, well ive had experiences of diarrhoea in public but never vomiting, and therefore its my thinking of "whatif's" that is causing the problem. i've tried for a very long time to combat this thinking but its proving more difficult than i thought. for me its a compulsion that i check every place i go to find out about toilets ect... but the problem is that this is re - inforcing the anxiety in the first place.

[eis658]

Hi there,

I have a similar problem. About five months ago I developed a toilet phobia, although I have always had a little anxiety about this. I get extremely anxious that I won't be able to find a toilet in time. As a result I have started going all the time, whenever there's an opportunity (which is actually fairly frequently). My job requires that I travel around a city. I've never really liked travelling as I obsess about being punctual and I think that made me anxious and made me need the loo a lot when I first started the job. Now going to the toilet often has become ingrained and part of the routine. It's difficult to unlearn. In the routine I go every 30mins-1hour. If I 'challenge' myself and miss one of my toilet stops my anxiety goes through the roof. It's a terrible vicious circle then because the anxiety makes you need the loo. Almost like a punishment for missing the toilet stop. This probably sounds mad!

I haven't been to my GP but I have told a few family members and close friends. They've thankfully been quite supportive though they don't really understand and say things like 'what's the worst that could happen if you had an accident?'. For me that is the worst that could happen! I've resolved (since finding out this isn't a crazy thing but a real problem) to go to the GP. Hopefully I can get over it and be myself again!