Bowel movement obssesion

[zx123]

Hi,
I have developed an obsession with my bowel movements and I worry at I will not be able to make it to the bathroom in time.
It started a few months ago when I was on a bus journey and I needed to use the bathroom but I couldn't do so for a prolonged period of time. Due to this I experienced some distressing symptoms and ever since that time I have had an obsession with my bowel movements.

If I go anywhere I need to empty my bowels beforehand just in case I need to use the bathroom when I am out and when I am out I need to use the bathroom again to make sure my bowels are still empty. If I go somewhere new and I always try to find a public toilet and I cant find one or it is closed I start to panic. When I go on a journey such as on a bus I have to make sure to empty my bowels beforehand otherwise I will start to feel anxious during the journey. Sometimes I strain to have a bowel movement just so I know that my bowel is empty and that I will not need to go to use the bathroom.

This obsession is starting to get out of hand and I now spend a lot of my time thinking about it.
Does anyone else have any experience of this?
And if so what is the best way to deal with it?

[emptymind]

yes i know what you mean,i had the same but with urine(went to the bathroom like 12 times a day) years ago

the best way to deal with it is just by trying not to overthink it,let your body take its natural course and just go when you NEED to go,dont force it or it will become worse

if you give it time it will go away

1-dont force yourself to go to the bathroom when you dont have to
2-make sure you dont overeat or bing eat at such a time(it is a bad mistake to do so when suffering from such a condition)
3-learn to listen to your body but dont overthink the act itself
4-learn to let go off the pattern of obessive thought,you must learn to avoid the intrusive thoughts of "should i go now" or "was it enough" since they dont help you in any way
and just create further problems

just let things flow naturally and you will be fine

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've seen others post about this across a few of the boards. Digestion/evacuation issues are common in anxiety disorder, the fight or flight response includes stopping hunger & flushing of bowels as its possible responses. What does a bird do when it feels threatened, poops. Obviously, we don't react the same as that as we are not in such a high gear as birds and other prey animals are since we are more predators.

You might find some interesting information on the phobia board about this as I think there are some "Toilet Phobia" threads on there which include advice on how to move forward from this.

I seem to recall therapists using ERP techniques to work on being further and further away from toilets but it should be in the threads somewhere.

[ricardo]

Psychodynamic therapy can be very helpful for cases such as these.

[zx123]

Thank you for your suggestions.