Steps To Overcome Your Fears About Peeing
There are a number of options available. All different but all effective. Which one will work best for you is going to be personal preference and trial and error.
Medication
You’ll need to talk to you doctor about these but there’s absolutely no magic pill that will get rid of your fear. Sure, there are anxiety relieving medications, anti-depressants and alpha-adrenergic blockers that relax the muscle of your bladder but that’s not for us to comment on. Discuss with you doctor and never be tempted to self medicate.
For the vast majority though medication is not needed or prescribed.
Graduated Exposure Therapy.
Graduated exposure therapy is, as the name suggests, about gradually facing up to your specific fear by facing it head on and gradually building up the level of difficulty. It’s a common way of treating many forms of anxiety.
In the case of shy bladder syndrome the first step to overcoming the fear is to visit a quiet, familiar public restroom. Don’t just visit it once but go there over and over again. And when in there try to calming the nerves, and getting yourself to pee. Get yourself used to this relatively comfortable environment before building up to a busier restroom, then a more compact restroom etc.
You get the picture – you’re gradually getting used to increasing levels of uncomfortable environments and building your confidence. We have an article on Graduated Exposure Therapy for Paruresis which you may want to read.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT as it’s abbreviated is known as a “talking therapy” which, by changing the way your mind automatically thinks and reacts can help manage fears of all types. It’s a very popular and effective treatment of depression, anxiety and mental problems and is a proven treatment in the battle against shy bladder syndrome.
In the case of this particular fear a trained CBT therapist will break down the overall fear into smaller parts and work with you to change the negative patterns into rational reactions. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy will very often incorporate Graduated Exposure Therapy and part of the treatment program.
That wasn’t so easy to explain but you can read more in our article CBT For Paruresis.
Breath Hold Technique
It’s thought that, by holding your breath, it’s possible to reduce your fears about peeing and relax the muscles into releasing a flow. There’s a specific technique to follow and, for some, it’s proven to be very effective.
Sure, you’re not addressing the fear head on but it does result in increased confidence and hence the fear will naturally subside.
If you’d like to find out more you can read or article on Paruresis Breath Hold technique.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a powerful tool. It’s not to be associated with those “entertainment” hypnotists who put people into a trance with the intention of making them do ridiculous things … that’s not what hypnotherapy is all about at all.
Hypnotherapy works by basically bypassing the conscious mind to get to the powerful unconscious part of the brain. The bit that produces the automatic reactions to situations and circumstances. It will then, in effect, reprogram the sub-conscious to produce a rational reaction – like it used to do before the fear started.
It works really well and, believe it or not, there’s even a specific self hypnosis treatment program specifically for paruresis. It’s aptly called the “Overcome Shy Bladder Syndrome” hypnotherapy session and is available for just a few $s. We explain all about paruresis hypnosis in a separate article.
My Recommendations
If, like me, you cant face the thought of discussing your shy bladder with anyone or can’t afford costly face to face therapy you need not give up. There are a number of great self help treatments out there. There’s one I particularly suggest that you may want to check out as I personally found it to be highly beneficial and helped me beat my fears about peeing:
