Keep practising, with your pee partner getting closer and closer to the toilet. This may take several sessions over a period of time. Try to make as much noise as possible while urinating. Deliberately splash your urine into the toilet water.
Most people find relief from paruresis after therapy and other treatments. Some studies show that around 80% of people with this disorder are able to pee in public after undergoing CBT and graduated exposure therapy.
If you find yourself feeling as though you need to urinate all the time, the best thing you can do is simply learn to relax. Getting up and walking around can be a big help. Often sitting actually creates more urine anyway, so you'll find yourself needing to pee all the time especially when you stand up.
Individuals with Shy Bladder Syndrome are unable to produce urine samples for drug tests under the Department of Correction's standard procedure, in which a Corrections Officer watches the person urinating to ensure that there is no tampering with the sample.
Since paruresis impairs bladder and brain functions, which are major bodily functions, paruresis qualifies as a disability under the ADA.
A study done on vitamin c intake in 2060 women, aged 30-79 years of age found that high-dose intake of vitamin c and calcium were positively associated with urinary storage or incontinence, whereas vitamin C from foods and beverages were associated with decreased urinary urgency.
If you find yourself always rushing to the toilet first thing when you get home, you may have latchkey incontinence. Latchkey incontinence is a form of urinary urge incontinence characterised by the sudden need to empty your bladder when you put the key in your front door.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
This usually means a type of virus or bacteria infects the bladder or the urethra, the tube through which urine leaves your body. You might feel like you have to go all the time, and it may burn or smell funny when you pee. Your urine also may look cloudy, red, bright pink, or brown.
Anxiety and incontinence interact and exacerbate each other. And, anxiety is a risk factor for developing incontinence. The same appears to be true with other mental health issues, like depression, which is also a risk factor for developing incontinence.
Frequent urination is a common anxiety disorder symptom. It occurs because of how chronic anxiety affects the body. Many anxiety disorder sufferers experience frequent urination, or episodes of frequent urination, due to chronic anxiety.
Sudden stress (pressure) on your bladder causes stress incontinence. Common causes include coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting and physical activity. Younger and middle-aged women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) near or experiencing menopause are most likely to have stress incontinence.
A urologist will be able to assess the persons overall physical condition, discuss the occurrences of shy bladder, suggest voiding behavioral changes, and determine if medical interventions are required (prescriptions medications or possible catheterization).
This could be due to a brain conditioning phenomenon called latchkey incontinence. People often have to wait until they arrive home to relieve themselves. The brain might get used to this pattern and start associating arrival home with the need to urinate, triggering the urge whether your bladder is full or not.
Urge incontinence is a type of urinary incontinence that causes an urgent, uncontrollable need to pee several times during the day and night. You may leak urine before you get to the bathroom. An overactive bladder causes urge incontinence.
While it can happen to anyone, urinary incontinence, also known as overactive bladder, is more common in older people, especially women. Bladder control issues can be embarrassing and cause people to avoid their normal activities.
Magnesium. Magnesium is important for proper muscle and nerve function. Some doctors believe better magnesium levels can reduce bladder spasms, a common cause of incontinence. Magnesium levels can be checked through a blood test at your next doctor's visit.
Paruresis: Individuals with paruresis have also reported to experience obsessive compulsive disorder. A study by Vythilingum, Stein, and Soifer identified 4.8% of paruresis sufferers reporting obsessive compulsive disorder, with 1.6% of individuals also reporting a family history.
Paruresis is characterized by the fear of not being able to urinate in public bathrooms and has been classified by some to be a sub-type of social anxiety disorder (social phobia).
Howard Stern has publicly admitted he suffers from the disorder and it's a subject that the Dear Abby advice column has addressed repeatedly. Other celebrities who have been linked to paruresis are Orlando Bloom, Howie Mandel, and Alan Bennett.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Many people with shy bladder first visit a urologist to find out if there is something physically wrong. The urologist's role is to: check to make sure there is no related medical issue.
Hypnotherapy has proven a very successful therapy for shy bladder as it eliminates the problem at its source. The conscious and subconscious mind are finally led to accept that shy bladder syndrome is no longer an issue.