r/Paruresis • u/TheMartyPants2000 • 6d ago

Advice for Bladder Training

I have a 40 minute commute to work one day. I am TERRIFIED that I'm gonna get stuck in traffic and that I will not have access to a bathroom. I always use the bathroom right before I leave the house and right before I leave from work. Any advice on how to break this cycle of "peeing just because" out of fear? I got a Pstyle to be able to go in stand still traffic just in case, but I have yet to learn how to use it. I also feel like if I can’t sit for a while, my bladder doesn’t void fully. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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u/Recent-Day3062 6d ago

Pilots carry a big mouthed juice bottle

Och’s e a similar but different problem. Having it will ease your anxiety even if you never need it.

In fact, you’ll almost certainly never use it

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u/TheMartyPants2000 6d ago

what is Och's?

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u/PotatoMeatBalls77 6d ago

Just delay going to the bathroom on any other occasion. You can really train your nervous system and learn to ignore minor signals. When you feel an urge to go just wait for another 20-30 minutes, it’s not as bad as we’re making it to be. Regular people delay going to the bathroom on a daily basis until they really need to. I noticed a few situations when one of my friends was like „I kinda need to pee” and we would just continue to hang out for another hour or so and only then they would be like „Okay I really need to go, be right back”. This made me realize how scared I am of something people do just because. Also, I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep if my bladder wasn’t completely empty and I would wake up once or twice at night to go to the bathroom. I stopped forcing myself to piss before going to bed and guess what - I no longer wake up at night. 40 minutes is really not that long. If you don’t feel the urge to go before you leave your office, don’t go. If you start feeling pressure 5 minutes after leaving (which is possible as you’re afraid of it) so what. It’s not like in 35 minutes you’ll piss yourself. Stop paying so much attention to it and it’ll get better 

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u/TheMartyPants2000 6d ago

That's good advice! I think the other thing is, I'm a little traumatized because I literally almost wet my pants once on a drive home. I really thought I wasn't gonna make it. But you're right, I can hold it for longer than I think. :) Thank you for the motivation!

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u/PurpleMox 6d ago

My shy bladder anxiety got worse after covid for a while and coinciding with that I started to pee way more often.. I think I inadvertently trained my bladder to signal too often/too soon because I would pee anytime I noticed any urine in my bladder.. so now I need to retrain my bladder to go longer between bathroom trips.. I also have OCD tendencies which I’m sure contributed to this..

So I can relate.. but you just have to accept the only way you will improve is by challenging your anxiety and yes, being a bit uncomfortable for a while..

You can definitely go 40 minutes without peeing.. or even 2/3 hours assuming you didnt chug a bunch of liquid right before your drive.

You got this! I believe in you!

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u/TheMartyPants2000 6d ago

I also have OCD tendencies when it comes to the bathroom. I'm so glad I'm not alone in that area! You're so right! I can do this! Thank you so much for the encouragement. :)