Probably the most frustrating Fear out there is Fear of Urinating in Public. You are at the restaurant or the bar, having a few drinks with some friends, or maybe you are on a date with a catfish you met online, when nature calls and says you need to pee. You head towards the nearest washroom and take your battle stance in or around the toilet/urinal. Depends what you’re in to. Everything is going fine and dandy until you hear someone else walk in. It’s in this moment of utter panic your first thought becomes “what if they know what I’m doing in here?!” which is unusual when you consider they are probably there for the same reason. Nevertheless, the Fear is that they are there to judge you or acknowledge that your kidneys are on the verge of bursting and not in a good way. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the concept known as PeeShy.
Fear of Urinating in Public affects 1 in every 6 people based on the study that I just made up off the top of my head, but does sound convincing. Everyone has a little bit of hesitation when it comes to urinating in public or in front of people. It is a skill that only a married couple of 50 years can safely say they have mastered. No matter what, there is always the element of “DONT LOOK AT ME”. This may stem from your elementary schools days when peeping over the stall doors at a friend was the coolest thing to do. You all did it, don’t lie. Or maybe it’s a relatively new concept to you because you just got a dog or even a cat and you’re inspired by the way they don’t seem to care who’s watching whether it’s on a fire hydrant or on your couch.
The fact of the matter is being PeeShy can be a serious problem. For example, if you really have to go but can’t will yourself to do it because there is someone 15 feet away, whistling softly while washing their hands (not even the running water can help. That’s when you know you have a problem). Suddenly you realize you’ve been in the bathroom for over an hour and have had no progress in accomplishing the task at hand (in hand? No, I can’t possibly make a joke like that). Now you have a bigger problem to deal with: Trying to explain to someone why you took so long. But that’s for another therapy session. So what can you do about this? Let’s find out in the next paragraph.
Okay, what can you do about having a Fear of Urinating in Public? Unfortunately, this is a problem that will come up more often than you would expect. Think about how often you go out or have friends over…When you do the math, that’s a lot of urinating in front of people. Not directly in front, unless you’re into that kind of thing, but in the general vicinity. Earshot. That’s what it all comes down to. If they can hear you, you worry. This is where the first piece of advice comes in. If you are in a place where you can control the volume of the setting (for example, watching a movie at home) turn the volume up! Crank it! Let your guest of honour indulge in the sweet sounds of anything put the faint stream coming from the next room.
If you don’t have access to a source of volume because you are at a bar or a local shopping location then you need to provide a distraction. Whether this is giving your friend your phone and saying “look at all my texts. Explore my life.” or by asking them to grab you some food while you take a call (brilliant, I know) giving the other person something else to focus on puts you in a state of ease. Therefore, results. But! What do you do when you are in the restroom and someone else walks in? You can’t exactly request that they leave you alone because no one likes conversations in the bathroom. This is the tricky part. Not that I do this constantly, but if I was speaking from experience I would tell you to simply walk away. Pretend like you’re finished and go wash your hands and look at yourself in the mirror until the person leaves. Then resume the previous activity. Again, this is definitely not something that affects me and I definitely don’t do this every time I leave the house. Nope. And don’t even get me started on Fear of the Urinal Situation!