L

I thought I was like the only person with this stupid ridiculous excuse of a phobia, but Ive realised that other people do have it which is comforting to know.
The anxiety all started at school during assemblies, but that was more a fear of being jammed in with so many people around me then it moved on to feeling that i was losing control during exams, classroom lessons. Now I live in London I get anxiety sometimes when using the tube because I know I'm jammed in and wont be able to go to the toilet. Sometimes I need to get off the tube because it becomes too much and I could never do a long coach or car journey because of it, I would be way too traumatised and worried about feeling the fear of needing to go to the toilet. On a bad day I also end up giving myself diarrhoea because i make myself so nervous about the anticipation of being stuck on the tube which only makes me panic even more, that im gonna need the toilet, but cutting out coffee and bread in the mornings has helped me a bit + rescue remedy is kinda good for calming yourself down during a panicky situation. Ive often tried to think deeply about what would be so bad if it did ever happen on a tube or public place then I realise its a fear of humiliating myself in front of other people and have them laugh at me- i dont know where this comes from, its an annoying bloody phobia and hard to talk about because to other people it must sound so stupid and pointless.

GIOLANDA

Hi there,L! Sorry,but I'm a bit confused now. Do you have toilet mania or tube/other public places phobia,or both? If you are afraid of public places only because you can't go to the toilet,then it's not SA.

BE CAREFUL! GOD WATCHES YOU!

carebear

most guys/gals toilets (bathrooms) in the uk are not seperated..right?

anyway, i have the same problem :oops: . i don't like going in public places. i'd rather wait till i get home.

Jack-B

L,

Loads of people have this, it becomes a phobia when it gets obsessively out of control and you need real help for it or you think about it constantly.

People who have IBS, Chrones, Colitis or have urinary problems also have similar anxieties about going/needing the toilet in public.

"If i go out today where's the nearest toilet? I cant do these things because i will need to be sure there is a toilet near by" - these thoughts are shared by many.

Anxiety, however, may be causing you stomach upsets or frequent passing of urine because of it's effect on the nervous system. So its completely mind made. Or quite simply you could have a medical condition in which anxiety worsens it.

Go see the doctor, raise your concerns, it may be a combination of your diet and how you live but in general anxiety worsens any physical condition. He/she may talk to you about relaxation and give you alternatives.

Good luck

Jack

It's all in your mind.

Phobologist

I had a phobia of using toilets because I was afraid of clogging them. I used to cut my **** with a knife to make sure it flushed because I would wait 3 or four days between taking dumps. Once I even took a **** in a bag and threw it in the garbage instead of possibly clogging the toilet on my dormitory hall back in college.

Weirdness.....luckily that problem is over with now.