Fear of Flushing : The unspeakable

[AGrace]

If statistics are right, 2/3 of you will get a laugh out of a topic that got headlines in the paper today, and 1/3 of us will feel a sense of relief that we are not the only ones who get anxiety about the unspeakable act of having to flush.

The article "Toilet Anxiety: fear of the unmentionable" raises the point that just over 30% of Australians are affected by toilet anxiety. Many of us are aware of 'shy bladder syndrome' but what is less talked about is 'shy bowel syndrome'. This phobia of using the bathroom in public can lead people to avoid going out, going to work, and in extreme cases not going to the bathroom at all,resulting in severe physical discomfort.

One of the contributing factors of 'shy bowel syndrome' is the fact that such a delicate topic is often not spoken about in public, so I thought I'd open up the discussion around this condition, not to hear of all the horrific bathroom blunders, but to bring awareness and hopefully a sense of relief to sufferers. In times like these, it's helpful to know we are not alone.

AGrace

[white knight]

Hi Amber,

Interesting topic. What I do know is over the years two friends that needed colostromy bags.

The first friend overcame the inner hurdles of social interuption or stigma. The second became a hermit and us friends never saw him again except at his front door as he declined all invitations to go out.

A little off track and I hope others can contribute to the topic.  Kind regards.

[geoff]

dear Amber, lovely to have you back, and the topic you have raised is truly a good one.

The public toilets in shopping centres or especially parks can be very upsetting for anyone to needing to use them, simply because they don't have any toilet paper, dirty and all the graffiti can be very off putting, so this then causes many problems which brings us back to 'shy bowel syndrome'.

People of all ages have operations which means that they do need to be close to toilets, and if they do chance going out they have to be confident that any toilet will be available for use, and certainly don't have to stand in a queue. L Geoff. x

[angelite]

Hi Amber

From someone who suffers with IBS, and also have had six major bowel operations it is something l can certainly relate to. Spending the last ten months mainly living in my car it is certain an issue I've had to tackle head on. If only they could be clean!!!!! There is only so much hand sanitizer can to. I find shopping center toilets are the worst, second would be parks..... Composting toilets certainly different. The good old bush toilet would be my preference. For someone who is a perfectionist and has to have everything in order and clean I can certainly relate to this topic.

Karen