Anxiety about bowel movements

[zx123]

Hi,
I find this subject is slightly embarrassing but I wonder if anyone else has experience of it and can offer me any advice.
A few weeks ago I had the experience of needing to use the bathroom to have a bowel movement but being unable to do so for a prolonged period of time. This caused me to feel anxious and to experience some unpleasant symptoms.

Ever since that time I have become hyper aware of needing to use the bathroom and I now feel anxious if I have to wait , even for a short time. For example today I needed to use the bathroom but I was unable to do so for a short period of time but I still felt anxious about it.
I have also started to have similar anxieties about needing to urinate.

Has anyone else got experience of this and how to deal with it?
I would be very grateful if anyone could give me any advice about this.

Thanks

[Oosh]

What exactly is it that you are anxious about ? Not being able to get to use the toilet in time ? Not being able to go when you're there ?

[zx123]

Hi,
I suppose it is just anxiety by association.
Ever since I had the experience of having to wait I have felt anxious that I might not get to the toilet in time.

[Oosh]

It sounds like a valid thing to worry about to me. It's unpleasant needing to go in tricky situations. I am a bit the same with tea drinking. I drink lots of tea and it is a diuretic. It makes the body get rid of water. It annoys the hell out of me anticipating my work or things like shopping and knowing its a possibility I'll be bursting at some point in the middle of it so having to think about toilet access.

For you I think you can solve your issue by becoming regular. I drink these smoothies full of spinach and veg. When I'm on them I go at the same times quite predictably. This might give you some reassurance as if you know when you are going to want to go you have a very good idea of when you're not going to want to go so can plan your day accordingly.

Just an idea :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

I know I've seen others talk about this need to be near a toilet. Its a bit like how you need to check where the exits are in case you need to escape due to panic.

I've been through some of these issues myself and you feel afraid that you will not get their in time and have an accident. Then its all about the embarrassment.

One way to get beyond this is simply to work on being less anxious anyway as you will start to lose some anxieties as you recover. Its not easy and its not a direct solution, but you feel stronger in yourself, more accepting & trusting of yourself.

Are you finding yourself legging it to the toilet just incase when you feel an urge? This can be reinforcing the anxiety if you are. We have control over these functions (within reason, obviously when you have the runs its not quite so simple!) and you will not have an accident unless there is some other factor in play e.g. diorhoria.

It might be worth trying to hold it to prove that you really don't need to make the dash. I would try this in a safe environment at first though e.g. at home with no one in the bathroom. From there, you make it harder and keep extending the time you wait, add obstacles such as people in the bathroom, doing it at work, in shopping centres, etc.

So, you treat it like ERP in that respect and expose yourself to the trigger to dispell it. It won't be easy at first, like all ERP it means challenging what our brain is telling us is right to survive.

I did a bit of this at home and I also worked on telling myself "whats the worst that can happen". I also had it will nausea and being sick in public places and did the same, don't flee but work through it and habituate.

Something which pretty much cured my nausea issue was actually catching a stomach bug. This may sound weird (maybe TMI for some people) but I want to explain it in detail because it was a breakthrough on this issue for me.

I was starting to feel odd, like my head was swimming. I noticed this, waited and then legged it for the bathroom. I made it, kneeled down as you do and started to be sick. Something strange happened. I started noticing how what I was feeling was nothing like what I had experienced as nausea from anxiety. Something in my head said "ah, so it wasn't an issue afterall, this is how it should feel".

Ever since then, no more nausea. I get the odd bit if I'm unwell or if food has not agreed with me, but my reaction is different now.

How did I get to that? I had studied Mindfulness in meditation form for a while prior to this. If you re-read the above, see where I use the word "notice"? Thats exactly what you are taught in Mindfulness, notice it all but make no judgement. I didn't judge it, I simply noticed it and didn't react other than to see it as normal for the situation. This allowed my mind to process what I thought was previously nausea.

I always suggest Mindfulness anyway as its good for anxiety & depression but I wanted to explain that in detail because I think it may give you some hope.

P.S. don't feel embarassed discussing this. We discuss so many intimate things on here.

[zx123]

Hi,
thanks for the advice,
I thought I would post here instead of making a new thread.

I am still having problems with this issue.
I find that if I go anywhere I need to empty my bowels before I go just in case I need to go when I am out
and when I am out I need to use the bathroom again to make sure my bowels are still empty. I also worry
about finding a public toilet and If I go somewhere and I cant find one or it is closed I start to panic.
I still worry about long bus journeys and if I have to make one I try to make sure to empty my bowels beforehand.
If I have wind I worry that I might need to have a bowel movement and when I go to the bathroom I find that I don't need to go.
I now seem to plan everything I do around the possibility of having access to a public toilet.

I have problems with ocd and this seems to be connected to that in the form of obsessive thinking.