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Urophobia – The Fear of Urine


Urophobia – The Fear of Urine

Do you experience unimaginable and unrealistic fear when it is time to urinate? Do you also deliberately avoid drinking juices, tea, and whatever drinks you should enjoy because you will have to empty the bladder at some point of time?

You might end up arranging your everyday schedule around your need to urinate. It might even cause you to sweat, feel restless, and jittery. It must be quite a task to attempt to explain what you go through to others. Then of course there will be shame and nervousness.

If you experience the things we just talked about, you might be suffering from urophobia. But don’t worry, there is a way around this phobia.

What You Need to Know About Urophobia

You probably have a phobia of urine and urinating. The fear of urine is uncommon. It is better known as Urophobia. What is Urophobia? Urophobia comes from two Greek words, ‘uro’ and ‘phobia’ where uro means urine and phobia stands for fear.

While urinating is an essentially natural process of excretion, the mere thought of it sends you into a panic mode. Some natural processes may sound disgusting but very vital to the body’s wellbeing. It is crucial that every human being urinates. In fact, people who can’t urinate are at risk of contracting diseases. Urinating is effortless and natural. It shouldn’t be that hard. However, to some people, it is a nightmare.

You might encounter a sufferer with the fear of urine OCD For such a patient, the symptoms are severe. They might avoid touching rails and opening doors in public places because they are afraid. What are they afraid of? That someone visited the bathroom and later touched the rails and doors without washing their hands first. Such a person may never shake hands. You have probably seen people that fear snakes, heights, and rats. Urophobia is rare.

Chances are, you won’t find a lot of people talking about Urophobia. But it is a specific phobia that falls under anxiety disorders. Urinating is inevitable. It would help if you faced it no matter what.

Symptoms of Urophobia

The symptoms of Urophobia vary from one person to another. Here are some common symptoms that have been noted in Urophobic people:

Psychological Symptoms

● Inability to organize your thoughts coherently
● Overthinking about peeing
● Organizing your life around peeing
● Anxiety
● Full-blown panic attacks

Physical Symptoms

● Shaking and trembling
● Dizziness
● Increased heartbeat
● Nausea
● Too much sweating
● Being unable to speak

Now let’s Explore Various Urophobia Causes

Like other phobias, your fear of urine came from somewhere. The most probable cause is the pungent smell of urine. Here are other possible causes.

Traumatizing Events

You probably had a negative incident with someone. You probably also forgot the specific incident, but the incident left a mark. Can you recall ever having an incident, especially in public toilets? Did an older person or a child harass you in the toilet? Some pranks go too far. Maybe you were pranked, and the incident involved urine. While it was humorous to the pranksters, it left a mark on you. You could also have been duped into drinking urine. Gross, right? Bullying and offensive jokes push some people into emotional turmoil that affects their everyday functioning even for a lifetime if not adequately addressed.

Health Factors

Do you probably experience pain while urinating? Urinary retention is another possible cause. Urinary retention is a condition where one is unable to excrete urine when they want to. While these health issues require medical attention, the pain associated can cause you to be fearful when it is time to pee.

Genetics

Do you know of anyone in your bloodline who has Urophobia? Genetics dictates that certain behaviors or practices develop from genetic conditions. If there is an alteration of your parent’s genes, the same is transferred to you. If there is a history of mental illness or anxiety disorders in your family, you are at a high risk of developing Urophobia.

Urophobia Treatment

There is no specific treatment procedure that is designed to treat Urophobia. There are, however, treatment options to explore.

Self-care

Self-care calls for you to work your way through anxiety to overcome it. The most significant step to recovery is in what you can do for yourself. As much as you can try professional treatment methods, self-care treatment works wonders when adequately utilized. Let it register in your mind that your fear is irrational and abnormal.

Talk to Someone

Get someone you can trust to talk to. When you keep a problem to yourself, it worsens. Who knows whether the person you will talk to has some excellent advice for you? You could be surprised that opening up is all that you needed for recovery.

Apply Relaxation Techniques

Simple relaxation methods like breathing in and out work wonders to calm you down. The natural process of urinating is unavoidable. Somewhere in the day, you will have to visit the toilet. When it is time to pee, begin to breathe in and out until you can feel calm. Try to also think about other things, not how much you dislike urinating.

Professional Treatment

In professional treatment, therapy, counseling,and medication are the available options.

Medication

If you experience pain while urinating, or suffer from urinary retention, get medical help. You will use medication, in this case, to treat the underlying health problems you could be having.
It is best to go to a medical doctor who specializes in the urinary system. Have them run every proper test. You could realize that your fear of urine and urinating ends where you get well.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or simply CBT, is one of the most common therapy treatments. It is also very effective if you cooperate with your health professional. The professional will help you by understanding your irrational thoughts. He will then work to replace these irrational thoughts with rational thoughts. To a great extent, your medical professional will incorporate counseling as they guide you through. The professional requires you to keep a thought diary. With every negative thought or belief you have about something; you will cancel out with a positive one in the diary.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is also relatively standard as a treatment method. With exposure therapy, the idea is to expose you as the patient to the very thing that triggers your fear. In this case, urine. If the smell of urine triggers your fear, you will be exposed to urine. Urine exposure can be gross but very necessary. It won’t be easy at first, but you will get used to it eventually. At the point where you can smell urine with a bit of discomfort and not anxiety, you will have won the battle.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is a type of therapy that incorporates meditation and group sessions. The whole idea of MBSR is to get a patient into mindful habits that distract them and reduce anxiety. In lectures and group discussions, group members talk about mental health and wellness. The conversations distract the patients from their fears. In meditation, the therapist will introduce you to a completely different phenomenon. This includes taking tea or focusing on the movements of the chest during breathing. When taking tea, for instance, you might be required to concentrate on the smell of the tea and describe that smell to the therapist.

How to Cope with Urophobia Altogether

One way or another, you must find a way to recover from Urophobia. Wilful retention of urine will lead you to contract diseases such as kidney stones. In addition, you might end up constantly wetting your bed. This is because the urine you failed to excrete can find its way out at night when you are unconscious. No matter what it takes, get better.

There’s Always a Way Around Fear

The fear of urine and urinating is treatable. You don’t have to live with a fear that messes your well-being and productivity up. The first step is knowing that your fear is irrational. From there, get a treatment method that works for you. A combination of therapy, self-care, and counseling will yield the desired results.

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