Poopers

Post by The Constipation Express.

What Is It?

Have you ever left a party, date or even work because you had to poop? If so, you may have a common condition known as Bathroom or Toilet Phobia. From a medical perspective, this condition is classified as an anxiety disorder (or sometimes a social discorder). Toilet phobia is the umbrella term for a variety of problems related to using - or, rather, the avoidance of - public restrooms, or using the toilet when others are around.

Toilet phobia includes:

> Fear of not being able to urinate or deficate

> Fear around cleanliness and germs

> Fear of being exposed

> Fear that other’s will hear or smell your business

Some of the most common conditions to do with toilet phobia include:

> Social phobia - worrying about being seen or heard in the toilet

> OCD - worries about bacteria, contamination etc.

> Parcopresis - fear about defecating in a public place

> Paresis - fear about urinating in a public place

> Panic attacks

> Claustrophobia

Toilet phobia can affect anyone. It can disrupt a life mildly, but more often than not, also significantly. Many people experiencing toilet phobia engage in avoidance behaviors, which can be very limiting and dangerous to their health. It can damage relationships. It can affect family members who have to accommodate specific needs. It can isolate people, stopping them from going on social outings and vacations, to holiday celebrations, friends’ houses, and much more. It can restrict employment opportunities. In fact, many people become homebound. Others change their eating and drinking patterns to an unnatural and unhealthy level so they can avoid using the toilet. Others are even unable to give urine samples.

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Why You Shouldn’t “Hold It In”

Avoiding pooping can lead to constipation. As food moves through the colon, the colon absorbs water from the food while it forms waste products, or stool. If stool sits in the rectum longer than it should, water will continue to be absorbed from the stool. This will cause constipation where stools are usually hard, dry, small in size, and difficult to eliminate. Some people who are constipated find it painful to have a bowel movement and often experience straining, bloating, and the sensation of a full bowel.

Holding it in could also lead to painful side effects, including hemorrhoids and/or anal fissures (tears in the skin around the anus). These may occur when a person strains to have a bowel movement. Holding it in can also lead to serious damage to your internal sphincter: the muscle in your rectum that relaxes to allow for quick and easy bowel movements. Ignoring the need to go causes the internal sphincter to stop relaxing entirely. Once this occurs, almost every bowel movement requires straining and pushing, which is unnatural and unhealthy.

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How To Keep Going

(Video: How To Mask Your Poop Stink)

Although Toilet Phobia is a real concern, it doesn't have to take over your life. To keep yourself going, try the following tips to help you cover your tracks:

> Mask your scent. A spritz of air freshener sprayed directly into the bowl should do the trick. But don't overdo it - this may just call attention to the underlying smell. If there's no air freshener in sight, you can light a match, a candle, or spray some perfume.

> Flush the toilet before you wipe to ease the smell and the sound. (Always stand up first so you don’t get splashed)

> Choose the stall farthest away from the door, or at least the farthest one from anybody else in other stalls. This gives you more of a chance that people will not sit so close to you when they come into the bathroom.

> Laugh it off. Make a joke of it, such as "I wouldn't go into the bathroom if I were you!"

You may never get over Toilet Phobia if you continue to avoid going to public restrooms. Instead, your life will revolve around the fear of letting others hear or smell you. Although dealing with your fears is never easy, here are some things to think about that may actually help you:

> Everyone does it! Just like breathing, pooping is completely natural. Nobody is judging you for being human.

> Nobody gives a shit about your poo, and if they do, there’s something wrong with THEM! Chances are that anybody in a public bathroom is too focused on successfully taking a dump in their own stall to concern themselves with what you're doing.

> If you're afraid of what others will think about the smell and the sound, it's okay, because you’re not the only one in the bathroom with same concern. Chances are the person next to you is also feeling uncomfortable and may even be waiting for YOU to leave the bathroom before they do, which means you’ll actually never even see them, and if you do, you most likely will never see them again.

> What's worse... having others know you're pooping (a perfectly normal thing), or missing out on your LIFE because you're afraid of what others might be thinking about you?

> Which do you fear more... going in a public bathroom or shitting in your pants?

> Always laugh at your own insecurities. Chances are you’re not alone!

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Party “Poopers” Have More Fun

If you've ever been out socializing and had to poop, you know that if you ignore the call of nature you start to feel:

> Bloated

> Unattractive

> Uncomfortable

> Distracted

> Irritable

> Unapproachable

However, after you poop you start to feel: