Shy bladder - it's a thing

There is a serious problem some people have that makes going anywhere outside the home for any length of time a challenge. The reason it's a challenge is because these people have paruresis, also known as shy bladder syndrome. People with this phobia are unable to urinate in the real or imaginary presence of others. Public restroom? Not happening. Just hearing someone outside a stall or in the same room is enough to prevent this person from being able to relieve themselves. Even in a closed bathroom, the thought of someone on the other side of the door waiting, especially a stranger, is enough to keep the tap closed.

Imagine what living with syndrome would be like. It would be impossible to go out for a lengthy shopping excursion, then a meal, or vice versa, because that's too long away from a safe, private bathroom. A day-long road trip would be excruciating, unless there was an opportunity for a safe, private bathroom with no chance of interruption. I know of situations where a person with paruresis would try to use the bathroom at a gas station and need their partner to guard the door so that they could pee. Taking a flight somewhere is difficult because peeing on the plane is definitely a no-go with the flight crew just outside the door most of the time, and airport bathrooms are the furthest thing from private. Even the private bathrooms are always at risk of someone knocking on the door or just standing outside. If someone with a shy bladder can hear or even imagine that someone could be just outside the door, it's just not going to be a success. So try holding it in for an hour drive to the airport, the hour to get through security, an hour wait at the gate, a 4 hour flight, then get through the arrival airport, getting a rental car and driving to a hotel. It would be painful. And yet, this is an unspoken problem that some people have all the time.

I personally think hotels could band together to help with this problem. People with paruresis would likely have no qualms having to pay to use a truly private bathroom for 5 or 10 minutes without interruption. Hotels could offer to use empty rooms, or even build a few private bathrooms somewhere in the hotel for this purpose and charge money to use them. If this were available, shy bladder syndrome sufferers would be able to make pit stops at any hotel that offered them a chance of relief. Hotels could indicate that they have such facilities / opportunities for people with paruresis by using a universal 'P' symbol on their sign and website as a friendly welcome to those needing to empty their bladder.


Hotel operators. I'm talking to you. Let's give travellers their freedom back by giving them somewhere to go to the bathroom in private.