Toilet Anxiety can be very debilitating. There are two distinct forms of toilet anxiety: not wanting to use unfamiliar or potentially unclean toilets (shy bladder syndrome), and fearing being too far from a toilet.
Being afraid to use unfamiliar or unclean toilets is not uncommon but can become so serious that it limits a persons movement and alters their whole lifestyle. It can be so strong that some people are physically unable to use some toilets, causing great discomfort.
If this anxiety exists without any other anxiety disorder, such as agoraphobia and panic disorder, then cognitive bahaviour therapy is probably the best approach to solving it.
It can be tempting to use hypnotherapy or some kind of psychological analysis or therapy to find the root cause of the toilet anxiety, but I would seriously caution against this. The idea that fears phobias and anxieties come from traumatic past memories in the past is false, it is completely without foundation. Lots of therapists will tell you that they can solve your problem and that they have helped hundreds of people with toilet anxiety, but they are just after your money.
The big breakthrough will come with the exposure therapy side of CBT. You have to, bit by bit, get used to being in unfamiliar surroundings, strange toilets, places where you don’t feel comfortable. At the beginning it seems impossible, but progress is so quick and it is life-changing.
If you fear being too far from a toilet then your anxiety is more likely to be related to IBS, where frequent need for a toilet and diarrhoea are common place. In this case, treating the IBS will bring relief to the anxiety naturally. You can read more about the IBS anxiety connection here. CBT can also help with anxiety related to IBS, but remember, IBS is the main problem and CBT is useful to treat one symptom of it. Don’t let over-zealous therapists and arrogant psychiatrists tell you they can help with everything.
Do tackle toilet anxiety though, it doesn’t have to control your life.