How shy is your bladder?

[bluefeet]

Sup sup? 1st OP in OOT - getting a little burned out on the poker lately [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Note: I tried a search with no luck. My apologies if this has been covered]

So...I'm driving with my brother to Detroit for the Paul McCartney concert tonight (his girlfriend didn't want to go), when the ever common subject of 'shy bladder syndrome' came up. It seems that all of the males in my family have some degree of this problem.

For me, it's not too bad. Give me a little divider - some 'personal space'...usually not a problem. Though at work (a large office complex=busy bathroom), I usually opt for a stall even if the task is limited to a #1. Give me two beers, and I piss off the back of my golf-cart with my female partner in the ride. BUT, I do have my share of no-go's.

Occasionally, I'll hit an empty restroom, prepare the presentation to the porcelain gods, when someone strolls up along side me. I'm cooked - it ain't happening. I'll try counting wall tiles, counting vowels/consonants in the urinal makers name, etc...SOMETHING to keep those thoughts from creeping in. Worse, is the sporting/concert events. I am INCAPABLE of going when there is a line behind me. The added pressure of knowing they're waiting is just too much. The 'safe' stall is almost always my choice.

My brother? Beyond help. His case is so severe, he cannot use a public restroom PERIOD. Nor can he go in someone's house. It has really affected every aspect of his social life/planning. Including a 90min drive to and from, the concert, parking problems, etc...he's looking at 8 hours without a chance in hell of taking a leak. His only recourse is to not consume liquid of any kind prior & during the outing - which also means he's reluctant to eat!

Unfortunately, his job has him traveling quite a bit. He'll be at a hotel out of town, sitting through hours of seminars, taking his 15min 'break', literally sprinting through the hotel to get back to his room vs. using the public restroom nearby.

So anyway, we make jokes about it all the time - resigned to our fate. But when wondering just how many others are out there, I told him I know just the place to find out [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[siccjay]

Weird.

I could pee in the sink with a bathroom full of people.

[IggyWH]

I wouldn't say I've had a few no-shows, but at times it's a real struggle. It mostly happens when you're pissing in a sink with others standing around you.

I just force myself to start peeing, which takes a little while. Once the stream starts, it'll die but since it already starts flowing, every guy knows you can't just stop and go on with your day.

[TheMainEvent]

[ QUOTE ]
Weird.

I could pee in the sink with a bathroom full of people.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too. I remember seeing an OOT thread where there were a lot of posts basically saying that they avoid urinals like the plague. This amazed me.

[siccjay]

I mean I try not to just go up and piss next to someone, but if I have to I have no trouble.

[x2ski]

Your post is me exactly.

It hasn't always been this way... It actually didn't start until I graduated college and got a shitty white-collar cubicle job. The problem slowly got worse and worse the longer I worked there, but I absolutely despised the job, and attributed a lot of it to stress.

Things have been getting better since I quit, but it's now been 3 years and I wouldn't say I'm 100% cured.

I've always believed if someone came up with a widely proven solution to this, they would be freakin' bagillionaires. I'm pretty sure it's a fairly common problem.

[Blarg]

I love when Homer has R.E.M. over to his house to play in his garage, and one of the band guys says he doesn't can't pee in the urinal Homer put in there with Lenny looking all the time.

CUT TO:

He's trying to pee. Off to his left is Lenny, rocking back and forth on his heels and smiling, staring and staring.

LENNY: So, gotta pee, eh?

WHOEVER THE DUDE WAS: Aw, forget it.

Love that scene. I've known a few Lennys too. I've never understood the fascination to see other guy's peckers that some dudes have. Some go through some real gymnastics and seem almost desperate. That can take me from relaxed to self-conscious real fast.

I'm usually okay, but every once in a while it just won't come. That makes me feel like a total idiot. And of course, I'll just have to go a minute later. But when that happens, I'll again be at the back of the 10 minute line at a concern or whatever. Agony and stupidity combined, with very little conscious control.

I find visualization really helps, picturing a gut busting flood or something before I even get there so that by the time I get there I'm almost going in my pants.

The problem doesn't happen too much, but it seems really random.

[bluefeet]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm usually okay, but every once in a while it just won't come. That makes me feel like a total idiot.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol..that moment of failure sucks. I try to cover it up...shake it a few times, throw in a cough or two, actually flush - fooling no one I'm sure.

The times where against all odds I am victorious are almost as pathetic. Making sure I'm hitting the water so others can hear - "see boys, I'm pissin"...call my brother up "I pissed like a big boy today!".

For me it has nothing to do with privacy. I'm not terribly modest. I guess maybe it's a deeply rooted psychological fear of failure in some shape or form. Should make for an interesting phone call when I call my HMO looking for pre-approved counseling [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Escape]

I'm somewhere between option 2 and 3. I hate those urinals where you piss shoulder to shoulder, but I don't care if there is a small wall between them. I need some privacy [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[Blarg]

Plus protection from splashback. My splashback is bad enough, but like hell I want somebody else's.