Avoidant Paruresis

Paruresis has been diagnosed in people both young and old. A lot of people suffer in silence with this condition for years. One thing many paruretics have in common is that they are not sure exactly when and how it started. A person should never attempt to self diagnose paruresis even if it does seem obvious. Getting checked out by a urologist is always a step that should be taken to rule out any other problems that could cause similar symptoms. When a person has no problems at all going to the bathroom when they are alone but can not when others are or are perceived to be present this is usually an indication that they are paruretic. People with paruresis are know to have feelings of low self value and are often very ashamed. A person with avoidant paruresis will do nearly anything to avoid having to tell others about their condition. Working as a paruretic may mean having no choice but to hold it all day. Finding a job means having to look only at places where they do not drug test or risking losing the job if you are asked to provide a urine sample regardless of actual drug use. This is completely unfair to anyone with avoidant paruresis. They often can not admit that they are paruretic so they can not even ask for another type of testing. To a normal person, this of course seems ridiculous but to someone with avoidant paruresis it can be stressful enough to cause a serious breakdown. Most will just avoid the situation all together and settle for jobs they do not want. It is impossible to estimate just how many people are mistreated due to their paruresis and fear of admitting to it. One thing that is known is that in particularly bad cases it can completely control a persons life. This can drastically affect a persons ability to work or do any activities. The extent to which it can interfere with someones day to day routine can be staggering to an uneducated person. Paruresis can have an effect on nearly every aspect of life in one way or another and sometimes causes more problems than even the paruretic realizes.

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Working with Paruresis

When I think about how much my paruresis affects my life I would absolutely have to agree that it is a disability according to the americans with disabilities act definition. Not only does it affect the way I live my life but has effectively ruined it for me and many others. In my case my paruresis forces me to be completely agoraphobic. I have a very severe case in which I can only use my bathroom at home. I can leave the house but doing so means I constantly feel anxious about when and where I will be able to go again. Working means holding it for six hours a day because I usually can not tell people about my shy bladder. A lot of times I have to work much longer and it can be very painful. I have walked out on several jobs because I would rather quit than have to admit my paruresis in front of all my coworkers. This usually causes depression so bad it has put me in the hospital a few times now. Of course, that can be even worse so I try to cope with it on my own if possible. Recently I decided to try to be open about my paruresis at work but I just choke up. I am not sure it would do anything but make my boss decide that I am trying to get out of work and fire me. I am also very unclear on what if any protection the law offers me in this regard. Doctors tell me that holding it every day for so long will probably cause incontinence or other problems later in life. I do not see any other choice. Even the doctors seem to think I am lying to them about it. I can not find any information concerning disability payments for paruresis so I can only assume this particular mental disability does not qualify a person to receive financial aid. Simply determining if someone was being honest about it would be an issue but given the severity of some cases I think it certainly warrants some help. Especially considering some of the things people collect for. Paruresis is a much more serious issue than most people realize.