As a hypnotherapist who specialises in anxiety I have encountered a lot of people with toilet anxieties over the years. Often these are secondary to other problems such as IBS, overactive bladder or social anxiety. Whatever the reason, people who with public toilets anxiety experience a substantial diminishment to their quality of life. So, how do I use hypnotherapy for public toilet anxiety?
Hypnotherapy for public toilet anxiety
I can never speak for all hypnotherapists, but I can tell you what I would do with hypnotherapy for public toilet anxiety. Usually, the first thing will be to take a case history. A case history is where I find out about you and your problem. What it primarily does is tell the me what approaches are going to suit you best.
Assessing the causes of public toilet anxiety.
From the case history I will look for both the cause of the public toilet anxiety and the factors which maintain it. Typically, a public toilet anxiety is based on one of three things:
- Social anxiety.
- Contamination anxiety.
- Traumatic experience.
Having identified the primary cause, I will decide if that needs to be treated first or if I can move directly to symptom change. If I need to work with the initial cause I can help with approaches like EMDR, systematic desensitisation, parts therapy or a combination of these. This could be sufficient to solve the issue, but more likely some work changing the habitual and behavioural elements of the problem will be required.
Changing habits and behaviours.
Whatever the cause, public toilet anxiety tends to be associated with certain habits of thought and behaviour. Typically, these include:
- Anticipation of negative outcomes from using a public toilet. – This can be anything from being criticised for the sound or smell of bowel movements to experiencing violence. A therapist would look to change such thoughts, by processing old thoughts and introducing new ones.
- Lack of privacy. – Both bowel and balder are tremendously private organs and the awareness of being in public can inhibit their actions. Through a combination of suggestion, visualization and relaxation a hypnotherapist would look to decrease self-consciousness and help relax them into the toilet.
If you would like to begin addressing your public toilet anxiety please get in touch to book a free consultation.
The author
Dr Matt is a hypnotherapist who decades of experience who has a specialism in functional disorders and anxiety issues. He is a member of the BSCH and NCH