Why Can't I Pee in Public Bathrooms?

Paruresis or “Shy Bladder Syndrome” is the inability to pee in public. If this sounds like you, have hope; it’s super treatable!

Hosted by: Stefan Chin

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[Sciencerely]

SciShow's new slogan: Answering ALL of your secret questions

[ATLAS_JET]

THIS HAPPENS ALL THE DAMN TIME AND I HATE IT

[CornerCastCrew]

I have an extremely shy bladder and it SUCKS

[thesun]

Yeah I hate it, when I go to use the bathroom I try to use a stall for the privacy. But even hearing others in the bathroom can stop me from going. And if I take too long then I will outright pretend I went and wash my hands and leave. It just sucks.

[johnopalko]

It's really bad when taking a drug test:
"Fill this container while I watch."
"Well, you might as well get comfortable because we're going to be here a while."

[busystudying]

I cannot go in a urinal when there are people around. I need a stall for the privacy

[jasepoag]

I'm fine until there's a line behind me, then everything shuts down. It's considerably better if there are dividers.

[GameTesterBootCamp]

I've suffered from this my entire life! I've never clicked on a video so fast hoping for a solution IN MY LIFE!

[THEunderscoreJOKE]

Feel like it's way more than 7% of guys (from personal, anecdotal and comments-belowal evidence)

[ThisIsTaco]

I usually have no issue with peeing in a public bathroom. But every once in a while I do take up to 20 seconds to start peeing

[seanathanbeanathan]

It never occurred to me that this issue is treatable. I have this and it's extraordinarily hard to deal with. It's to the point that I won't drink or if it's very hot try to match the amount I drink with how much I perspire.

[BionicBear]

I have a shy bladder when I know people can hear me. Like if I'm in a single bathroom and I can clearly hear the people outside, it takes me much longer to go. Especially because I'm hard of hearing. If I can hear them, they can definitely hear me. To make it easier I'll usually just turn the sink tap on to help drown out the sound of people outside, and to help motivate actually going. If I'm in a restroom with lots of stalls I usually only have trouble if someone is talking to me directly. I know that's weird, but I guess I'm just weird. To fix that issue I'll usually just tell whoever I'm with that I can't go with them talking to me. Then if they continue talking or try to talk to me again the next time we're in the restroom, I'll just flat out ignore them and pretend they're talking to someone else. 😂 I know that sounds rude, but in my opinion it's kinda rude to talk to people while they're literally on the toilet.

[eliannam.]

I can pee but I can't poo! And I'm having a blast while on vacation!

[RyanDB]

Funny thing, it's not the fear of being judged for peeing which affects me - it's anxiety over not being able to pee, and looking like a weirdo stood at a urinal but not peeing

[Aramis]

My buddy and I went to a Springsteen concert in Philly and we both had to "shed a tear for Ireland" at the same time. I was done in about 20 seconds, but couldn't find him, so I shouted, "WHAT'S GOING ON, MAN! WHERE'D YOU GO?!"
Then I heard pee splashing all over the wall and hilarious laughter from all the divided stalls and urinals.
"SORRY DUDE! I HAD STAGE FRIGHT!!"
"AIM STRAIGHT!!"
"I CAN'T!! I'M LAUGHING TOO HARD!"
....in a room full of guys doing their business.

[Yurt_enthusiast]

WRONG CHANNEL UPLOAD!
This vid is obviously meant for SciShow Pee^^

[OrangeMilkBlossom]

I just wait for people to leave the bathroom. Hide in the stall until they're gone so they don't get to identify me 😅

[Moucheron]

I have crippling Paruresis. I won't go to certain Bars and Restaurants specifically because their bathrooms are too open or don't have stalls. One time I had to pee extremely bad right after I got out of a movie theater and the bathroom was very crowded so I couldn't squeeze a drop out at the Urinal. I ran outside to a dark spot on the side of the building so I could finally relax and pee all alone.

[Call-me-Al]

I used to have it because some teenagers are genuinely judgemental about your peeing because they're that desperate to find something to bully with, but one day I snapped and realized that if they judge you for your peeing, that makes them weird and too overly caring.

[domsusefulstuff]

TO MY FELLOW SUFFERERS: Try relaxing your face. All your facial muscles (you're probably scowling). For some reason this has worked for me a lot.