Posted by Andrew on 17/8/2008, 10:27 pm, in reply to "recovery?"

Hi Bernando Unfortunately there is no straight simple answer, because your question contains terms that need to be defined. The quickest way is to say: can you get to the point where you are like the normal population. Lets talk men only: guys who do not see themselves as having any problem range from: (a) those who could pee in teh middle of a restaurant into a wastepaper bin, through to (b) those who use urinals most of the time but, if it feels crowded or for some other undefinable reason, will happily use a cubicle, and think nothing of it. Within that range, there are plenty who prefer not to be standing next to someone else (hence the term "urinal etiquette" - google it and see how many hits you get): if they have to, they take longer to go; alternatively they wait till there is more space, or use a cubicle, and think nothing of it. So in that context the answer is: yes you can recover from paruresis; where the condition is more correctly called Avoidant Paruresis, because it manifests itself as containing a strong avoidance behaviour pattern. We find that guys do get to the point where (a) they stop worrying about it and (b) it ceases to affect their social decisions. And that should be the aim of any recovery work. cheers Andrew

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