U.K. PARURESIS TRUST: Re: Beginners Workshop Manchester (13/15 May 2011)

I also attended the Beginners workshop in Manchester last weekend, and would like to say what an incredibly positive experience it was for me.

I have had paruresis for around 15 or 16 years (I am 31 now), and at no point during that time would I have imagined I could have made the progress I made over the course of this weekend. Firstly, just being in an environment where I could openly talk about the issue with other people who understood was like a massive weight being lifted off my shoulders. Although I was very nervous beforehand, fairly quickly we were able to talk, with no embarrassment, about some past experiences which had remained bottled up for years.

Being in that controlled and relaxed environment removed most of the pressure, which in turn meant I was able to use the bathroom in circumstances I couldn't have before. Working slowly up my hierarchy meant that at no time was I put in an overly uncomfortable situation, while at the same time I was challenging myself through the desensing exercises.

It's been a week since the workshop and I've been sticking religiously to my action plan. I've had around 95% success, but possibly most importantly, when I've had a misfire it hasn't bothered me at all and every time it has happened I've then had success at the next attempt.

Thanks to all of the other guys who were on the course for making it an enjoyable as well as a productive weekend. Thanks especially to Andrew for putting so much time and effort into helping others through this website and the workshops.

For anyone reading this who is considering whether or not to sign up, I would say bite the bullet and just do it. It is far, far less scary than you might think - in fact it's a fun weekend overall - you'll make great progress and meet some nice people who are just like you.

Tony