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Feedback on Beginners Workshop London 14th October 2011
Posted by Bob on 17/10/2011, 3:42 pm Message modified by board administrator 20/10/2011, 3:32 pm
I would just like to say a big thank you to Andrew,Simon & all the guys at the Beginners Workshop. It was really a life changing weekend & although not a miracle cure I feel very confident that I can steadily improve until I am rid of my AP. Anyone reading this considering a workshop don't put it off any longer (I did for many years). Go on one you will not regret it. Thanks again to all for your comradery & friendship. Good Luck. Bob
Yes, I agree. Good to work with you and great to get to know you. Same goes for all the people on the workshop - it was a real privilege to get to know you all over the weekend.
If you are reading this for the first time, well done. You've made the first step by finding this website and admitting that you have a problem. I and most of the people on the workshop have suffered from shy bladder for years and most of us, through a degree of fear, have put off signing up for a workshop. But let me tell you that it is friendly and professionally run and will be the best thing you have ever done to try to combat your shy bladder.
The first night, we went to the bar and really enjoyed having some drinks together - I realised what a fabulous and really normal bunch of people I was going to be with for the weekend.
I won't pretend that we weren't all nervous but believe me, this could really turn your life around. It's not a miracle cure, but I don't think that there is anything else that can go as far as this workshop to making your shy bladder better. I have tried on my own using the Shy Bladder book from Amazon, but to really know what you're doing, you need the workshop. Andrew is professional and friendly and the techniques are well proven in cognitive behavioral therapy.
I haven't yet been cured, but on the way home, after a couple of practice runs, I managed to pee in a motorway service station, something I couldn't have hoped to have done for about 25 years. On the way out, someone patted me on the back and said 'well done, mate' - another workshop participant who was on his way in to have a go!
So, if you have a problem like us, you're not alone. There are another 4 million in the UK alone. Statistics would suggest that hardly anybody who has shy bladder ever gets help for the condition, from what I know, so please don't suffer in silence. Get yourself booked in on a workshop. Other participants are equally nervous, it's just the start, but can make a real difference. It's quite hard work, but you'll also get to know a great bunch of normal people like yourself, and realise that you are not alone. I'll be honest - it was one of the most challenging things I've done, but also one of the best. I now have lots of homework to do - Andrew says it'll take about 6 months to really get there, but I reckon I'm already about half way there.
Thanks Andrew and Simon, you really are very special people. And thanks everybody, I really enjoyed working but also having fun with you all. Happy peeing and stay in touch!!! Richard
Yes, i agree with both of you buddies. I came from France especially for the workshop because I heard about Andrews reputation in that country. Andrew has trained the founders of the French Association whose name is AFIP. I don’t know how to express the exceptional relational quality of the organizers. I met with a reassuring and comforting presence, a very special sensitivity completely adequate to our same problem. There is both a core curriculum for everyone in the workshop, but also an individual listening to progressive adaptability exercises during the weekend and also personal counseling if needed. This is what happened to me and I would be eternally grateful to Andrew and Simon for that. I suffer from paruresis for over 25 years and I met with psychologists and psychiatrists without ever any understanding and practical solution. That's what you'll find here at a point that you do not suspect. It took me two years to take the plunge. I KNOW now that it’s the best thing an AP can do for himself. The week-end was like a dream, an unreal thing, so rewarding, with so respect, understanding, caring, sharing, among the participants. Each retains its freedom to communicate, to do what he wants. No one is pushed, ever, and it is very important. I did a lot of progress, understood a lot about myself, about my relation with urinals and I have many tools to tame the disease. I know I'll have a ways to go regularly, step by step; that's a start, but what a beginning ! I hope to communicate again with all the people I met in London, these people who are very human, normal, and that I consider as my friends. You are welcome home if you go through Bordeaux, of course. I hope to come again for a followers workshop. Don’t hesitate a millisecond Kindest regards.
I can't really add anything more to what has been already said by my friends up here. I travelled from Rome to join the workshop, it cost me some money but I don't regret it at all. It was a great experience and it's so nice to share thoughts and fears with someone who knows what you are talking about. Thank you to everybody and I'll see you soon.
I can't remember the last time I went for a pee in a service station urinal before last weekend. Now I have been to 5 different service stations and succeeded in all of them. Although I could use a urinal if there was no one else in the room, I could never and would never even try when someone was within eye shot or ear shot. By the end of the weekend I had taken a pee in a small toilet room with just two urinals whilst 3 of the group stood by the sinks. I also managed to pee in the service station with only one gap between me and the next man.
Thanks to all the guys who went on the course - we gave each other so much confidence and it was great to find out that normal people also suffer from shy bladder.
Thanks to Andrew, Simon and Stephane for the support along the way and the useful tips.
I'd like to add my thanks to Andrew, Simon and all the guys as well. I'd waited over a year before coming on the course having not been able to pee in public since I was about 10 or 11. I was very nervous, especially in the week before the course and I was very tempted to cancel a couple of days beforehand. I'm so glad I went through with it. It was amazing to be sat in a room with such a great bunch of normal guys who all had the same problem.
Andrew and Simon where very approachable and sensitive to everybody's needs. Everyone was different but we also had loads in common and not just AP! The course was very, very progressive with everyone working at their own pace and it was astonishing how much progress everyone made. Being able to pee in a hotel room knowing that other guys were even around was a big step for some guys whilst others were able to go with some one else next to them by the end of the course!
If you're reading this and thinking that your fed up with AP and want to be able to get on with your life without it then please contact Andrew and take the plunge. You will be nervous, I certainly was having never told another man about it. But, you'd struggle to meet a more understanding guy and I promise that you'll make some great mates, learn a lot about yourself and make some real, life changing progress. You've nothing to loose and everything to gain. Email Andrew now....
Andrew, Simon and everyone - Thank you, it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet you.
I simply forgot to thank our dear friend Stephane who attended the workshop in order to compensate for my shortcomings in English and turned out to be a mine of information for the group and a very good mate. It is a privilege to have knowledge of the ancients. See you soon everyone.
I agree with the others who have posted here; this isn't a miracle cure but it is a big step forward, and it has really changed my attitude to how I deal with my shy bladder syndrome going forward.
I first found UKPT via an article somebody had written about their paruresis after I had searched about my condition online and found out what to call it.
The biggest change in my levels of anxiety and preoccupation with this condition was when I put a name to it and then sat with other people who could all relate to my experience, and who had similar experiences of their own.
It was great to be in an environment of trust and amicability where I could really get down to the business of understanding what was going on and how to set about dealing with it.
I had struggled for years to figure it out on my own, but one weekend did more than all of those years of solitary introspection ever could. I almost didn't sign up to the workshop but I'm glad I made the last minute decision and managed to secure a place; one of the best decisions I've made in life.
If you are struggling with shy bladder syndrome, then get onto the UKPT website and sign up to a workshop; don't put it off any longer.
I'd like to say thank you once again to Andrew and the UKPT; and thank you to everybody who was at this workshop, you were all a thoroughly great bunch of people to spend time with.
Good luck everybody!
Re: Feedback on Beginners Workshop London 14th October 2011
To reiterate what others have said; if you suffer from AP, attending a beginners’ workshop is the best way to start to make progress in dealing with the condition.
I have been aware of the workshops for many years but only recently even considered attending one. The hardest part of the weekend by a long way was the anticipation before it, if I’m honest I had no idea what to expect. I was quickly reassured however; being able to speak freely about a condition that I previously kept completely to myself seemed so normal and not surreal in the slightest.
My personal progress exceeded all my expectations, which I’m delighted about. I do know however, that the hard work is ongoing and the techniques and advice that I acquired throughout the workshop will keep me on the right track and to stay positive.
I have to say thank you to Andy, Simon and Stephane for being so encouraging and understanding, without them the workshop wouldn’t have happened. In addition, thanks to all the others on the workshop it was great to start this journey with such a good group of people. Good luck to you all!
