Spreading knowledge about shy bladder syndrome

I'm going to give you a bit of UK Paruresis Trust (UKPT) history – don't go away - it's only a little bit!

When starting up a charity, you have to promise to do certain things. These are called our 'charitable objectives'. It is very important that everything we do is stated in one of those objectives. The over-arching objective is 'The relief of persons suffering from the phobia Avoidant Paruresis'.

Then we go on to explain how we will achieve that by providing information and support on the internet, workshops, etc, and 'raising public awareness, including that of the medical profession'.

That's a tricky one.

Most people who contact the UKPT find us via a Google search. They may type in 'shy bladder, why can't I urinate? Can't pee away from home', or similar. With luck, they will find us at www.ukpt.org.uk, but getting the health info you need shouldn't be a matter of luck. Hence the need to raise awareness of paruresis with the medical profession.

In an ideal world, you could visit your GP. You would tell them about your bladder problems and worries. They would give you info on paruresis, including our contact details. There are a number of difficulties associated with that. Many people find it hard to discuss embarrassing issues with a doctor, and we know how busy they are, so we tend to ignore our needs and put up with it. We carry on as always.

We know from what many of you tell us that a lot of GPs don't really know much about shy bladder syndrome. Some of them have never come across it. Those who have, often don't know that women can experience it as well as men. Many of them think that when you reach a certain bladder fullness point, you'll simply have to pee. They don't realise how devastating an effect paruresis can have on an individual's life. So, they don't always go about handling it in the best way for their patient.

We want to help change that, and according to our charitable objectives, that's exactly what we should be doing.

All GP practices and medical teams have an annual requirement to undertake Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training. This can cover all sorts of topics, from ethics, latest research, new treatments, equality issues, and now paruresis.

UKPT recently become an accredited CPD provider. We have developed a paruresis training session, which we can deliver to health teams via zoom in around 30/45 minutes. The session gives some medical information, and outlines how devastating paruresis can be to an individual's self esteem. We then recommend, based on our own and other workshop attendees' experiences, the best and worst ways to consult with a person who has paruresis.

Are you part of a health team that might welcome the opportunity to have a paruresis training session? Would you like to recommend to your GP practice that they undergo the training? Do contact us if so at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We'd love the opportunity to discuss it further.

Visit the UKPT website for more information about how paruresis affects people. Find out how other people have overcome their paruresis.

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