For most people, the daily or near-daily ritual of having a bowel movement is not something we give much thought to. But for some people, having to do the “number two” in a public restroom or at work can come with significant stress and anxiety.
Recognizing the discomfort people can feel when they have a bowel movement at work, the Queensland Department of Health recently launched a social media campaign with the message ‘It’s OK to poop at work’.
The campaign has gained significant traction Instagram and Facebook. The has been praised by health and marketing experts for their humorous handling of a taboo subject.
A colorful Instagram post came with a caption warning of the health risks of “keeping it in,” including hemorrhoids and other gastrointestinal problems. The caption also notes:
If you find it extremely difficult to gossip around other people, you may have parking pressure.
What is parking?
Sometimes called “shy gut”, people experience a difficulty or inability to defecate in public toilets due to fear. perceived control by others.
People with epilepsy can I’m having a hard time going to the toilet in public places such as malls, restaurants, at work or school, or even at home when friends or relatives are around.
They may fear being judged by others about unpleasant smells or sounds when they have a bowel movement or how long it takes to stop, for example.
Living with a gastrointestinal condition (at least four in ten Australians does) can contribute to continence due to anxiety about needing to use the toilet frequently and perceived judgment from others when they do. Other factors, such as past negative experiences or accessibility challenges, may also play a role.
Motion Films/Shutterstock
For sufferers, anxiety can present itself in the form of a faster heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, muscle tension, flushing, nausea, tremors, or a combination of these symptoms. They may feel constant anxiety about situations where they may need to use a public toilet.
Living with parkinsonism can affect many areas of life and quality of life overall. For example, sufferers may have difficulties with work, relationships and social life. They may avoid traveling or attending certain events because of their symptoms.
How common is parcopraxia?
We don’t really know how common truancy is, in part because of the difficulty of assessing this behavior. It’s not necessarily easy or convenient to watch people around you to see if they use or avoid public toilets (and their reasons if they do). Also, observing individual bathroom activities can change a person’s behavior.
I conducted a study to try to better understand how common paroxysmal is. 714 university students participated in the study. I asked participants to respond to a series of vignettes or scenarios.
In each vignette, participants were told that they were in a local mall and had to defecate. In the vignettes, bathrooms (that had been recently cleaned) had either two- or three-stall configurations. Each vignette differed depending on the configuration of available stalls.
First published in Current Psychology, volume 42, pages 1762–1772, 2023, by Springer Nature
The avoidance rate was just over 14% overall. But participants were more likely to avoid using the restroom when the other stalls were occupied.
About 10% avoided going when all toilets were available. This increased to around 25% when only half of the three toilets were available. Men were significantly less likely to avoid going than women in all vignettes.
For those who avoided the toilet, many said they would either go home to flush, use an available disabled toilet, or return when the bathroom was empty.
Parcopresis at work
In professional settings, anxiety rates about using shared bathrooms may well be higher for a number of reasons.
For example, people may feel more self-conscious about their bodily functions being heard or noticed by colleagues, compared to strangers in a public restroom.
People may also feel guilt, shame, and fear of being judged by coworkers or supervisors if they need to make extended or frequent bathroom visits. This can be especially true for people with a gastrointestinal condition.
Reducing toilet stress
Using a public toilet can understandably cause some anxiety or be unpleasant. But for a small minority of people it can be a real problem, causing severe distress and affecting their ability to take part in activities of daily living.
If peeing in a restroom at work or in another public setting makes you anxious, be kind to yourself. A number of strategies may help:
identification and challenge negative thoughts about using public toilets and remind yourself that using the toilet is normal and that most people don’t pay attention to others in toilets
try to manage stress through relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxationwhich involves stretching and relaxing different muscles around the body
involvement in gradual exposure can be helpful, which means visiting public toilets at different times and locations so you can develop more confidence in using them
use grounding or distraction techniques when going to the bathroom. These may include; listening to musicwatching something on your phone or focusing on your breathing.
If you feel like you have parking pressure significant impact about your life, talk to your doctor or a psychologist who can help you identify appropriate approaches to treatment. This may include cognitive behavioral therapy.
