modern health campaign highlights common source of anxiety

For most people, the daily or near-daily ritual of having a bowel movement is not something we give much thought to. However, for some people, the need to do a double in a public restroom or at work can be fraught with significant stress and anxiety.

In response to the discomfort people may feel when passing stools at work, the Queensland Department of Health recently launched a social media campaign called ‘It’s OK to Poo at Work’.

The campaign gained significant popularity Instagram AND Facebook. This was praised by health and marketing experts for their witty take on a taboo topic.

The colorful Instagram post comes with a caption warning of the health risks of “holding on,” including hemorrhoids and other gastrointestinal issues. The caption also includes the following note:

If you have great difficulty relieving yourself in the presence of other people, you may be suffering from parkinsonism.

What is parkerosis?

Parcopresis, sometimes called “shame bowel”, occurs when people have difficulty or are unable to pass stool in public toilets due to fear of perceived control from others.

People suffering from parkinsonism may have difficulty to utilize the toilet in public places such as shopping malls, restaurants, at work or school, or even at home when friends or family are around.

They may fear judgment from others about unpleasant odors or sounds during bowel movements, or how long it takes them to have a bowel movement.

Living with a digestive disease (at least four in ten Australians c) may contribute to parcopresis due to fear of having to utilize the toilet frequently and perceived evaluation from others when doing so. Other factors, such as past negative experiences or accessibility issues, may also play a role.

People with this condition may experience anxiety through rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, sweating, muscle tension, blushing, nausea, tremors, or a combination of these symptoms. They may feel constant anxiety about situations in which they may need to utilize a public restroom.

Living with parcopresis can affect many areas of life and overall quality of life. For example, sufferers may have difficulties with employment, relationships and social life. They may avoid traveling or attending certain events because of their symptoms.

How common is parkinsonism?

We don’t really know how common parcopresis is, partly because it’s tough to assess. It’s not necessarily uncomplicated or exact to track people to see if they’re using or avoiding public restrooms (and why). Furthermore, observing individual bathroom activities can change a person’s behavior.

AND conducted a study to better understand how common parcopresis is. The study involved 714 university students. I asked participants to respond to a series of vignettes, or scenarios.

In each vignette, participants were informed that they were in a local shopping mall and needed to relieve themselves. In the vignettes, the bathrooms (which had been recently cleaned) had configurations of two or three toilet stalls. Each vignette varied in the configuration of the available stalls.

The overall avoidance rate was just over 14%. However, participants were more likely to avoid using the toilet when other stalls were occupied.

About 10% avoided walking when all toilets were available. This percentage increased to about 25% when only the middle of three toilets was available. Men were significantly less likely to avoid walking than women in all vignettes.

Many of those who avoided using the toilet said they would either go home to relieve themselves, utilize an accessible disabled toilet, or return when the bathroom was empty.

Parcopresis at work

In the work environment, anxiety levels associated with using shared bathrooms may be higher for several reasons.

For example, people may feel more embarrassed about their bodily functions being heard or observed by peers than they would be by strangers in a public restroom.

People may also feel guilt, shame, and fear of being judged by colleagues or superiors if they have to make long or recurrent trips to the bathroom. This may be particularly true for people with gastrointestinal disease.

Reducing anxiety associated with using the toilet

Using a public toilet can understandably cause some anxiety or be unpleasant. However, for a compact minority of people it can be a real problem, causing stern anxiety and affecting their ability to carry out everyday activities.

If pooping in the bathroom at work or in another public place makes you anxious, be kind to yourself. A few strategies can lend a hand:

• identify and question negative thoughts about using public toilets and remind yourself that using the bathroom is normal and that most people do not pay attention to others in toilets

• try to manage stress with relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxationwhich involves tensing and relaxing various muscles in the body

• getting involved in gradual exposure it can be helpful, which means visiting public toilets at different times and places, so you can gain confidence in using them

• utilize grounding or distraction techniques when using the toilet. These may include listening to musicwatching something on your phone or focusing on your breathing.

If you feel like you have parcopressive symptoms, significant impact in your life, talk to your family doctor or psychologist who can lend a hand determine appropriate treatment approaches. This may include cognitive behavioral therapy.