I attended the workshop in Manchester and it's taken me a shameful 3 weeks to offer up my feedback and reviews.

Why is that? Well, as a result of the weekend the group that went in, weren't the same group that came out. Since then we formed a FaceBook Messenger group sharing the successes and the misfires from our ongoing journey with paruresis. In hindsight this seems selfish not to share with the rest of the community, but it goes to show how empowering the workshops can be. We absolutely went in as strangers, but came out wanting to carry on supporting each other.

Without offering up too many spoilers, the workshop approaches paruresis from many angles. For me the biggest thing I have got out of it is a shift in mindset. You come to realise that actually.. toilets are very boring and really not worth fussing over! Personally I was a toilet door watcher. I would panic before I even got to the toilet and try and go in when the I'd worked out the odds of it being empty.

From the workshop, I came to realise that you cannot possibly succeed with an outlook so negative. Taking some deep breaths and accepting that public toilets.. well they're probably going to have people in them! Going in with a clear mind and a positive attitude can make a lot of difference, and you can only fall back on your last success.

I did not go into the course expecting a quick fix, but I am really happy to say that I've had some real successes since the workshop. I cannot thank the UKPT society enough for helping me realise that it's just not worth the stress, and for giving me mechanisms, strategies and friends to help me on my journey!

Can't recommend this enough.

I'm usually a very skeptical person and all I wanted from this workshop was some techniques on how to deal with this issue. Well, guess what, I got very good techniques on dealing with it plus a load of other useful tips on relaxing, thinking about public toilets in general, even how people without the problem deal with it sometimes etc. etc. and most importantly I got to practice this dreadful thing in a friendly environment and making way more progress than I would have thought possible in a weekend! No, I'm not cured by any measurement, but the positive attitude I gained right after the workshop blew my mind. The amount of material provided - from basic functioning of a bladder to urinal etiquette is also impressive.

If you have this problem - be it mild, moderate, severe or however you see it - you should definitely give this a try!

If you’re reading this post and are unsure on whether to take the plunge and sign up to a workshop, then I encourage you to stop and sign up right away!!

We’ve all be in the position that you are in now and I can absolutely say that attending the Manchester workshop was the best decision I’ve made.

I, like many others had dreaded attending for so long. It took me around 6 years to pluck up the courage, but I now wish I’d of done it sooner and not wasted time. I arrived in Manchester feeling nervous, but was met in the hotel by faces that looked the same as mine, and we instantly started to calm down and adjust to the situation. It soon became apparent that we were just a group of guys who had a lot in common, relatable stories that we’d gained from suffering from Paruresis, and were all seeking help to overcome.

The weekend flew by and I gained a serious amount of information about Paruresis! How to take steps to improve and live the normal life that we all seek. The desensing sessions were daunting at first, but everyone is in the same boat. No one was forced to do anything they didn’t want to and everyone was extremely supportive. We all took great strides over the space of a weekend, it was great to see the nerves disappear and everyone become more confident in succeeding. Oh and everyone was possibly more hydrated than they’ve ever been before!

Thankfully for us all, a charity like UKPT exist and people like George and Andrew give up their time to change lives. I’m now in a stronger position and thats all thanks to UKPT. Theres now a huge light at the end of my tunnel and that wasn’t there before attending a workshop.

Thank you.

I was apprehensive about attending but so glad I did. A lot of really good information/knowledge and how to apply it. The detail is very fine and this has helped me massively to get a good grip on my AP. You will be well supported by course leaders and everyone attending. I'm finally making headway on this 30 year old problem/phobia.

I attended a workshop in Manchester last week--9-11 March. I was amazed at the progress I made during it--we all were.

We got a whirlwind of facts, ways of dealing with every obstacle that would arise, and a clear idea of how to go forward so that we would no longer live under the shadow of AP. We also rocketed from where we thought we were in our different forms of AP to a completely new place. I left feeling quite confident that the turmoil from this would end.

I can't go through everything, but I came to it uncertain of what to expect. Through much discussion and water, we came out of our different mental shells--or it would be more accurate to say those mental shells were hit with a sledgehammer and broken--and began making progress getting more comfortable with toilets at a rate we would never have thought possible 24 hours before. We had a whole host of negative feelings about toilets and going there, but we were able to identify them and through the various tools and tips this workshop offered we got substantially better--we're still clearing out the debris, naturally--Rome wasn't built in a day--but I'm quite certain now that I can get out of it now to a place I'm happy if I keep at it, practicing with all the tools and tips offered.