If you have paruresis, you may well have developed some fairly elaborate ways of managing your trips to the toilet. Things that would probably seem completely bizarre to anyone who doesn't have paruresis. For example… When you walk into a public toilet and immediately size up the situation, you may wonder… How many people are in there? Which cubicl...

The UK Paruresis Trust is committed to ensuring that everyone living with paruresis has access to reliable information, support and effective treatment, wherever they are. Although we are a UK-based charity, many of the people who attend our workshops come from overseas. Over the years, we have developed strong relationships with individuals and or...

UKPT are pleased to present our latest Annual Report for the year 2025 - 2026. It demonstrates how we've met our Charitable Objects throughout the year and mentions some of the highlights. 

ERIC (The Children's Bowel & Bladder Charity) have recently published an article about toilet anxiety in children: David's Story. Negative experiences in school toilets left David unable to use the toilet to pee. It was a problem that had become paruresis by the time he went to secondary school, and then continued long into his adulthood. He we...

There's something about sitting in a barber's chair that makes talking feel easy. You don't have to say anything important. It could be about football, work, the weather, holidays you haven't booked yet, proper low-pressure 'barber talk'. If the chat dries up, that's fine too, because the sound of the clippers can fill the gaps. For a lot of people...

How a UKPT workshop enabled Adele to see the world "Have you ever been on a plane or train or on land with the sensation of an ever-pressing full bladder, and the complete inability to release the pressure no matter how many times you sit on that toilet? I've been there too many times to recall; in parts it has dictated my life. At its worst I was ...

Fear - it's something we all know too well. It whispers doubts, magnifies risks, and convinces us to stay where it's safe. But here's the truth: the more you avoid what you fear, the more power that fear gains over you. The real secret? Do what you fear, and your fear disappears. It sounds simple, almost a cliché, but it's one of the most powerful ...

We all have that one thing. Maybe a project, a phone call, a form to fill out, or a dream we swore we'd start chasing. It sits there in the back of our minds, waiting. Days pass, then months. Sometimes years. The longer we put it off, the heavier it seems to become. At first, the delay feels harmless. "I'll get to it tomorrow." Tomorrow becomes nex...

Living with paruresis (shy bladder syndrome) can feel incredibly isolating. It's one of those hidden conditions that affects daily life in big ways. Yet most people have never even heard of it. When you finally build up the courage to speak to a health professional, it can be very disappointing if you leave without the support or understanding you ...

For those who remember life before the internet, information came from newspapers, libraries, magazines, encyclopaedias, and writing letters to ask for information. This worked for most topics, but not for paruresis, which was rarely mentioned, leaving many people with the condition feeling isolated. Then came social media and mobile phones, which ...

Christopher Zara didn't finish high school and can sometimes feel like an outsider working in a field where it's more common to have a college degree. Sometimes he's able to push through his social anxiety, to put on a tough face. But other times his body won't give him a chance to feel at ease – it seizes up, and in Christopher's case that means n...

Christmas can be a tricky time. I'm sure you don't need me to point that out. Just as paruresis (shy bladder syndrome) makes daily life more complicated, at Christmas time it can be even more complicated. If you have paruresis you quite probably don't really enjoy social events such as office parties, shopping trips, family get togethers, carol ser...

Have a listen to our first podcast. This is based on a blog post originally written for us by a student who has attended a workshop. He wanted to raise awareness of shy bladder syndrome, but also to try and reach out to other students who may be experiencing paruresis. His hope was that it would help them to know that they don't need to suffer in s...

It happens to everyone in all walks of life. Things are going well and you're succeeding at everything you're striving towards. Then, suddenly, things don't go to plan. An unexpected setback throws your confidence, and next thing you know you're in the midst of self-doubt. This may well be familiar to people who have been on a UK Paruresis Trust wo...

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 p...

Changing your mindset is not as easy as it sounds. Changing your mind is easy. If you don't fancy chicken for dinner any more, you choose cheese instead. If you don't like the shoes that looked so good when you bought them, you take them back to exchange them. It's no big deal. There are no repercussions. It takes very little thought and very littl...

We've all been there. You're on the bus/train and there are lots of empty seats. Someone you don't know gets on and sits on the seat right next to you. You wonder why. You ask yourself, 'wouldn't they rather sit in a nice spacious area with no one cramping their style?' We all have a need for personal space around us – that's the distance we prefer...

That's the question which everyone who has paruresis wants to know the answer to. There is certainly no easy option. There is no pill you can take which will make it go away, never to return. But don't let that make you feel despondent. There is plenty you can do to make significant improvements to your shy bladder condition so that it no longer do...

How often do we hear that phrase? Practice is how we learn to play a musical instrument, throw a bullseye in darts, learn to skate, run faster, jump higher, dance better – the secret behind all these skills is to practice. The more we practice, the better our progress. For anyone who has attended a UK Paruresis Trust shy bladder workshop you'll kno...

Christmas can be a wonderful time of joy and celebration. Traditionally families get together, children look forward to Santa's visit, and Christians celebrate the nativity – you don't need me to point all this out. You probably also don't need me to point out that some people find Christmas very hard. Family relationships may not be as peaceful as...

I recently listened to a podcast, which discussed how trustworthy, or not, online reviews are. According to several consumer organisations, up to 1 in 3 may be fake. As the use of Artificial Intelligence tools becomes more commonplace, it may become even harder to tell genuine reviews from convincing fakes which are designed to mislead the reader. ...

It's only three and a half years since Covid began and we all said life would never be the same again. We also said we would have to get used to a new normal. But in many ways, life now has already returned to its familiar patterns. Probably faster than most of us imagined it possibly could back in the dark days of early 2020. Day to day health ser...

"I've hated public or work toilets ever since school and if I try to pee in one, I can't go". Does this sound familiar to you? This question appeared recently on the "Ask Dr Martin" page of Chat magazine. I suspect that it will sound familiar to many people. Many people who attend our workshops tell us that their problems with paruresis, or shy bla...

For those lucky enough to be considering a break in the sun, the holiday season is upon us. Many people look forward to this as a time of relaxation and freedom, a break from the everyday routines of life, and a chance to "recharge life's batteries". But for people with paruresis (also called shy bladder syndrome), it can be a time of great stress ...

Would life be easier for men who have shy bladder syndrome (paruresis) if they were all sitzspinklers? According to this article in the BIG THINK it seems there could be positive benefits not only for our bladders but also for the hygiene in our bathrooms if men sat to pee! Many men with paruresis tell us that although they struggle to pee at ...

What if someone hears me pee? What if someone sees me while I'm peeing? What if I keep someone else waiting for the cubicle? What if a queue builds up and other people get annoyed? What if I don't manage to pee at all? What will happen?These are very common thoughts for people who have shy bladder syndrome (paruresis). It might start off as a littl...

It's good to see Health organisations recognising how life affecting shy bladder syndrome (aka paruresis) can be. Many thanks to Crystal Health Group Ltd for taking the needs of people with paruresis into consideration. https://www.crystal-health.co.uk/shy-bladder-syndrome-and-urine-drug-testing/https://www.crystal-health.co.uk/shy-bladder-syn...

Around three quarters of organisations have specific drug and alcohol policies, many of which require employees to undertake a supervised urine test if there is a suspicion that they have been at work under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Or the policies may involve random urine testing. For those with paruresis or shy bladder, these policies ca...

Here at UKPT, we often say that shy bladder syndrome has no respect for gender, age, or status. It can happen to anyone – from pauper to prince – quite literally it seems! Prince Harry's recently published book Spare features a passage about an incident that took place on board a yacht in fearsome weather. He badly needed to pee but was struck by w...

Life sometimes throws us a curveball. Things can be drifting along, much as they always do, and suddenly circumstances change making you take an unplanned step outside your comfort zone. Maybe a family emergency means you have to make an unplanned long train or plane journey. Maybe you get called to do jury service, or to give evidence in a court c...

It's Urology Awareness Month. Compared to the list of many serious and potentially life-threatening urology conditions, is this really the time and place to talk about shy bladder syndrome? I would say yes it is. Shy bladder syndrome, also known as paruresis, may not be life threatening but it can be life-affecting for people who experience it in i...

Macca, Diana Ross, Stereophonics, Pearl Jam, Duran Duran – yes, the music festival season has begun. After two years of no festivals due to Covid, we're all in the mood for some fun in the sun, or the mud, a spot of musical nostalgia, and some relaxation with good friends. But for those of us who live with paruresis it's not that easy. Mention fest...

Ok, so annual reports are not the most exciting reads. They'll never appear on bestseller lists. But all charities have to report their activities to the Charity Commission annually. And we can provide an interesting short report for the people who use the organisation's services. Or for people who may consider using our services in the future. The...

"Most men, however brave, have some anxiety or fear in them" (Babur)Many men have been expected since their earliest days to be brave. People say "big boys don't cry", "man up", "pull yourself together" and "be a man". We've all heard these sayings countless times ¬– perhaps from parents, perhaps from friends or work colleagues. The message is clea...

We know that most workshop attendees get their initial information about paruresis and UKPT from our website, so we want to make sure that it offers the best experience possible. With that in mind, we're carrying out a review of our website to give both the public and health professionals the confidence that our information is robust and accessible...

Ian Harris, UKPT workshop leader, has some good news for those of you who have been waiting for our shy bladder weekend workshops to restart. 

UK Paruresis Trust has been awarded the PIF TICK – the UK's only quality mark for print and online health information. To become a 'trusted information creator', UKPT had to undergo an assessment showing it met 10 key criteria. This means you can be assured that what you are reading, watching or listening to is evidence-based, understanda...

Student life promises many things - and most of them exciting. For many young people, it marks their first venture into the adult world and all that entails, from living away from your family, to shopping for food, doing your own laundry and, hopefully, enjoying an exciting new social life. But for the estimated 7% of the population who suffer from...

Not many people have heard of paruresis. It's frequently called shy bladder, but even people who have experienced it for many years are often unfamiliar with the word 'paruresis'. It's not surprising then that at UKPT we sometimes find it difficult to get ourselves noticed. Social media has helped a lot. And our website and Google have made it easi...

Some men call it 'stage fright'. Many men experience it from time to time – they need to pee, they visit the urinal, but nothing happens. Another day it may be no problem. But for some men, stage fright (aka shy bladder syndrome or paruresis) is a daily fact of life. And a fact which can have devastating effects on their mental health. Social life,...

Do you have a family member or a friend who has confided in you that they have a social anxiety around using public toilets, often known as shy bladder syndrome or paruresis? If you have, your friend or family member probably really values your friendship as it's not an easy thing to admit to, and they may have agonised long and hard before decidin...

The notion of public toilet "performance anxiety" is a familiar one to many men, with up to 4 million in the UK saying that they experience shy bladder (paruresis) to some degree. But do women experience shy bladder too? Yes, they do, and we know that it can cause pain, anxiety, restricted lives and depression. But as no figures exist for women, we...

We welcome people of all ages to our Workshops. Participants frequently range from teenagers (including those under 18) to people in their seventies and beyond. Our youngest participants sometimes come to UKPT through parents, guardians or other adults seeking support on behalf of someone they care about. We asked two parents of participants to sha...

 The UKPT is delighted to endorse a new series of videos which explain what paruresis is and describe what can be done to overcome it. The videos, which can be found on the link below, have been put together by Martin Burridge. Martin is a trained counsellor with experience of working with anxieties and phobias who now works in the space indus...

For some paruresis sufferers lockdown has brought unexpected relief from the persistent worry about where they might find the next toilet they feel safe to use when out and about. Spending most of our time at home, without visitors, means that peeing has become a less-stressful activity, to be carried out with the same lack of concern enjoyed by th...

In a new video for our YouTube channel, UKPT Workshop Leader and Trustee Ann speaks frankly about her own experience of paruresis (shy bladder) and challenges the myth that this is a condition which only affects men. Having attended workshops – and now running them – Ann's attitude to the condition has changed dramatically and she says "it doesn't ...

Experience tells us that people often hesitate before booking onto UKPT Workshop. Sometimes weeks, months or even years will go by between finding out about the UKPT and attending a Workshop. We are always happy that people do come along when the time is right for them. The feedback we receive after Workshops often mentions the friendly, welcoming ...

Paruresis is defined as a form of social anxiety which leads to the inability to pee in the actual or perceived proximity to others. You might therefore think that social distancing measures, introduced to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, might make things easier for sufferers since we are all being asked to avoid being around others where po...

UK Paruresis Trust are delighted that their website was recently rated Highly Commended in the British Medical Association's (BMA) Patient Information Awards 2019. The awards were established in 1997 to encourage excellence in the production and design of health information resources for patients. Judges from the BMA assessed how health professiona...

Many sufferers of paruresis tell us they often find it harder to go to the toilet when they are out or with people they know than with strangers. The issue suggests we worry a great deal about what our friends, family and acquaintances think of us; perhaps more so than strangers. Paruresis or "shy bladder syndrome" affects sufferers by making it di...