You've got this pretty well diagnosed. Don’t despair; this sort of problem is fairly easily treated. Find a therapist who specializes in behavioral therapy. He or she will design a program that over a few sessions will get you past this in steps.

However, let me suggest that it would also help to describe for us in detail the “multiple incidents” which you think led to this phobia. This may not by itself help you get past it, but it wouldn’t hurt and you’d have an appreciative audience. Milking unfortunate incidences is a great way to see them in a new light – as an opportunity to entertain. Also, write up a brief account for PoopReport of how you got past this.

Best of luck, pal.

I have a tendancy to have to poop as soon as I arrive at work. I work odd shifts, so it's not a normal schedule. If I arrive at 8am or 1pm, I still have to go as soon as I get there. And when I was in school it was the same thing. I had to go as soon as I got to the place where I was going to spend the day.

I have a mild fear of having to shit in a place where it would be inconveinent, say on a bumpy flight where you are not allowed to leave your seat or during a dental procedure. I usually pop an unecessary Imodium as insurance. The problem isn't crippling for me though, most of the time I am fine.

The bowels are directly connected to the brain. In essence, your state of mind is what activates and perceives the urge to shit. The best way to address the problem is to address the state of mind. Perhaps it's not having to shit in a place without a toilet that's the problem, perhaps that's just a metaphor in your mind for not having an exit or an option.

As strange as it sounds, phobia therapy usually works. I used to be an emitophobe..someone with a phobia of having to vomit or of someone else vomitting in my vicinity. It became bad enough that I was altering my life to cope and obessing all the time. I would get terrified if I heard someone cough on a bus. I went to therapy for it and it was effective after merely 3 sessions. And now, 20 years later, the problem has never come back.

We all have psychological quirks, but they are usually coped with..when it starts to effect your life because you wont go out or go to obessive lengths to cope, it's time to get the problem fixed.

I agree as well. The psychotherapy can really be great. I've had it myself. And PINWORM, I believe your going when you arrive at work is more or less a habit and not a problem. The body gets used to routine.

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Practicing the ancient Chinese art of double flushing... because sometimes, a single flush just isn't enough.

it does sound like your best bet would be some kind of therapy. perhaps even a hypnotist! it sounds dumb, but i actually know people who have tried it for things like qutting smoking, and it works, as long as you're willing and able to be hypnotized and really want it to work.

other than that, my only suggestion would be to try your hardest to NOT find out whether there's a toilet available until you need one. i don't know whether you actively seek out a restroom as soon as you get somewhere, but you obviously find out whether there is one wherever you are somehow. i know this might have the potential for accidents, if you wait until you have to poop only to discover that there's no toilet available. but the fact of the matter is, probably 9 times out of 10, there WILL be a toilet, no matter where you are. unless you're camping or something, in which case you just poop in the woods.

good luck solving your problem!
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i love poop.

I will admit that I too have a similiar problem.
If I know that a bathroom isn't immediately available I am uncomfortable which leads to stress. Stress often gives me the urge to shit.

If happens the most on my morning journey to work. I often don't "totally clean out" before work. Usually half way to work I need to shit and/or I get gas.

I guess if I shit myself, I shit myself...oh well.

It's just the annoying mindless fear that a toilet isn't accessible that drives me nuts sometimes.

When I first started dating my boyfriend, I would use my talent of being able to hold my poop for days comfortably if I'd ever spend an extended amount of time at his place. Which was constantly. Eventually I moved in and realized I couldn't poop there. A week would go by and I wouldn't have a movement. He'd help me by whispering softly in my ear, "I love it when you poop." Or he'd make a big fart and say, "Now you." Unfortunately I poop so much now that I have lost the ability to hold it comfortably, but that's alright since I love pooping now!

How does this apply to you? I think you have to learn to love your poop. Hating it is what is causing the problem. You should start talking about your poop a lot so that it's not something that induces fear anymore. Another thing I'll do if I feel like I have to poop and I know I really don't is I'll try to fart. That releases tension in my gut.

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"What? No Poopies?"

doniker, it's natural to want to poop under stress. When you're tense, the body's natural response is to drop all the extra weight so you can run faster.

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Practicing the ancient Chinese art of double flushing... because sometimes, a single flush just isn't enough.

I think this is really common (probably for people on this site too). Although it has only happened once or twice, I just have a huge fear that I won't be able to get to a toilet and have sometimes avoided things knowing that there wouldn't be one around. I also used to have a fear of having to use a public restroom. While this hasn't completely gone away, at least I can poop at work now if the urge hits me in morning or the middle of the day (I will hold it if it hits near the end of the day though). I still havent figured out why I am so scared.
Just two days ago, I went on a canoe trip with a large group of people (and lots of beer). We made a riverbank stop to piss and one of the guys yelled out to the girls that he needed TP. It wasn't a big deal (although I probably would have been completely freaking out at the moment if it were me).
I still worry about this (always look for the toilet first thing everywhere I go), but I try not to let it rule my life anymore. What is the worst thing that could happen? I've read it all on here and everyone lives to write the tale and give the rest of us a good laugh at the same time.

Wow, I feel for you. I agree with senor Jam that some idea as to the past instances which could've influenced your current behaviour would be of benefit. It might even help you to understand what's happening.

Anyway, welcome aboard the pooship reporterprise, we'll help you mate!

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You can't polish a turd

I suggest that you take an entire box of adult diapers and lock yourself in a church, from Sunday night until the following Saturday night. You should drink a lot of cheap whiskey and eat only Taco Bell food. After you have cleaned yourself up, come and see me at my office, so you can pay my bill.

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Dr. SamDamnit!
The Poop Therapist

WOW! I love this community. Many thanks to everyone who responded. I'm sorry I couldn't get online to respond in the last couple of days, I've had some PC problems.

Anyways, well first of all I'm glad that I'm not alone in on this. I may have the most extreme case but others seem to have a similar delimma.

I'm also extremely happy to know that this thing is by all means treatable. I never thought that I'd be able to completly eliminate this shitty redicilous phobia for good but now you've all given me hope. Seriously, you have no idea how much I'm relieved now. All I gotta do now is find myself a good therapist or whoever does these sort of things and let him free my mind from these endless fears.

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AL

Logjam suggested to explain some of the "incidents" which have probably led me to this situation. Well wadda hell why not.

I can't really recall exactly at which point of time in my life these fears have started. But I'm sure they've grown over time as the incidents took bigger and more embarrasing forms.

What scares me the most are the long road trips, either cars or buses. Man those are topmost feared factors. I've had to do lots of 'em during college (i'm 23 now btw). And as you might have guessed, several incidents have happend during these trips, ranging from mind-messing alarms which were gracefully false alarms to the serious, as-real-as-it-gets urges during my weekly two hour travel.

Now in one of these real incidents, the waves started to hit in phases. (I've read about these waves somewhere else on this site and they're practically true). So as soon as the first one hit, or maybe before that when I started realizing that I may not have access to a bathroom facility for the next two hours, I started obsessing and obsessing and all I could think of is evaluating my options and the degree of embarassment (hint: shameful shitter) I'm gonna be in when the last wave hits and we're still far away from out destination. Stopping the bus to take a poop on the open side road was the last option and I'd die before having to do that. What we're talking about here is a bus full of strangers pissed at whoever requested the bus to stop just so he can poop out his guts. Add to that all the cars that are passing by in that busy road and you can see how easy it was to pick "shit your pants" as my fallback option.

Anyways time went by so slowly (Madonna if you're reading this, I totally get what you mean), and I tried every possible mental and physical way humans have devised to seal their valves. I can safely say that mentally, I failed to think of any thing else besides the fact that I'm gonna be the laughing stock of the gurls on the bus if I shit my pans or stop the bus to shit my pants. So I was left with the phsical methods, which quite frankly got me through up until we were near our destination. Now I must tell you that my phobia grows stronger (or maybe the waves hit bigger) when I realize i'm getting close to a bathroom facility but just not "that close enough". Know what I mean. So as the bus was parking, my muscles gave up. And let me tell you this, it wasn't the kind of poop you'd want your muscles to give up tring to hold in, if you know what I mean. I'm not gonna tell you exactly what happend after that, but lets just say that I left those underwear right where the belong: in the trash can right by the bus station. I think the guy who sat besides me sensed what was going on and thanks god it was only for a minute before we all left so my humliation wasn't so huge.

Still though, this incident left a hallmark in me that I can't forget to date.

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AL

Dude, you have a severe case of TSA (toilet separation anxiety) which coupled with your overly reactive gut is putting you in commuter hell. We all suffer from it to some degree and sure as shit (that expression makes sense, doesn't it?) when you gotta go, you gotta go. It's a natural law of the universe like gravity. You're going to have to deal with it or else turn control of your entire life over to your ass. Ask the driver to stop, wear a diaper,etc. Drop trow and go behind a bush, carry extra clothes, etc etc. You can come up with a thousand strategies to live your life more normally. If the worst happens, it happens. Send in the story and we'll all laugh at you. Be not afraid of your ass. Show it who's boss by going on with your life.

Mhdhallak [what does your handle mean, BTW?], write up your poop stories separately and send them in so Dave can edit them (he is good at this) and post for all of us to comment on! That way, they will be seen by more people, you will get better feedback, and you will earn more user points, while entertaining everybody!

Dr. Logjam gave me this advice when I first joined the site in January. Unlike his limericks, his advice is never bad.

To Dumpster I give this advice
‘fore speaking tis best to think twice
Cause here in this verse
advice I’ve dispersed
and it can’t be both bad and all right.

LJ, did you intend a colon at the end of the first line? Makes a world of difference in how the message is to be interpreted!

(BTW, that ain't a bad limerick, either. You should post it in the contest.)

You're right, I do need a colon at the end of line one. And if I could work a little shit into that colon, then it would qualify for the contest. But in its current state, it's just another five wasted minutes of my life.

My mother had a similar problem to the one you have, mhdhallack. However, her problem was with traffic lights and not poop. She had several incidences where something bad happened at a traffic light and nothing happened for a long time. Suddenly, one day she couldn't function at traffic lights. Her brain just shut down and she freaked.

The human brain is a funny thing. It can be normal for along time with a lot of stressors and then one day just snap for no apparent reason. This is probably what happened to you. Not that you're crazy. You just had one straw too many on your camel's back.

My suggestion is that you do not need behavioral therapy or psychologists. I would say that you need some self-exercize. That is, you have to mentally force yourself not to have to use the bathroom. Do a power dump in the morning and then another at lunch. Put yourself on a schedule. Be very rigid about it, meaning these are the ONLY times you dump. (Oh, and avoid spicy food while you do this.) After a while you will no longer need the schedule and your body and mind will readjust on their own.

This is far cheaper than therapy.

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Don't question authority. It doesn't know either.

Thanks, Logjam. Now I can carefully parse the depths of your profundity (unless that is illegal in the jurisdiction where you live!).

I live in Massachusetts, Dumpster, so you can parse all you want. Hell, we could get married, but I'd first insist on meeting your parents. Even if they're still alive. Forgive me, but your "ain't bad" characterization of my limerick has got me hearing bells -- Like The King saying I can carry a tune. I'm blushing, and giddy.

Logjam, if you live in Massachusetts, you have enough trouble already! But, seriously, in doing a sociological analysis of PR (which is, in itself, a not-inconsiderable sociological phenomenon), I believe that you represent, in "Utilitarian" terms, "the greatest good, for the greatest number" on this site.

You're certainly more than smart enough to realize that what I just said isn't an unqualified compliment, but you were one of the first things that drew me to PR, and your continued presence here inspires me, "for better or for worse" (as you guys in MA might put it).

When the compliment is finally given (unqualified or not),I receive it reluctantly and with diffidence, only to retire to a dark corner where I take it out, inspect it carefully, and devour it, every crumb, several times.

Thank you, sir.

Oh, more purple elephants! *skips away* (Note, this conversation has produced more rather disturbing images for TSV!)

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I have seen the truth and it makes no sense!

Gaseous G:

Is that a real disease! SA (toilet separation anxiety) .. damn those doctors have a name for anything .. and to think i had a freakishly redicolous unknown disease. Oh well, i guess having a name for it really makes somewhat easier (does it? :p)

Anyhow, the thing is, doing all these things u suggest can indeed help but it wouldn't help with the goal i've set out: i just want to be normal! .. normal people don't go around carrying pair of extra pants or dipers or whatever. It's too much of a headache to start with. I'd rather shell out big bucks to a shrink to fix me than to spend my life just taking precautions in case my brain decides today is not my luckiest day.

The Shit Volcano

I already got some kind of schedule. Yeah it's every morning before i head off to work. The rest is first-come-first-served basis. Now I don't like spicy food, but other certain types of food (such as pizza) transform into unfavorable shitty forms that no rigid schedule whatsoever will be able to control.

With all due respect though, I'm just realizing this thing is too severe and burnt into my unconciousness. I think therapy is my best bet here but now I gotta ask now:

How on earth do therapists just take some weird ol' freakishly redicioulous phobia and throw it out with the window with us not then being able to recall having such phobia AT ALL!?

any ideas ??

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AL

Logjam knows, but he ain't telling. Trade secrets, and all that....

"[T]hrow it out with the window...." Good one!

No secret. You can read up on classical conditioning and deconditioning here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning.

By the way, The Dumpster implies that I’m a specialist in this area. Not so. What I know comes from my college intro pysch course of years ago, and apparently we cover this on a day I was paying attention.

Yet another question:

Will this therapy include NLP stuff? I hear thats that pretty serious shit, quite expensive as well.

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AL

Maybe this person just has an urge to fart?
Sounds dumb, but y'know. Sometimes when I feel like I need a shit, it's actually just a smelly bomb.

Before he leaves, he should probably release all his inard gasses?

i poop twice before i go to work. i'm usually up 2 hours before i have to leave so there's time to go. smoking and drinking coffee helps.

doing that will reduce the likelihood you'll have to go soon after leaving the house. also, whenever a john is available, use it.

an enema now and then wouldn't hurt.

thegsd.com

WHOA! So, for about 6 years, i have had the same problems, if not worse, and they have totally debilitated me. They have stopped me from travelling and even pursuing my dreams. I would like you to know that you are not the only one with a case as extreme as yours. I have tried everything and at this point I am seeking therapy, going to a holistic healer and trying some pretty serious deep breathing. I also own stock in immodium and xanax. The fear has taken over my life, where i worry about the time it takes from when you get on a plane and buckle in to the time you reach cruising altitude ( because you can't go to the bathroom then). So, i KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. If you'd like to chat more about how much this situation sucks, and how we might get through it and be normal- let me know. I dont know a way- but at least its nice to know you're not alone.

I have had this problem for a while now and of course figured that I was the only one. I assume that it came to be when I was biking and almost made it to a toilet. I say almost. Since then Whenever I get on a tour bus the first thing I look for is the bathroom. I will feel great until the doors close and we start to move. Then I start to wonder how long I can go without having to go. Last summer I went to London and 7 out of the 9 days we were on tour busses for at least 12 hours a day. I did everything from barely eating to staying up all night so that I would sleep on the bus. The crazy thing was, there were restrooms on the bus but they were locked and you couldnt get into them. Of couse as others have said I didnt want to be the one to stop the bus or worse crap my pants being in my 20's. This problem was also part of the reason why I gave up flying, you think you have it bad when you are a passenger of a plane and are "not supposed" to use the restroom (YOU CAN THEY WOULD RATHER LET YOU USE THE TOILET THEN CLEAN IT UP TRUST ME). But imaging being the guy flying the plane and not having access to a toilet. Yea. Now that I know what the problem is or named for that matter I guess I can start to deal with it.

mspoopalot thanks for your comment it felt supportive. i'd love to get in touch with u. my msn addy's mhdhallak at hotmail

c ya

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AL

My advice is: A. Go see a psychologist,or somebody in that field. B. Sometimes is helps if you find out what trauma(s) in your life are causing this. With family support and professional support, you can confront these traumas.
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Jammin' lo'flo's since 1977.

I have this problem too (although not for as long as some of you) and reading this has made me feel better about my situation. I know I am not alone now. Thank you for such a great resource!

I too have this problem although i always kind of had it since elementary school i would always fear farting in class and it would stress me out, but it got worse this past year as i was coming back from somewhere i was on a plane and i kept thinking of the bathroom things like are they open? is someone in there? i must have went 5 times in 8 hours i couldn't even go for a walk without fearing that i might shit my pants i can't go on long trips i can't hang out with people at clubs all because of this sickness, since i realized i had a problem i worked on walking i can walk now only sometimes does the though of poop come into mind, but i can't go on the city bus or metro all beacause of this i've been thinking of psychotherapists and hypnotherapists i wasn't sure but after reading what you guys have said i'm a little more comfortable confronting the problem thanks.

why is my poop yellow?

To match the streak down your cowardly back.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!