Its taking over my life

[blondiegirl]

I literally dont know what to do anymore and i cant get away from this OCD/anxiety disorder
Ive had an obsession with constantly needing the toilet for so long. Its always worse when i know there isnt one near me. I try to keep it under control but I always always have to go when i know i cant or i know that people will notice me going alot. Ive had this for soooo long now and its taking over now.
Ive just started a new job which i enjoy. Its looking after people with disabilities and I really like my job and have only been doing it for the past 3 weeks. As im in thier homes the OCD isnt too bad because obviously there are toilets. But today there was an outing and the drive was nearly an hour. I thought i could just calm myself down as i felt the panic building before we were leaving. But i started to feel really sick because of it and knew as soon as i got in the mini bus id need to go and couldnt ask the driver to stop as its so embarassing So i told them i felt ill and they let me go home. But i left them short staffed. and because of my stupid anxiety and panic i inconvieneced my collegues. I literally cried all the way home. I really dont know what to do anymore. This is holding me back from soooo much. The only thing i can compare it to is when people with anorexia will do anything to avoid eating - i will do anything to avoid a situation where i wont be near a toilet.
I know this whole problem is physchological but i feel like il never be able to get rid of it and it will continue to hold me back and make me anxious every day when i have to go a travel quite a distance. I really dont know what to do anymore
Any advice please? x

[bailatyvm]

Hey; are you positive that it's an anxiety disorder? You might possibly have a medical problem which requires you to use the bathroom often, so that might be affecting your thoughts and emotions regarding the bathroom. You might want to see a doctor about that.
And, if it is OCD/anxiety, I'm thinking that therapy could be extremely beneficial in your situation to help you know how to handle these panic attacks that you seem to be getting. When you say it relates to an anorexic, remember, anorexics can get help, and so can you! I'd really recommend seeing a professional.
Best of luck!

[Breakingthehabit28]

As Bail said, it sounds like you have more of medical issue in your body, not anxiety problems. Your best bet probably would be to simply go to the doctors and tell him whats happening.

Sounds like you might have a digestion problem. My friend has an condition in her intestines that passes wastes through much faster than the average person and she has to used the bathroom a lot because of it.

Just relax, set up an appointment with ur doctor and go from there. If you don't have medical insurance, then i'd say your first priority would be to try and access some type of it. Good luck to ya.

[Lost in Thought]

Unless you actually are having to go to the toilet all the time, even when you are at home, Id say it is nothing medical. Aside from the anxiety, what do you think will happen if you are away from a toilet for too long? Or rather, what do you think will happen if you have to use a toilet, but can't? Do you have problems holding it for a long time?

If you don't want to get help immediately, though I would recommend it, you can try and make it better on your own. I would try to look for the reason it might have started. Have you ever had an experience about not being able to use a toilet when you needed to? Like have you had an accident or had some type of embarrassment because you couldn't use a toilet or hold it until you could? You don't have to answer on here of course, just ask yourself these questions.

Also, when you are at home or somewhere with a toilet that you will be staying for a decent amount of time (as short as a few hours even) and won't be leaving, try holding it. Start keeping a rough estimate of how much time passes between using the toilet and needing to use it (of course it will vary, but just get a very rough estimate). More importantly, start holding it for awhile. For however long you can or want without too much discomfort. You will at least notice you are capable of going for awhile without needing to use a toilet.

You might also come closer to realizing the source of your anxiety. Whether its not being able to hold it long enough, having an accident, not having a private enough way to relieve yourself, feeling humiliation or embarrassment from other people knowing you have to use the toilet, or whatever. These are all possible causes that can be worked through. And There are many others I didn't name. Let us know how things work out.