Wistful Whizzers: ‘Being “pee-shy” was interfering with

his career choices, his social life and his peace of mind. So he

sought therapy — and found that he shared the problem with an

estimated 7 percent of the population (17 million people). “It’s

probably second only to the fear of public speaking,” he

reports happily, adding, “It was silly that I wouldn’t open up to

anybody about it. I thought I was choosing not to give this

disorder any ability to control me — when in fact I was giving

it total control.”

Once coyly termed “bashful bladder,” difficulty urinating in

public is now dubbed paruresis, or avoidant paruresis (AP),

and it’s fast emerging from the water closet.’ St Louis Riverfront Times