Paul Howard 
In this article, we aim to give you a deeper understanding of toilet anxiety, helping you determine if you or someone you know may be experiencing this condition and how to fight toilet anxiety so you can live without this debilitating fear.
Toilet anxiety refers to the fear of needing the toilet, but more specifically…
Feeling emotionally numb can be more unsettling than feeling clearly sad. You might catch yourself thinking, âI do not feel sad, I just do not feel anything at all,â and wonder what on earth is wrong with you. Life carries on, you go to work, talk to people, do what needs to be done, yet …
a kinder way to think about weight loss Opening up about your weight can be uncomfortable. When life feels busy and your confidence is already a bit dented, it is no surprise that weight loss gimmicks look appealing. They offer dramatic results, simple rules and the promise that this time will finally be the time …
If you hear yourself saying that “I’m Scared Iâll never stop smoking” , itâs usually not because you do not understand the risks. You already know. Itâs because you keep having the same experience, you do well for a bit, you feel stressed, flat, irritated, overwhelmed, or oddly empty, then you cave. And afterwards you …
“I cannot do another year like last year!”
Thatâs the thought people donât always say out loud, but you can feel it in the background at this time of year. The calendar flips, everyone posts their resolutions, the ads start again, and a part of you quietly wonders whether anything will actually be different this time, or whether youâre about to repeat the same patterns with a slightly new soundtrack.
Most people look forward to days out, weekends away or a simple drive to see family. If you live with toilet anxiety on journeys, every trip can feel like a problem to solve. Long before you set off you may be checking routes, counting service stations, worrying about traffic and quietly asking yourself whether you can risk it at all.
If you have ever wondered how common is toilet anxiety, recent data from our clinic offers some uncomfortable but reassuring answers.
Thereâs a particular moment, I think, when someone starts looking for a new direction. It is not always dramatic. Sometimes itâs just the quiet realisation that the job still works on paper, but it no longer feels like yours.
You might think that it is the break from work, the slower mornings and the lack of emails that makes a holiday feel so calming. Rest does matter of course, however there is another part of the story that usually goes unnoticed.
When you first hear the terms OCD and ADHD, they can sound like opposites. One is often pictured as rigid, neat and rule bound, the other as scattered, impulsive and disorganised. In real lives though, things are rarely that simple.
For over 20 years I have been working with people who live with psoriasis and are fed up with being told, in one way or another, that this is simply their life now. Some arrive angry, some arrive exhausted, plenty arrive trying to look calm while quietly hating their own skin.Â
When I first started working with clients who had Psoriasis, I conducted a study into the effectiveness of hypnotherapy on the condition.  Initially I didnât expect too much, however the results were staggering. Â
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Imagine a person sitting at home when a sudden fear about a family memberâs safety appears. Their partner is driving back from work, their mind throws up images of accidents and hospitals, their heart starts racing. In an attempt to cope, they decide to picture their partner arriving safely and repeat that image several times.
Anxiety is not only about what happens to you, it is also about the words and pictures your mind creates in response. Those inner words and visuals shape feelings, then feelings drive behaviour.
When you are living with toilet anxiety, almost every decision starts to bend around one question, where is the nearest toilet if I need it. Journeys, meetings, meals out, even short walks close to home can begin to feel like risks. It is no surprise that you end up searching for a way out, and …
a personal guide through midlife change Opening up about what really happens in the middle years is not easy, I know. For many of us, the first clues arrive quietly, then everything seems to gather pace. Sleepless nights creep in, words vanish mid sentence, your heart scurries when you are only making tea. You tell …
What is Anxiety? How does it develop? Most of us have experienced anxiety at some time in our life but for some of us it becomes a debilitating force that if left untreated can continue to get worse.
The man that could not eat in public.
This case study explains in detail the treatment stages we use in helping someone to resolve their anxiety issues using Hypnotherapy.
Toilet anxiety can make everyday life feel like logistics. You plan ahead, you check exits, you carry just in case supplies, and still the worry shows up. The first video in this Toilet anxiety recovery series explains why familiar coping strategies, from breathing routines to toilet mapping, often keep the cycle alive because your brain …
Every day, plenty of people find that worry has taken charge of ordinary life. Not just a quick flutter before a test, the kind that seeps into decisions, relationships, even sleep.
If that sounds familiar, treating anxiety is about retraining how your mind and body respond, so you are not white knuckling your way through the day but actually changing the pattern.
For people with toilet anxiety, the question can anxiety cause diarrhoea is not just academic, it is central to their daily life. The fear of diarrhoea is often at the heart of toilet anxiety. Many clients tell me they are not frightened of the toilet itself, but of what might happen if they cannot reach one in time. This single worry can spiral into obsessive checking, restricting what they eat or drink, or even avoiding leaving the house altogether.
This interim report presents findings from a randomly selected sample of 100 patients presenting with toilet-related anxiety disorders at The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy. All patients identified toilet anxiety as their primary presenting issue. The sample reflects a demographically representative subset of the wider clinical population and includes individuals presenting with anxiety related to urination, defaecation, or both.
If youâve been living with a quiet fear that creeps in before travel, meetings, meals out, or any moment where access to a toilet might not be guaranteed, youâre not alone. The behaviours, the worry, the planning, theyâre all far more common than most people realise. More common than most people would ever admit.
Toilet anxiety is one of those things people hardly ever talk about. Itâs awkward, itâs personal, and it can feel deeply embarrassing, especially when needing the toilet is a constant fear and that fear becomes so intense it starts to take over your life. Maybe itâs the constant checking for toilets. Or the creeping dread …
Iâve been working with clients that needed toilet anxiety help for over 25 years, and if thereâs one thing that makes my blood boil, itâs reading content from so-called experts who clearly have never worked a day in their lives with this condition.
Hypnotherapy Backed by Research A major new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (2025) has confirmed what many paediatric hypnotherapists have observed in clinical practice for years, that gut-directed hypnotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for abdominal pain in children. This breakthrough research is a landmark moment for families looking …
How They Shape Our Lives and How to Overcome Them Fear is a universal experience. Regardless of where you live, your age, background, or beliefs, fear plays a fundamental role in human survival. It is a natural and necessary emotion, hardwired into our brains to protect us from danger. Without fear, our ability to navigate …
Research from the Henry Ford Center for Sleep Disorders found that there was a strong link between being able to fall asleep (primary insomnia) and/or waking up in the middle the night (middle insomnia), and severity of high blood pressure.
Anxiety is a silent force that can shape thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours from an early age. For many, the challenge to tackle anxiety begins in childhood. It does not always appear as obvious distress but often emerges through behaviours like clinginess, avoidance, or excessive worry.
Anxiety doesnât always announce itself with panic attacks or sleepless nights. Often, itâs the quiet, nagging feeling that something isnât right, the subtle undercurrent of unease that we carry as we navigate life.
If youâve been looking for a fresh start, a hypnotherapy career might just be the perfect answer. This isnât just about switching to a new field; itâs about embracing a calling that lets you guide people to overcome their challenges, realise their potential, and live better lives.
Ever feel like your bladder is running the show? Imagine youâre in a peaceful cafĂ©, sipping your tea, when suddenly your bladder throws a fit: âWe need the looâŠNOW!â Cue the panic. You know thereâs a toilet somewhere, but will you make it in time?
Putting yourself out on the dating market can often be difficult, especially if you have been out of it for a while. Within this blog post, we look at a new way to increase your confidence when dating and attend to any underlying problems that could be damaging that confidence and hence stopping you from …
Work can be stressful in a normal, manageable way. Deadlines, difficult conversations, a busy commute, the odd late night, you expect a bit of pressure, you recover, and you still feel like yourself. Business stress feels different. It follows you home. You might be cooking dinner while replaying emails in your head, or you feel …
As human beings, we experience a range of thoughts each day, and by and large we are able to keep them in check. However, there are some people that find it hard to manage rage and this affects not merely them, but also their close friends, workmates and family members. The inability to manage rage …
Picture this: youâre living your best life, casually enjoying your day, when suddenly, your bladder starts acting like a diva demanding immediate attention. Suddenly, your mind is consumed with one single thought: âWhereâs the nearest toilet?â Itâs no longer a casual concern; itâs a full-blown mental takeover. This is toilet anxiety in action.
train to be a hypnotherapist, the key facts If you want to train to be a hypnotherapist, it helps to get practical quickly. There are lots of courses, lots of certificates, and plenty of glossy promises. The awkward truth is some training looks impressive on paper, then falls apart the moment you sit with a …
To show how this works I arranged for an actress with severe stage fright to go on stage in a bear costume so nobody in the audience would know who it was. As soon as this happened her stage fright evaporated. This fear of judgement is typical of virtually all forms of social phobia. The …
When someone is disorganised it can put a strain on their relationships with friends and family, and this causes a whole lot more stress which creates more problems in life. Hypnotherapy can help you learn why you are disorganised, give you the tools to contend with those problems and most importantly, make it easier to …
Because of this, any type of painful sensation would then be perceived as being a whole lot more intense and distressing. As anxiousness levels increase, so does the experience of pain, which causes a spiral of fear, worry and pain. It is no surprise that focusing on relaxing, deep breathing and pushing can be difficult. …
âI thought toilet anxiety ruining my life was just something I would have to live with, but after one session everything began to change.â – Becky, Verified Review, Dec 2022 When Toilet Anxiety Is Ruining Your Life Toilet anxiety can turn life into quiet, constant maths, where is the nearest toilet, how long will it …
Hypnotherapy is scoffed at by more than a few people, questioning, ‘does hypnotherapy really work?’. The concept of a swinging pocket watch and the saying âyou are feeling sleepy⊠very sleepyâ is what springs to mind when anyone hears the word âhypnotherapyâ. Either that or they link it with being made to do demeaning stuff …
If you are wondering how to become a hypnotherapist, there are a lot of training courses available. In the UK, the CNHC insists that hypnotherapy courses train to minimum standards of 120 hours of face-to-face study time and 450 hours of total study time. That being said, it’s important to know how to find a …
Some people find planning for success to be problematical. Â In particular the comment I hear over and over again is “When I’m creating a new positive plan for my future or a situation the old negative thoughts creep in”. Â This is where I would use “Lions and Teddy Bears”.
As human beings, we go through a range of emotions each day, and in the main, we are able to keep them in check. However, for many people, controlling their anger can be quite difficult, causing great difficulties in their life for themselves and the people close to them. Uncontrolled temper can be related to …
We use our internal self-talk to reason, question and to keep us safe. If we have a problem to reason out we will use our self-talk to work out the proâs and conâs so both positive and negative points of view are appropriate. To do this I use my 6 year old rule.
The Guessing Machine! What part does it play in maintaining and generating anxiety? What can we do to mitigate its power to enable us to feel more relaxed.
Anxiety responds really well to hypnotherapy, However, there are some things that we train our clients to do that assist in the process, and even without hypnotherapy they can really help someone with anxiety. In these articles I explain these techniques.
Dangers of Drinking Diet Drinks The study, headed up by Dr. Ankur Vyas, was one of the most comprehensive of its type with nearly 60,000 postmenopausal women participating over nine years. Known as the Womenâs Health Initiative Observational Study, the research found that participants who drank two or more cans of diet soda a day …
Does hypnotherapy regulation confuse and overwhelm you? You are not alone. We get asked so many times to explain the state of the UK hypnotherapy regulation by people who are considering becoming a hypnotherapist, as well as actual trained hypnotherapists. Most people get really confused by all the different associations and professional bodies and the …
No 6 is something most of us do, but shouldn’t… As full-time hypnotherapists, we spend a lot of time helping people who suffer from anxiety and the progress we make is sometimes unwittingly undermined by the people closest to them. So we thought it would be useful to share some ways that friends and family …
What are distraction techniques for anxiety? For many people, anxiety is a challenge they have to overcome on a regular basis. When people experience anxiety, it’s common for them to try to distract themselves from their feelings. Distraction techniques are often used in the process of dealing with anxiety, as they provide relief by helping …