Paruresis Association of Australia

You leave home after ensuring a good fluid intake ready to test your progress. You get to the crowded shopping centre with a full bladder and there is no one at the urinals or comes in while you are there. That is frustration...

Yes, I know the feeling - or at least I used to, during those years a long time ago when I was seeking recovery. However, it is possible to wait outside a toilet until you see someone go in. If you're in luck, he won't go straight into a cubicle, unless in your enthusiasm you follow on his heels. Mind you, with all those surveillance cameras these days, you have to be a bit careful waiting outside toilets, or you may get a tap on the shoulder.
In my experience, it is fairly usual to enter a toilet and find no-one else there. I eventually found an answer to my frustration: our practice efforts are to gain a relaxed frame of mind when entering toilets. Even if we had the best of intentions, if we found every toilet situation to be somewhat challenging, that would work against this relaxed frame of mind. So - be grateful for whatever situation you find. Your perseverance should win eventually. And what about joining up with a fellow-sufferer. You do have one in your town, don't you?

JohnW