disability support pension claim for paruresis
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:51 pm
Hi guys
alright this is a long one, i hope you can read it all.
I was wondering how many of you have actually spoken about paruresis to a GP or therapist??
if so what were their reactions??, were they of any help???, was it a waste of time??
Did they try any cognitive behavioural therapies or exposure therapies with you, or offer to do so?? I feel from reading Steven soifers book that therapists can do very little. Perhaps more for other phobias than our phobia.
I was sent to a psychologist by centrelink two years ago for anxiety and i exposed my paruresis to him and he tried exposure therapy and also just talking, but i felt humiliated by him in the end and couldnt go anymore, so i only did four sessions and then never turned up for the next.
I saw a doctor today who reccomended me to a EMDR therapist, but she cost $180 an hour so i declined. I have paruresis about as bad as it gets and have had it my whole life, im 30 now, but its been at its worst now for probably about 4 years, it cant actually get any worse, i can only pee at home, in my room, i empty it out when everyones gone, i can pee in public when im drunk, but only by sitting down and squeezing so hard that i feel i will pass out, which is kind of scary, so i have always been drunk when i had a job or was forced to do work for the dole. This is how i have survived all these years, but now my blood pressure is through the roof, im sure because of alcohol, (i also used it for social anxiety and i guess because im so lonely), anyway im determined to stop drinking, but i cant piss if im forced into work or work for the dole, and will have to be drunk or just leave to go home and pee. this will mean im breaking health and safety rules by being drunk, or risk losing my newstart allowance if i just leave.
Im currently a student on newstart, so they want me to get part time work, i was studying to be an accountant, (accountants work in offices, or atleast earn their CPA qualification after uni in an office), my plan 2 years ago was to have overcome my paruresis by now, im always remaining optimistic about my problem, but anyway, now ive changed this semester to international business so i can import from china and have a home business on ebay.
I cant see how im expected to work for 15 hours a week and not be drunk or leave for home for pee breaks. There is no law in Australia that says we arent aloud to drink as much as we want before work, we shouldnt have to dehydrate ourselves before a shift to get through it, no dietician would reccomend that, im sure the Aus government reccomends 2 litres of water a day.
i found this on OHS rep
http://www.ohsrep.org.au/law-rights/rig ... /index.cfm
Unscheduled Breaks
Further, workers must be allowed to go to the toilet when they need to - NOT allowing workers reasonable time and access to toilets puts their health at risk and this is a breach of the employer's duty of care. The provision of toilet facilities is a legislated duty. (see Toilet Facilities - what should workplaces have?)
Not being able to go when you need to can cause a range of health problems, including digestive and urinary tract problems and kidney infections which can develop into more serious health conditions. Also people on certain medications may need to visit the toilet on a more frequent basis and working in the cold (for example on construction sites or in food cold stores) may also increase the need to use the toilet. Women may need to urinate more frequently when menstruating, when pregnant and during the menopause, while prostate problems in men may mean they may need to urinate more frequently. [from the UK's TUC guidance for representatives: Give us a (Loo) break! - available to download here]
For more information, contact your union.
See also the section on Fatigue on this site.
(last amended March 2010)
The government literally says that not being able to go to the toilet puts your health at risk!!, I think this makes a claim for DSP with extreme paruresis very strong.
The problem is they want a long history of therapy, they want proof that you have been seeing someone, that you are taking medications, but my phobia is so embarassing i dont want to tell some therapist about it, who is probably secretly laughing at me, i dont want to humiliate myself for an hour each week if i cant see any benefit from the session. I feel i can do everything a therapist can do for me on my own. Practicing exposure, positive thinking, fluid loading sessions, all that stuff talked about in the book.
Centrelink are bloody crazy sometimes, the guy i talked to today said people who arent getting therapy and taking medication shouldnt qualify anyway because they probably arent sick enough. WTF!!!, its those people at the extremes of the mental disorders who are trying to avoid it all together.
For example, the extreme schizophrenic living on the street, is probably scared to death the therapist is in cahoots with the north korean army.
the Extreme social phobic probably cant even get to the therapist because theyll collapse from fear before the get there.
For me in my anxiety, i stopped taking medication because i would get anxious about buying the medication over the counter at the chemist 2 weeks before it even happened, and then after id buy it id feel bad for a week because the chemist looked at me like i was a freak for having to get anxiety drugs.
This is another thing that makes me angry about Australia, there is no way to get medication other than from a bunch of unqualified judgemental chemists who have had no training in medical practices with patients and will make you feel like a loony by giving you weird looks when they read your prescription.
surely i cant be the first person whos felt like that.
What are your opinions on how much a therapist can assist in paruresis compared to other phobias?? Ive signed up for a free therapist at the uni, i guess im going to have a year or twos worth of sessions with her before she realises, maybe i cant fix this guy, wow, maybe i should have signed his form a couple of years ago.
The doc i talked to about the Disability support pension today was sure i could improve within the 2 year time frame that centrelink sets out for qualification for it. so refused to sign the form.
just after your opinions i guess, and to see how many are getting or gotten therapy and what your personal thoughts on it are.
thanks guys
stan.
alright this is a long one, i hope you can read it all.
I was wondering how many of you have actually spoken about paruresis to a GP or therapist??
if so what were their reactions??, were they of any help???, was it a waste of time??
Did they try any cognitive behavioural therapies or exposure therapies with you, or offer to do so?? I feel from reading Steven soifers book that therapists can do very little. Perhaps more for other phobias than our phobia.
I was sent to a psychologist by centrelink two years ago for anxiety and i exposed my paruresis to him and he tried exposure therapy and also just talking, but i felt humiliated by him in the end and couldnt go anymore, so i only did four sessions and then never turned up for the next.
I saw a doctor today who reccomended me to a EMDR therapist, but she cost $180 an hour so i declined. I have paruresis about as bad as it gets and have had it my whole life, im 30 now, but its been at its worst now for probably about 4 years, it cant actually get any worse, i can only pee at home, in my room, i empty it out when everyones gone, i can pee in public when im drunk, but only by sitting down and squeezing so hard that i feel i will pass out, which is kind of scary, so i have always been drunk when i had a job or was forced to do work for the dole. This is how i have survived all these years, but now my blood pressure is through the roof, im sure because of alcohol, (i also used it for social anxiety and i guess because im so lonely), anyway im determined to stop drinking, but i cant piss if im forced into work or work for the dole, and will have to be drunk or just leave to go home and pee. this will mean im breaking health and safety rules by being drunk, or risk losing my newstart allowance if i just leave.
Im currently a student on newstart, so they want me to get part time work, i was studying to be an accountant, (accountants work in offices, or atleast earn their CPA qualification after uni in an office), my plan 2 years ago was to have overcome my paruresis by now, im always remaining optimistic about my problem, but anyway, now ive changed this semester to international business so i can import from china and have a home business on ebay.
I cant see how im expected to work for 15 hours a week and not be drunk or leave for home for pee breaks. There is no law in Australia that says we arent aloud to drink as much as we want before work, we shouldnt have to dehydrate ourselves before a shift to get through it, no dietician would reccomend that, im sure the Aus government reccomends 2 litres of water a day.
i found this on OHS rep
http://www.ohsrep.org.au/law-rights/rig ... /index.cfm
Unscheduled Breaks
Further, workers must be allowed to go to the toilet when they need to - NOT allowing workers reasonable time and access to toilets puts their health at risk and this is a breach of the employer's duty of care. The provision of toilet facilities is a legislated duty. (see Toilet Facilities - what should workplaces have?)
Not being able to go when you need to can cause a range of health problems, including digestive and urinary tract problems and kidney infections which can develop into more serious health conditions. Also people on certain medications may need to visit the toilet on a more frequent basis and working in the cold (for example on construction sites or in food cold stores) may also increase the need to use the toilet. Women may need to urinate more frequently when menstruating, when pregnant and during the menopause, while prostate problems in men may mean they may need to urinate more frequently. [from the UK's TUC guidance for representatives: Give us a (Loo) break! - available to download here]
For more information, contact your union.
See also the section on Fatigue on this site.
(last amended March 2010)
The government literally says that not being able to go to the toilet puts your health at risk!!, I think this makes a claim for DSP with extreme paruresis very strong.
The problem is they want a long history of therapy, they want proof that you have been seeing someone, that you are taking medications, but my phobia is so embarassing i dont want to tell some therapist about it, who is probably secretly laughing at me, i dont want to humiliate myself for an hour each week if i cant see any benefit from the session. I feel i can do everything a therapist can do for me on my own. Practicing exposure, positive thinking, fluid loading sessions, all that stuff talked about in the book.
Centrelink are bloody crazy sometimes, the guy i talked to today said people who arent getting therapy and taking medication shouldnt qualify anyway because they probably arent sick enough. WTF!!!, its those people at the extremes of the mental disorders who are trying to avoid it all together.
For example, the extreme schizophrenic living on the street, is probably scared to death the therapist is in cahoots with the north korean army.
the Extreme social phobic probably cant even get to the therapist because theyll collapse from fear before the get there.
For me in my anxiety, i stopped taking medication because i would get anxious about buying the medication over the counter at the chemist 2 weeks before it even happened, and then after id buy it id feel bad for a week because the chemist looked at me like i was a freak for having to get anxiety drugs.
This is another thing that makes me angry about Australia, there is no way to get medication other than from a bunch of unqualified judgemental chemists who have had no training in medical practices with patients and will make you feel like a loony by giving you weird looks when they read your prescription.
surely i cant be the first person whos felt like that.
What are your opinions on how much a therapist can assist in paruresis compared to other phobias?? Ive signed up for a free therapist at the uni, i guess im going to have a year or twos worth of sessions with her before she realises, maybe i cant fix this guy, wow, maybe i should have signed his form a couple of years ago.
The doc i talked to about the Disability support pension today was sure i could improve within the 2 year time frame that centrelink sets out for qualification for it. so refused to sign the form.
just after your opinions i guess, and to see how many are getting or gotten therapy and what your personal thoughts on it are.
thanks guys
stan.