Plane flight to Europe

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crowtrap
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 26, 2011 11:22 am

Plane flight to Europe

Post by crowtrap » Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:51 pm

On the last long plane flight, fatigue made it increasingly more difficult to use the toilets on the plane & I became increasingly more anxious till I could no longer go, compounding the problem & became more anxious. I only discovered 1 month ago that there was such a thing as Parurises & after reading the book 'Bashful Bladder' realized that I could tick all the boxes but hadn't been aware of it & had coped satisfactorily to that point. I am about to embark on another plane trip to Europe in a few days & I am not looking forward to the long flight. My GP suggested taking Flomaxtra tablets & Valium 2.5mg for the anxiety & he even admitted freezing once at a football match. With such a short period of time to go I haven't had time to 'prepare'. I live in a rural area & opportunities to practice with public toilets are infrequent but when I have I have managed to use a urinal twice with no one else in the toilet. I have also attempted to do some relaxing/meditation for at least 20min. a day, while I cannot say it was meditation I found it did have the effect of reducing the anxiety of the trip & I feel a little more confident, I will let you know how I go.

JohnW
Site Admin
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:42 pm

Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by JohnW » Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:53 pm

Crowtrap,

You seem to be doing everything right. It's great that you discussed it with your GP. I would strongly recommend that you keep up the relaxation sessions - I have used them for years. I would use visual imagery before coming out of a session, and see myself having success in challenging situations. In later years instead of imagining the situations, I would simply recall having notable successes. A book on self-hypnosis (auto-hypnosis) from your local library (or Google?) could help you with techniques to attain the deep relaxation we're talking about.

Just over twenty years ago my wife and I went to Europe and the U.K. for my 12 weeks Long Service Leave. My recovery was pretty well advanced by then, but I couldn't use the plane toilets on the way over, and had to be content with cubicles at the two refueling stops. During the 12 weeks I had only one misfire! And flying back home, I found I could use the plane toilets.

We'll be very interested in your reports. All the best!

JohnW

chas
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 4:50 am
Location: Toowoomba

Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by chas » Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:30 pm

Recently returned from Europe and was able to (generally) stand and urinate in the toilets on the plane going over and on trains. On previous trips, I usually had to sit down before I could get a flow going especially when it was rough. Among other things, I put this increased success to finally finding the courage to make contact with two pee buddies late in 2010.

Around Europe the urinals were not pee shy friendly for the most part and unlike my usual environment in Australia I did not know what I would find until I got into the room. With my new found confidence, my success rate was high. Only had crowded urinals a few times and was successful then. (Oddly I can feel cheated when no others are there or come in...)

Enjoyed aiming for the bee or candle engraved in the china urinals. If you have been there, you will know what I mean.

Derek
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:57 am
Location: Hunter Valley NSW
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Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by Derek » Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:16 pm

Travelling is problematic for many paruretics.
As far as plane trips go, there are numerous references to it on the IPA site, www.paruresis.org
I would look at some other survival techniques such as breath-holding and self-catheterization as well.
Breath-holding in particular has ended the woes of paruresis for some paruretics, although there are not many Aussies that use it.
My amount of times on planes is limited, however I used to do an ""over-night bus"" between Sydney and the North Coast many years ago.
The bus trip caused considerable grief, as the bus toilet was very difficult to use due to claustrophobia, motion and proximity to other passengers.
Unfortunately there is no quick-fire solution to this problem, so go with your GP and survival techniques, before working on gradual exposure when you return.

crowtrap
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 26, 2011 11:22 am

Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by crowtrap » Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:21 pm

Thank you for your 'posts' & comments, will let you know how i go,
Chris.

rossco309
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:18 pm

Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by rossco309 » Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:31 am

Hi Chris,

the only way i could fly before I started down the recovery road was to make sure that I went to a toilet in the plane where there were more than one. ie on 747's and A340 ther are groups of four toilets together. I would have to sit down and I used a deep breathing relaxation technique that I had taught myself, until i could start and empty out. This normally would work most of the time. I would tell myself that it was Ok to be there for a long time as there were other toilets that other people waiting in the queue would be able to use.

I had one long trip overseas to Argentina with work. As I was travelling with a work collegue I used to get him to mind our bags while I went to the toilet while in the terminals etc. This method worked well, even though it was a very stressful time while away from home.

These are memories from the past for me now as I have improved so much in the last few years by going to AP workshops and using Support Group desensitisation practice etc..

Let us know how you go with your trip. Enjoy it !!!!

Regards, Ross.

crowtrap
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 26, 2011 11:22 am

Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by crowtrap » Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:59 pm

Well I have returned intact from my trip to Europe. When I started on my flight I was quite anxious but I did manage to use the toilets, sitting down & taking what seemed like ages. After my initial success my confidence grew but I must say it wasn't easy & required a lot of effort to relax prior to going to the toilet & I was relieved when I finally got to Europe. Traveling around Europe was OK & I had no problems using cubicles of public toilets. The trip home started OK but by the time I got to Sydney fatigue once more made urinating extremely difficult & once home, took several days to return to normal. I found the 'Flomaxa' & valium of little use. I feel less anxious in public toilets after the experience now I have a better idea of what my problem is,
Chris.

JohnW
Site Admin
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:42 pm

Re: Plane flight to Europe

Post by JohnW » Fri Sep 16, 2011 6:30 pm

Chris,

Thank you for your report, and congratulations at your success!
It all sounds very encouraging, and it means you'll be able to anticipate your next trip with less anxiety.
Hopefully you'll be able to find opportunities to practise now that you are back home.

JohnW

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