Over the years, I've gotten really good at timing my liquid intake to balance avoiding dehydration with avoiding public bathrooms. It doesn't always work, though. Yesterday I was out at a restaurant, and there was no avoiding it: I had to pee. So for the first time in a really long time, I used a restaurant bathroom. I survived! And boy, the rest of the evening was SO much more pleasant than it would have been otherwise.
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You are stronger than you think!
1 year ago
i'm glad to see your comments about this because my daughter definitely is having some issues in that department...guess i shouldn't teach her to time her liquids, huh?! so hard to know what's helping her as a kid and what's helping OCD...
ReplyDeleteIt is tricky. Based on my experience, though, I would say it is not a good road to start down. Life is so much easier when you can use the bathroom wherever you go! I find that I will avoid social events with an unknown bathroom situation, and thats just sad.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, that is an amazing accomplishment! I do the exact same thing with liquids. I restrict my intake when i know i will be going out somewhere! Congratulations on your success!
ReplyDeleteSense my recent relapse, I too, have been avoiding the infamous public restroom! Good for you for fighting back. Forced repetition seems to help in the end, even if it is difficult at first.
ReplyDeleteI have gotten a lot better at using public restrooms when I really need to. But it's not something I really elect to do on a regular basis when avoidance is possible. However, I recently went on a trip with my family. We went hiking and then...I had to pee...and we were going to be hanging out at the end of the trail for a while...and eating lunch...and then hiking a mile back uphill to the trail head that didn't have a restroom. But there were public "bathrooms" at the bottom of the trail, aka non-flushing toilets that led to revolting holes in the ground and didn't have sinks. But I used these "bathrooms" because there really wasn't another choice and I survived...I had someone ready to hand me an antibacterial wipe (or several) before touching anything else, but I did it. I used one of the grossest forms of bathrooms out there and didn't have the chance to actually wash my hands afterward. Yeah, I sanitized, but in my mind even that wasn't enough. But it had to be. I didn't have a choice really. And then I ate...a sandwich...with said hands...in fact...I didn't have the opportunity to actually wash them under running water until several hours later. I don't exactly plan to start using port-a-potties on a regular basis now, but every little bit helps...and compared to that experience, regular public restroom don't seem so bad :).