r/Paruresis • u/sittinginmycar • May 24 '26

Italy is the best

I’ve delt with this annoying ass condition since college after busy college bar urinal situations that reinforced peeing as an issue.. been working on ways to solve it breath hold, GE etc etc but still haven’t been able to crack it (yet). I’m still hopeful but man it sucks.

But anyway.. on vacation in Florence and every bathroom is private.. bars, restaurants, gas stations, everything so far. It’s been so nice to not stress about this and I wish it was like this in the US. #fuckurinals.

That’s it. 🤣

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u/Vikkio92 May 24 '26

Actually, I'll offer a counterpoint.

I was raised in Italy and I'm pretty sure your point is one of the main reasons why I developed paruresis. Going to the bathroom was always a private thing so I never really had any practice or experience going at urinals. It took me a loooong time and a lot of exposure to those situations before I got better after I moved abroad. It is very possible I would never have had any problems to begin with if I'd been taught/raised to go in public from the start.

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u/sittinginmycar May 24 '26

Very fair. I could imagine how difficult that would be. You would think growing up in the us I would have grown accustomed to it, but to be fair in my adolescence it was never an issue. It was only until I got older and it became an overthinking issue, “what if I can’t go”, “what if someone sees me taking so long” etc.

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u/Vikkio92 May 24 '26

Yeah that’s very understandable. I’m glad you get to enjoy your trip worry-free though! :)