Photo: Tim Gouw

Why is pee anxiety a thing?

When we're under stress, our fight-or-flight response tends to kick in; this triggers a release of hormones, which disrupt the usual hormones which keep the bladder relaxed, causing it to contract. This results in people feeling the need to urinate, or even involuntarily urinating in some cases.

menshealth.com - Watch a Urologist Explain Why You Need to Pee When You're Nervous

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Most of us have been in some kind of situation where we've been stressed or apprehensive, and our first response has been to run for the bathroom. When we're under stress, our fight-or-flight response tends to kick in; this triggers a release of hormones, which disrupt the usual hormones which keep the bladder relaxed, causing it to contract. This results in people feeling the need to urinate, or even involuntarily urinating in some cases.

But why does this happen?

According to urologist and YouTuber Dr. Rena Malik, stress can affect the bladder in a number of ways. One potential contributory factor is pelvic floor dysfunction, where the muscles in the pelvic floor tense up as a response to stress. Think of it as like when you involuntarily clench your jaw.

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Exposure to stress over a prolonged period can also have an impact, says Malik, citing a study which exposed rats to chronic stress over time to determine if it had any effect on bladder sensitivity. Researchers found that these rats had a lower threshold for pain and discomfort, and felt these stimuli more intensely, a phenomenon known as stress-induced hyperalgesia. "This may explain why when we have chronic stress, we actually feel normal sensations, like needing to go to the bathroom, as uncomfortable or bothersome, making us want to go to the bathroom more quickly so that we can relieve ourselves of that uncomfortable sensation," says Malik. It has also been determined that in stressful situations, the brain can trigger the release of a neurotransmitter called corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). "The bladder has receptors on it that respond specifically to this neurotransmitter, which acts on the bladder by increasing bladder contractions, and bladder contractions are the reason that you feel the urge to urinate." Malik adds that our levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood, attention and sleep, can also be negatively affected by stress. "A reduction in serotonin levels has been found to be associated with more bladder contractions and subsequent urinary urgency snd frequency," she says. There is also a strong correlation between an overactive bladder and anxiety, with symptoms of the one having being shown to exacerbate the other. "We know that there's a temporal relationship," says Malik. "People who get overactive bladder have a higher likelihood of developing anxiety in the next 10 years. Similarly, we know the opposite; people with anxiety do have a chance of developing overactive bladder over the next 10 years." However, studies have also found that addressing the symptoms of one can help to alleviate or reduce a person's risk of developing the other.

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This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Malik recommends consulting with your doctor to determine if you do have pelvic floor dysfunction or overactive bladder, which can be treated. Additionally, getting a full night's sleep and doing anything you can to reduce stress in your everyday life may have a positive effect. Additionally, she suggests bladder training. "When you have the urge to urinate, the urge will come up really high, and that's when we run to the bathroom," she says. "But if you wait, the urge will actually come down very slowly. We call this bladder training; when you get the urge, you wait, you distract yourself, and you do quick Kegel exercises, pulling up and in in your pelvis, doing quick contractions and relaxing while you wait for the urge to pass, and then calmly walking to the bathroom after the urge has passed. This causes your brain and bladder to be reconnected so that they don't sense that urge so strongly any more."

menshealth.com - Watch a Urologist Explain Why You Need to Pee When You're Nervous

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