Mě to ráno taky jde hůř, později se to zlepší. A taky jsem tak nějak vypozoroval, že když mám víc pohybu, tak to jde lépe. Tak teď se jen dokopat a více se hýbat

www.paruresis.org/breath_hold.html

The best advice I can give you is to keep practicing the breath hold, and you will slowly get used to the feeling. The biggest thing to overcome when first learning the breath hold is getting used to the gasping for air feeling. Try to focus on getting used to the feeling. With enough practice and patience, the gasping for breath feeling will seem like no big deal at all.

I have some videos on the breath hold (a channel I share with DominicM: www.youtube.com/ParuresisExposed), which might be useful to you. If you have anymore questions in regard to the breath-hold, feel free to send me a PM and I will be more than happy to help.


Hello my friend, few words from me to cheer you up

Just keep practising. You need to focus on the feeling with your bladder, you need to go across this limit that makes you feel uncomfortable - if it is easier for you just sit down on toilet - it is much easier to do this for the first time when you are sitting and relaxing. You can do it - I did it and I had the same problems that you have and after few tries I just pushed my limits and voila - first drops shown so dont worry and find those 15 minutes everyday for practise and belive me this is one of the most amazing feelings on the world when you know that you have a method which will work in EVERY situation - I've learned BH 1,5 year ago and it always worked - even in the high-level anxiety situations.


Last half year I spend on the student exchange trip to another country. Belive me or not, this was possible only because I've learned the BH technique. My life changed SO much, that I dont even have words on it. Almost a year passed since I've learned BH and this big relief which I feel is amazing. Please, all of You who cant live their life because of paruresis - just spend this few minutes each day and train it even if You dont belive that it can works. Belive me - I was thinking exactly the same as You and after few tries I just did it, and You cant even imagine how much my life changed. I am after wonderful half year experience, I've met many, many peoples, I was going on parties, meetings with no stres - just like a normal person. I wish for all of You to make this huge step in Your lifes cause it is worth to do it. Just keep trying and keep my words in yours head that one day You will make it and feel same as me. And after that, paruresis no longer takes impact on your life. If you would tell me 2 years ago that I will go on the student exchange prapobly I would tell you that this is impossible and what? It just happend. So come on, get your self together and keep trying ! Freedom is really close - You just need to reach it ! God bless You all, I wish good luck for everyone, and once again thank You Dominic - it is a big piece of good job what you done for me, and for other people too I think. I wish I could pay it back.

 
Being relaxed is the name of the game. You can hold your breath all day long but if you are not relaxed, it will not work. Just make sure that your mind is at ease when you attempt the BH, and you should have no trouble.

I've been experimenting with BH the last few weeks. At first, I didn't get it at all. I was holding my breath, I got the "gasping for air", but nothing was happening. Then I thought I'd try waiting for a really strong urge, probably 9 on a scale of 10, and what do you know...it worked!

Here's my situation. Aged 27, male, have had paruresis since i was a teenager. I'm living in Hungary (Europe), where nobody knows anything about paruresis, im isolated from workshops and meetings.
Despite all that i started to practice breathold and it is starting to work. I started practicing 6 months ago. Breathold did not cure me from this phobia, but it gives me a sense of security, that i'm actually able to pee wherever and whenever i wan't. (wherever means in every toilet i use, im still having problems when using urinals but this is what BH technique is for)

This doesn't mean that breathhold makes every situation easy in public restrooms, avoidance is still there, but after i started practicing, i found myself in situations, where i have not been since childhood, i had many successes and and slowly i'm starting to feel more like a normal human beeing. Today when i go in to a public restroom i have 90% chance of succesfully urinating, beacuse if i apply breathhold correctly, the urine starts to flow no matter what. I don't have to do BH every time i use a public restroom i apply it only in crowded situations. I mainly use stalls but i'm able to use urinals when there's nobody around, or whith the help of BH.
Practice makes perfect, and breathhold really helps me to practice in situations i allways wanted to avoid.

How ironic that i had my first successes in the worst of situations i could imagine. On soccer matches! In Hungary soccer is filled whith violence, and we have supporters/hooligans, lots of violent people attending the matches and figthings, and believe me the hools don't like people whith disability. So i practiced in soccer stadium stalls (i had no other option i did not want to leave the match) where you couldn't lock the door and violent and drunk people filled the realitvely small restroom, (two stalls, and 8 urinals).
And breathold helped me, because no matter how frigthening the siutation you are in, if u concentrate on doing this technique you can pee!
That's it for now i hope u can understand what i wanted to say, sorry for my english. Cheers!

UPDATE!

Im experiencing the ups and downs whith BH.

So my stream starts when my body is gasping for air so it's difficult to breath only small quantities of air when your body is screaming for it. A big blow can ruin the stream of course, but that depends on the overall anxiety level...number of people, type of restroom..etc.
So the past few weeks have shown me that breathhold is a life changing thing, but i'm not cured from paruresis by simply learning to do BH.
I'm 27 now, still young, i'm phisically fit, i work out 3-4 times a week, for mee it's easy to do BH! But what will happen when i get older and weaker, wont this technique affect my health, will i be able to do it?
For me BH is only the first step in curing my phobia, it is my secret weapon, my last resort. I don't want to use it every time.
I have re-mastered stalls way before discovering IPA, or paruresis, or BH. I started from total depression and not wantig to leave my house 7 or 8 years ago and ended up working abroad whith my paruresis when i was 23, but what i learned back then, was that there is always a way to get going. Whith or whithout breathhold. (i did not know about BH back then) You fail one time you don't make a big deal out of it, you go back, try again and success, and i did this without doing BH!
Now i'm "bullying" urinals and im working on my BH technique. I simply don't use stalls anymore or only when i'm in a hurry, there are times when i loose my stream and have to do a restart but in public restrooms i only-(90%) empty my bladder by using urinals. The first thing i do when i enter a restroom that i go to a urinal and try to pee. A few months ago i avoided urinals at a 100%.

Your English is teriffic. I was very fortunate to have had 6 solid years of gradual exposure and CBT before learning breath hold. Seems like a life time ago but I guess it's only been about 8 years since breath hold changed my life. Anyhow I'm 62, ride my bike, play tennis, hike, ski, even play basketball so I'm very fit. I use to share your concerns but don't worry about it anymore. Here's another thought for you, by the time you reach my age we'll discover an even better technique. Stop what "iffing" and keep enjoying. Here's another thought: Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

I have been a paruretic since i was at least 12, i have a very similar story as everyone else on this forum, if you're reading this then you know EXACTLY how i feel when confronted with a bathroom.

I came across the breathe hold technique and was very confused as i had no idea that that could possibly work and couldn't for the life of me even guess at any of the science behind it. I read through a lot of Parureticmax and Dominique M's posts and videos and thought i might as well give it a whirl and of course it did not work because i didn't know what i was doing yet. But after nearly giving up, i (at home of course) held my breathe as long as i could, i got past the gasping stage, i got past the eyes blacking over stage, i got past the point where i was sure i would die if i did not take a sip of air, and i just kept holding my breathe and then it hit me... my "pelvic floor" (as i've heard it referred to) dropped so to speak and urine literally exploded out. I can't describe how elated i was, it was quite possibly the best moment of my life to date.

Now that i knew how to do it, i kept practicing and practicing and practicing some more (practice makes perfect ) and i can honestly say that my life has gotten better. I am in no way cured of this horrible condition, as in i still feel anxiety about public places or a long car trip or whatever, and i still can't go naturally in a public restroom or if i know someone is close by, but by all that is holy in this world now i can go. It might take me a little longer to calm down in tougher situations, but i can still go.

I have used a urinal when i'm alone, but if someone's in the restroom with me, i will still go to the stall because i know i can succeed in there and it is so liberating. Just today at school, in between classes (10 minute breaks) i was able to walk in to the restroom with full confidence knowing that one way or another, i was going to urinate. Just a few months or even weeks ago this would never have happened, it would've been impossible.

I track my urgency on a scale of 1-10 (which i would recommend to see where your own comfort territory lies) to to see how i could fare in low urgency to high urgency situations, and i am VERY happy to report that i can go with an urgency of only 1 to a pressing urgency of 10 and i love that fact.

I've missed quite a few job opportunities because of this for obvious drug testing reasons. I've never done drugs in my life, i don't even drink but it's all for nothing because i can't go with a nurse standing there waiting for me. But now i am so confident that i could go in to any medical clinic in the country now and proudly fill the cup up, that's not to say i would enjoy doing it or that i wouldn't be nervous as hell, but knowing that i have breathe hold technique in my back pocket takes so much pressure (literally lol) off my mind and i couldn't be happier.

A lot of my life i've been pretty miserable, don't get me wrong i have a wonderful and supportive girlfriend, a nice home life, a nice family and everything, but like so many of you can relate to my personal battle within has made life hell for me. I have told my girlfriend about it and she wants to help but it's so hard for someone that doesn't feel the dread and misery every second of every day of their lives to actually help.

That is why i'm so glad i found this community and that i could share my story with my brothers and sisters who honestly and truly can and have seen me inside and out for this condition we share.

Thank you all for reading and a super thank you to ParureticMax and Dominique M and every one else who posted tips and tricks for the Breathe Hold technique for giving me hope that using this will help with my graduated exposure to worse and worse situations until i can finally say those two words i wish we could all say one day... "i'm cured"

Best wishes, best of luck to everyone in their struggle, and know that there are others out there who truly understand and even though we've never met, feel closer to you than anyone in the world and want nothing more than you to succeed as i have been doing.

BH saved my life too...and just like you I posted here after it worked and I wrote pretty much the same things as you did.
And I really loved the part that you said and I said it too-that you feel very close to someone with paruresis even if you dont know him at all...Its true we all brothers in a certian way.

I feel the same way dude. I'm in a state right now where travelling causes very little anxiety. Peeing is not an issue anymore for me. I started socializing and I'm living life where I don't have to live in constant depression and fear, I can finally concentrate on my life now. Thanks IPA, thanks BH!


I tried BH about a year ago and didn't have much success with it and pretty much gave up on it within 2 days. Now 2 months ago I decided to commit myself to doing something about my paruresis and decided to take a second look into BH and putting more effort into it. After about 15 tries I finally clicked and began to start getting it down. My advice would be just keep practicing at least 3 times a day and don't give up just keep practicing. I know that at first it feels very weird and you have a lot of pressure on yourself when holding your breath for a long period of time and that it could create even more anxiety but after you get it down it just gets easier and easier the more you do it. It does not bother me as much anymore to hold my breathe as it did when I was learning it for the first time.


What most people don't seem to understand is that it's not just about holding your breath for xx seconds. It comes when it comes. Don't focus on time, don't focus on anything... Keep the body in rest, and try to think of something else. When the gasping for air comes, it becomes critical. You just need to have the faith that if you keep your body relaxed, you'll pee in a matter of seconds. But if you never made it work, it feels like every second gets harder, and you'll give up before something happens. If the motivation is not really big, and you're not comfortable with the feeling, you'll never learn BH. Aqu gave some really good advice. Try it every day, a couple of times, to get comfortable with gasping for air, and one time the motivation will be high enough to break through that invisible wall and you'll understand what BH is. And once you know where the "wall" is, you just need to wait for it and it'll work. Every time. In the last 1,5 year I maybe left the restroom 3x without emptying, because I got interruped during BH. I went back in a few minutes later, and it was done. Try to imagine how liberating it must be to never have to think about peeing again the moment you leave your house. Even though I still have paruresis, it has absolutely zero impact on my life right now. Learning BH is life changing. So keep trying, keep trying, keep trying, until it works. The only real succes stories of people who consider themselves cured from paruresis are the breath holders. Become a breath holder too.

Firstly, a dozen times is nowhere near enough tries to get it to work. I can't tell you exactly how many times that I tried it, but It was far more than a dozen (maybe closer to 100). It takes a lot of hard-work, persistence, and most of all patience. You can't expect it to work after just a few tries. It takes a great deal of practice to not just get a hold of, but master the breath-hold. Ask anyone who has been successful with the BH and they will tell you, it is hard work.

Though it might take time and work, don't get discouraged. When I got the breath hold to work, it was quite possibly the most liberating and freeing feeling I had ever felt. I had never felt to relieved and unrestrained in my life. I promise everyone trying to learn, it is very worth the work and time.


Dominic has made a great point. Too many people focus on the actual time of holding ones breath. The time is not as big of a factor as the gasping for breath feeling. I can guarantee you that me and Dominic probably hold our breaths for different lengths of time before we pee. The breath hold is based on the buildup of CO2, which differs from person to person. Don't focus on the numerical value of the BH, but the feeling of it.

I agree, altho believe me or not, I got the first succes after a couple of times. Mastering is a different thing, still working on some things. I did alot of research before it. At the start, I realized that it wasn't just holding my breath. I followed every detail, tried to stay relaxed and loose as much as possible, and just been open to urinate. I think it's very very important to not stress, not count. Try to concentrate on what you are feeling and what's coming. Then, if you feel something, keep going and be loose.

t very well may be, but you should not get caught up in the semantics of how many times you have tried it. It takes time the master the breath hold, and it is impossible to quantify the necessary amount of tries it might take. It is different for all people, and might take one person a thousand times and another person four or five times.

If you keep practicing, it will get easier and eventually you will be able to do it, I am certain of it.


I for the life of me could not get BH to work until I did this and though I haven't mastered BH yet, now I'm a believer:

Relax your body, breath out 50-75%, RELAX YOUR BODY, and when you get the urge to breathe keep your mouth closed and clog your nose with your fingers. When you have to breathe, just breathe through your nose but keep your nose clogged with your fingers (so that you don't actually breathe). This should add several seconds to your BH time and let you hold your breathe for a longer period of time than you otherwise could. I went for a period of time when I could only do BH while clogging my nose with my fingers, but could never do it otherwise. It will still take a lot of practice to see a success, but for me anyway it made the first success come faster which lifted my spirits and motivated me.



A tip on how it worked for me... try not to care too much that it's not working. I really gave up and just did the BH as something to do while I was standing there trying to make myself comfortable in a public restroom. Also don't time yourself or count in anyway, forget about time and focus on your pelvic floor and how it feels and relaxing. I think using a timer (or even looking at the time) at first really made it hard on me.
The stream basically starts automatically, but mostly I put a little bit of pressure, so I can get my stream earlier. I think it's really hard to not get a stream when you keep and keep holding your breath (atleast for the people that are able to do a BH).

ndeed. But the way you hold the breath is important too. Check this video and check out my instructions. www.youtube.com/user/ParuresisEx ... 4iSII9S_1w

my story of learning BH was almost the same as everyone. First few tries I thought that this is some kind of bullsh**. I was frustrated, dissapointed and completly lack of motivation. After .. dunno maybe a year? Ive tried again. I bought a timer, get a piece of paper and pen in my toilet and I was trying to hold my breath as long as it possible. And than I discovered, that it doesnt make sense too. Dominic write important sentence "its not about holding your breath for so long, counting every second". You must feel it. After I stoped counting seconds and focusing on what is really going on with my body I started to notice, that some drops are starting to come. I was so excited, that I continued this experience. Ofcourse, it was very hard to hold my breath and cross this limit, when You feel that You gona faint. But after You will handle this painful moment, something wonderful is about to start. I remember that after I saw few first drops, I decided to go to some less comfortable place than my home. I visited my friend and I finaly did it. After that I continued practising and using BH in more anxious places. For the first year, I felt a big discomfort while doing BH. Obviously, its not comfortable when You cannot breath. But after.. 3 or 4 years now, I am completly confident and comfortable with it. Besides, I dont need to use it very often because my paruresis almost come to zero. Still cant go with people around me but I can go in a stall in toilet with crowd of people and I dont have to use BH. I belive that in next few years I will be completly cured. All I want to say is, that if You think, that it will never work, it wont. Just let it go. Focus on that feeling. I remember my posts here "ahhh its never gona happen, it doesnt work for me, Im a professional sportsmen, my CO2 tolerance is so big, that it just not proper technique for me". And guess what? I was wrong. And it didnt took me so long to learn it. After I changed my strategy and focus on feeling in my bladder/penis it just came. So my advice is, dont say to other people that "for some people it doesnt work" because I belive its not true. It must work for everybody. And if You are spending so much time reading posts/books and worry about Your disease spend this time practising BH. And remember ! Dont fight with seconds, dont focus on keeping Your air as long as it possible. Just accept the situation and LET. IT. GO.


I see it in this way: paruresis comes mostly from fear of not beeing posible to pee. If Your paruresis is so strong, that You can panic in Your own house and think that You cant go even when You are alone, indeed it is a deep problem. Before I've learned how to use BH, I have sometimes situations like You at home. But belive me, focus ALL your time on learning BH. For me there is no better way to cure this horrible disease. You know why? because BH is an OPTION. You always have a 100% success option, and when You realise that, suddenly Your pauresis is gone. Gone forever ! Ofcourse, sometimes I cant go, even with this tought, but if You ask me how much my pauresis is know I would say maybe 5% of Yours. I havent used BH since 2 months now. And I was in SO many public places, sleeping with my girl almost every night (with bathroom 5meter next to our bed) and there was no problem for me with that. You know why? Because now, I have an option which always work. So let me be clear, do AS MUCH as You can, to learn it. Dont give up at the beggining. Just do it man. 3 years ago I would pay every price to make this suffer go away. Now I am free mate. You know how it feels? It feels f** great Fingers crossed for You, I belive that anyone can learn it. You just need to give some time, to be comfortable with crossing Your limit in holding Your breath. Cheers bro, good luck.

The breath hold is a technique in which an individual holds their breath for a length of time, which allows their internal sphincter to relax enough to facilitate urine for those who are bladder shy. The process was first observed by Dr. Monroe Weil in the article A Treatment for Paruresis or Shy Bladder Syndrome (Weil, 2001). The key to the process is the build-up of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the lungs, which has been shown to have a relaxing effect, as observed in The American Journal of Psychiatry (Sanderson, Wetzler, Ansis, 1994). By holding ones breath for an appropriate period of time (20-40 seconds, varying based on the individual’s physiology), a person can have enough of a CO2 build-up to enable said person to void their bladder. Once an individual has mastered the breath hold technique, they will be able to urinate in the presence of others by simply repeating the technique.
Step 1) Start by taking a deep breath and allow your body relax. It is important to stay at ease while doing the breath hold, otherwise it will take longer for a urine stream to start.
Step 2) Once your body is relaxed and calm, inhale enough to fill your lungs completely, then exhaled about 75% of the air in your lungs, leaving about 25%.
Step 3) Proceed to hold your breath while also keeping your body still and relaxed. By keeping your body at ease, it will facilitate a much smoother process whilst holding your breath for the period of time necessary.
Step 4) Continue holding your breath until you reach the “gasping for breath” feeling. This will be easy to recognize, as your body’s natural reaction to the lack of oxygen will be to take a breath, and it will feel as though you are trying to gasp for air. The time it takes to get to this point can vary, but it will generally be between 20-40 seconds, depending on the individual.
Step 5) Once you come the point where your body is trying to gasp for air, you may feel a bit of discomfort. This is entirely normal, and there is no need to be alarmed. When you have reached the “gasping for breath” threshold, you will only need to continue holding your breath for a few more seconds.
Step 6) You will eventually feel what is known as the pelvic floor drop, or the point in which the internal sphincter allows the urine to begin flowing from the bladder. The stream should start on its own, and you should avoid forcing the urine too much.
Step 7) Once a urine stream has started, keep your breath held until the stream is a full strength before you begin to breath again. If you take a breath too early or breath in too quickly, this can cause the stream to subside. When you do take a breath, try and take smooth even breaths so as not to pant or gasp, which can also cause the stream to halt.
As I stated earlier, once you have mastered the technique, you may apply it to any situation in which you have difficulty urinating. Also, you may try holding your breath while you are walking towards the restroom, which can shave time from how long that you are standing at the urinal/toilet/bush. Remember not to focus too much on how long you hold your breath, as the length of time necessary can vary from person to person. The key to the breath hold is the “gasping for breath” feeling, and being able to hold your breath through it long enough for a stream to start.
Another thing that is important I note is the breath hold will take some practice. You may not get the breath hold on the first try, or even the hundredth try for that matter. It may take a bit of practice before you are able to master the technique. Try practicing it a few times a day until you are able to get the hang of it. You can also practice holding your breath while you are lying in bed or sitting on the couch watching TV, so you can get more comfortable with holding your breath. The breath hold can be a bit uncomfortable and awkward at first, but once learned much to odd feelings will dissipate, and the breath hold will become an invaluable tool for paruretics.

There is no need to worry about the uncomfortable feelings, they are common for people just learning the breath hold. Just keep working at it and they will begin to fade until the breath hold technique becomes almost second nature.

Try holding your breath and getting used to the feeling, even if you have no urge to go. When you are lying in the bed or sitting on the couch, try holding your breath as long as you can, while staying calm and relaxed. If you keep practicing and stay patient, eventually you will hold your breath sans spasms, and will experience little to no discomfort. Once you feel like you are able to stay relaxed while holding your breath and attempt reliving yourself with the breath hold at home, then you will be ready to try a public restroom. Start small, say a store with minimal to moderate traffic, and work from there. Once you have mastered the technique, there will not be a single situation, regardless how stressful, you will not be able to void during.

Keep your head up, the breath hold technique takes a bit of patience to master. The tingling sensations that you are experiencing is the beginning of the pelvic floor drop, you are getting quite close, perhaps even a few seconds. What many people don't realize about the breath hold is that the most difficult part of it is the las 5-10 seconds. However, once you get over that hump, the breath hold becomes something you can always rely on.
Once you master the breath hold, you could pee standing in rush-hour traffic. Absolutely no exaggeration.

What most people don't seem to understand is that it's not just about holding your breath for xx seconds. It comes when it comes. Don't focus on time, don't focus on anything... Keep the body in rest, and try to think of something else. When the gasping for air comes, it becomes critical. You just need to have the faith that if you keep your body relaxed, you'll pee in a matter of seconds. But if you never made it work, it feels like every second gets harder, and you'll give up before something happens. If the motivation is not really big, and you're not comfortable with the feeling, you'll never learn BH. Aqu gave some really good advice. Try it every day, a couple of times, to get comfortable with gasping for air, and one time the motivation will be high enough to break through that invisible wall and you'll understand what BH is. And once you know where the "wall" is, you just need to wait for it and it'll work. Every time. In the last 1,5 year I maybe left the restroom 3x without emptying, because I got interruped during BH. I went back in a few minutes later, and it was done. Try to imagine how liberating it must be to never have to think about peeing again the moment you leave your house. Even though I still have paruresis, it has absolutely zero impact on my life right now. Learning BH is life changing. So keep trying, keep trying, keep trying, until it works. The only real succes stories of people who consider themselves cured from paruresis are the breath holders. Become a breath holder too.
Relax your body, breath out 50-75%, RELAX YOUR BODY, and when you get the urge to breathe keep your mouth closed and clog your nose with your fingers. When you have to breathe, just breathe through your nose but keep your nose clogged with your fingers (so that you don't actually breathe). This should add several seconds to your BH time and let you hold your breathe for a longer period of time than you otherwise could. I went for a period of time when I could only do BH while clogging my nose with my fingers, but could never do it otherwise. It will still take a lot of practice to see a success, but for me anyway it made the first success come faster which lifted my spirits and motivated me.
Hello all,

Haven't been on the sight for a while - after learning and using BH years ago (begot in about 15 minutes from David L after 1 & 1/2 unsuccessful workshops).

Couple of comments about the instructions from parureticmax. First thanks for this, explains the technique pretty thoroughly. Second I kinda wish it was called it Exhale Hold because, for me, at the end of the exhaling cycle that's where the pelvic floor drop really begins to take affect. I found a in-home experiment a while back to prove to myself that the technique is all physiological and not psychological. Try this in your most comfortable home setting:

1) Load up on a lot of water and wait for a really good sense of urgency.
2) Stand over the bowl ready to go
3) Exhale almost all of your air.

This is the most important part
4) DO NOT PEE! Resist as much as possible by holding it in with your pelvic muscles.
5) 1 of 2 things should happen - One, you either will have to inhale to catch your breath (and please do this if you feel faint). Or two - you will start peeing almost automatically. You won't be able to do both - at least I couldn't.

I think this "automatic" peel feeling may provide you with that sense of the pelvic floor drop, which might be the trigger you need to know what to work on in more difficult situations.

That's it. Let me know if anyone tries this and what you're results are. I think I posted this a couple of times years ago but tried to explain and improve it and maybe tie it in with the instructions.

Anyway - good luck all - hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

_________________
The most important part of the breath hold technique is being able to keep yourself at ease. I understand that the breath hold can be rather difficult when you are gasping for air, but it is key to success. When you are holding your breath, try and focus on how your bladder is feeling. Once you get to a certain point you will begin to feel your bladder loosen up, in which case you are close to a stream. Once you get to the point will your bladder is beginning to void a bit, just keep holding your breath for a few more seconds, and a stream should start.

Learning the breath hold can be a rather onerous task, believe me I can relate. Just keep working at it and focusing on how your bladder feels, and you should have a success with a bit of practice.
_

Maybe I should rewrite some of the instructions. It should be very clear that BH is not supposed to be comfortable. Many people who try to learn breath hold inhale when it gets uncomfortable, but that's the point where it get's crucial. Everything that happens before that point is not important... The very first time, you need to understand that this uncomfortable feeling WILL make you pee, and that it's not endlessly long. And over time, you will find out that you can decrease the time of being uncomfortable, and getting used to the feeling. It beats the feeling of walking out of crowded restroom with a bladder about to explode, and nowhere to go. But the beginning is hard, that's why many people give up. But believe me, learning BH changes the life of a paruretic.

Thanks Dominic,
I have been keeping with the breath hold practice and it is starting to work.
I can definitely feel the sensation, it started about three days ago and yesterday I was able to start a stream before letting go of my breath hold.
I'm also in low stress situations able to get the sensation and even if I stop holding my breath before the stream starts it start shortly after.

I'm going to keep at it. I'm getting close to being confident with it. Just 4 days ago I thought it was not going to work for me, but now I totally believe it will!!!

Glen

I find that if there is any need to have a bowl movement It has to happen first before I can urinate. I guess it's just an order of operation that the body takes.
Probabley a good idea to sit down while you are practicing the breath hold. This morning I went into a stall with another person in a stall at work and had a bowl movement first, then did the breath hold and was able to go. This is the first time in years apon years I have gone pee in a washroom with someone in it. Maybe 30-40 years. Very pleased !!!!!!

Glen

At least 3 females reported success with breath hold, so yes, it also works for females. The total breath hold time is not really important. If you well prepare to hold your breath, it can even be over a minute before breath hold works. It's all about the feeling of "gasping for air". Once you're in that stage, it will take 5-20 seconds before BH works, depending on your anxiety. I think many people don't really understand that. You shouldn't time yourself, because it will not show your progress in learning to BH. You can train yourself to hold your breath for 2 minutes, but you inhale a few seconds after "gasping for air", it will never work. So what you really should do is train your mind and body to go beyond that comfort level, and keep your body relaxed while doing so. I still remember trying BH for the first few times, and I always gave up the moment it gets uncomfortable. But BH without being uncomfortable for 5-20 seconds is not possible. Maybe a trick could be to count down from 20 the moment holding your breath becomes uncomfortable, and focus on counting down and keeping your mind and body relaxed.

Good luck and all the best.

Dominic

actually the best way to breathe with the Breath Holding Method (BH) is before the pelvic floor drops. In order to do this, the following steps help.

1. while breathing normally, you stop and exhale 75% of your breath and then walk up to the toilet for 10 seconds then arrive there (the walking helps to make you out of breath to reduce BH time drastically; trust me 10 seconds of walking up to a urinal is enough to make you a little out of breath). Wait another 2-3 seconds for the pelvic floor to feel as if its going to collapse like you normally would with the BH.

2. right before the PF collapses and causes peeing to start without actually trying, take a tiny sniffle of air in through ur nose the instant before the pelvic floor drop. This will keep the pelvic floor from dropping by itself but instead it gives you a window of confidence in this 5 second window of PF suspense you can have an assured 5 seconds attempt to relax the PF (with a bursting bladder? Come on). the tiny sniff of air is enough to shortly delay the PF drop but not enough to fully give your oxygen back... This means if you re-exhale and restart the BH from that state of suspense, you can make the pelvic floor drop by the natural peeing reflex within 5 seconds of re-exhaling anyway (or 10, or 15 seconds depending on how big the sniff of air was that you took in.) So you have a window that you might as well use anyway, and I can always naturally relax my reflex in that window.)

only thing make sure not to become overly dependent on BH. It works best as a starter method but once its about to work you can easily take a small breath in immediately before the pelvic floor drop, and then relax it your self. You can even approach the bathroom almost wetting you pants in order to have a chance to feel like relaxing voluntarily is almost immediately going to make you pee anyways. Just allow your mindset to relax before you freak out about clenching up in the first place. And you won't believe how easy it is to pee at even a urinal with a full bladder. The BH gives you confidence u can pee, but if you use it to actually start peeing completely several times, it can cause loss of pee reflex for up to a month after quitting :/ won't kill you but it isnt very healthy short term.....

what i'm saying is like a millisecond before the pelvic floor drop of the BH take in a tiny breath. This lets you know you then have a 5 second window where you can relax the pelvic floor yourself and actually take a natural piss with confidence becuase if you mess up you wil have the BH to fall back on. If you use the BH to fully bypass the pelvic floor reflex itself, then each time you do it adds up and weakens your pee reflex. Like if you do a full BH once without actually doing the natural piss thing yourself, then you will find that the next 2 pees you try to take without any BH will come slower. It's not actually a long term side effect, but i would recommend trying the method where you let off the BH with a small breath above instead of fully BHing so you can actually pee normally!!

www.artofmanliness.com/2015/08/17/how-to-hold-your-breath/

1,
Step 1) Start by taking a deep breath and allow your body relax. It is important to stay at ease while doing the breath hold, otherwise it will take longer for a urine stream to start.

Step 2) Once your body is relaxed and calm, inhale enough to fill your lungs completely, then exhaled about 75% of the air in your lungs, leaving about 25%.

Step 3) Proceed to hold your breath while also keeping your body still and relaxed. By keeping your body at ease, it will facilitate a much smoother process whilst holding your breath for the period of time necessary.

Step 4) Continue holding your breath until you reach the “gasping for breath” feeling. This will be easy to recognize, as your body’s natural reaction to the lack of oxygen will be to take a breath, and it will feel as though you are trying to gasp for air. The time it takes to get to this point can vary, but it will generally be between 20-40 seconds, depending on the individual.

Step 5) Once you come the point where your body is trying to gasp for air, you may feel a bit of discomfort. This is entirely normal, and there is no need to be alarmed. When you have reached the “gasping for breath” threshold, you will only need to continue holding your breath for a few more seconds.

Step 6) You will eventually feel what is known as the pelvic floor drop, or the point in which the internal sphincter allows the urine to begin flowing from the bladder. The stream should start on its own, and you should avoid forcing the urine too much.

Step 7) Once a urine stream has started, keep your breath held until the stream is a full strength before you begin to breath again. If you take a breath too early or breathe in too quickly, this can cause the stream to subside. When you do take a breath, try and take smooth even breaths so as not to pant or gasp, which can also cause the stream to halt.

As I stated earlier, once you have mastered the technique, you may apply it to any situation in which you have difficulty urinating. Also, you may try holding your breath while you are walking towards the restroom, which can shave time from how long that you are standing at the urinal/toilet/bush. Remember not to focus too much on how long you hold your breath, as the length of time necessary can vary from person to person. The key to the breath hold is the “gasping for breath” feeling, and being able to hold your breath through it long enough for a stream to start.

Another thing that is important to note is the breath hold will take some practice. You may not get the breath hold on the first try, or even the hundredth try for that matter. It may take a bit of practice before you are able to master the technique. Try practicing it a few times a day until you are able to get the hang of it. You can also practice holding your breath while you are lying in bed or sitting on the couch watching TV, so you can get more comfortable with holding your breath. The breath hold can be a bit uncomfortable and awkward at first, but once learned much to odd feelings will dissipate, and the breath hold will become an invaluable tool for paruretics.



2, I learned this technique several years ago. I believe I first read about it on wikipedia. For someone who suffered with this horrible anxiety from approximately age 14 to 52 it has been a godsend. Basically I just exhale before entering the restroom and within 30 seconds or so of not taking a breath I urinate without an issue. Sometimes I need to hold my breath through the entire urination (depending on the circumstances), but most of the time just getting going allows me to finish without any problem. I do get a little light headed sometimes, but have never been close to passing out. I just wanted to add my two cents for all the sufferers out there that there is hope and this was the cure for me.

paruresiscure.com/paruresis-breath-hold-technique-part-1-of-2/

Zdravim,

uz jsem se dost dlouho na tyto stranky neprihlasil, ale Huntikovi patri velke diky, a to konkretne za seznameni metody BH.

Puvodne, kdyz jsem se zacal metodou BH zabyvat, tak jsme nebyl velmi uspesny a dokonce jsem na chvili trenovani BH vzda. Nicmene uvedomil jsem si, ze parureza mi opravdu dost nici zivot, tak jsem dal teto metode jeste jednu sanci a zacal trenovat naplno. Opravdu jsem zkousel BH denne a vsude, i kdyz jsem ji nepotreboval.

Nejtezsi ze vseho je prekonat poprve kuckani a nemoznost nadechu, nicmene jakmile clovek jednou prekona tento neprijemny pocit, zjisti, ze dalsi pokus je lehci. Avsak nikdy to nebude zcela prijemne.

Momentalne uz vetsinou ani BH nemusim vyuzivat a jde to samo, pouzivam tuto metodu pouze, kdyz jsem v krizi a taktez se mi stalo, ze jsem byl asi v 5 pripadech neuspesny, ale po me chybe.

Konecne se citim vice svobodny a muzu delat veci, kterych jsem se drive obaval - po xletech jsem dobrovolne cestoval autobusem 20 hodin s vyuzitim wc na benzinach apod. - to bylo jednu dobu nepredstavitelne. Vice chodim ven, vice se stykam s lidmi a vseobecne se muj zivot o dost zlepsil. Avsak zcela uprimne, clovek ma v hlave porad nejake pochyby, kdyz miri na wc, ale na druhou stranu, ted mam zbran, kterou mohu vyuzit, kdyz jsem v krizi - bavim se o kabinkach. V nasledujicim roce jsem si dal za cil chodit i na pisoar, tak uvidime.

Taktez jsem zkousel pred BH metodou, KBT, ale bez uspechu, ale kazdy to ma asi jinak.

Tak snad tento prispevek nekoho namotivuje, a odhodla se zmenit si svuj zivot k lepsimu, urcite to jde, jen to neni zadarmo.

S pozdravem,
Tom