paruresis

English

Etymology

From para- (“abnormal, defective”) +‎ -uresis (“urination”). The term was coined by Williams and Degenhart in their 1954 paper "Paruresis: A survey of a disorder of micturition" in the Journal of General Psychology 51:19-29.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɑːjʊˈriːsɪs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpɑrjʊˈrisɪs/, /ˌpɑrəˈrisɪs/

Noun

paruresis (uncountable)

1. The inability to urinate in the presence of others.
   • 1996, Bradley Hennenfent, M.D., Roseville Books, The Prostatitis Syndromes: Approaches to Treating Bacterial Prostatitis, page 59:

     Completely normal men who develop prostatitis will suddenly come down with urinary paruresis as one of their symptoms.

   • 2003, Clara Greed, Inclusive Urban Design: Public Toilets, page 100:

     Piss-shyness (paruresis) may prevent sufferers from using a public restroom.

   • 2006, Bernie Warren, Suffering the Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune, page 105:

     Paruresis had previously been classified as a social phobia but current thinking about paruresis is that for diagnostic purposes it is classified as a Social Anxiety Disorder in ...DSM-IV.

Synonyms

• shy bladder, shy bladder syndrome
• stage fright
• performance anxiety

Translations

Translations

• Dutch: paruresis f, plasangst f, plasvrees f
• French: parurésie (fr) f, urinophobie f
• German: Paruresis f
• Spanish: paruresis f

See also

• pee shy

Anagrams

• upraisers

Dutch

Etymology

From English paruresis.

Noun

paruresis f (uncountable)

1. the inability to urinate in the presence of others: paruresis

   Synonyms: plasangst, plasvrees