Can Anxiety reduce the urge to pee

[KaylaRose]

I have had Health Anxiety for years and I am going through a really terrible time just now and it’s literally making me Suicidal.

I know Anxiety can make you pee loads but can it also have the opposite effect and reduce the feeling of needing to go. It’s not that I can’t go it’s just that I am not really feeling the urge. I am terrified of the thought of catheters and I am terrified of the prospect of having to have one and I think this was all triggered by reading about a girl who one day woke up and couldn’t pee and now has Fowlers. I feel so stupid and embarrassed that I am in this state over this. I just want to disappear.

Health anxiety is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy, truly horrific so I can empathise. When I'm having a bad time with it I don't tend to eat or drink, could this be a case of just not enough fluids in? I also have awful physical symptoms such as sweating so get very dehydrated could it be as a result of something along those lines?

I probably don’t drink enough and the constant worry is probably not helping the situation. I have had Health Anxiety for so long but I am thinking I am at the stage where I need professional help.

Track your fluid intake (6-8 glasses needed) for a day or two and see how many pees you do, don't go unless you feel the urge to go. You should pee between 4-10 times per day. If drinking the correct amount doesn't produce the right amount then you could speak to a pharmacist or GP about it. If it does produce the right amount then you can use this as evidence against your intrusive thoughts. I find with my health anxiety if I am able to make a plan of action like I've suggested above it helps to focus and 99% of the time I gather the evidence to prove my anxiety wrong which then reassures me.

I think what worries me is that when I wake up I don’t pee that much but then I don’t drink much before bed.