Urine is the liquid waste refined by the body’s kidneys and released through a complex system that prevents toxic buildup within our bodies. It is an efficient system that leaves some in a state of fear. This unreasoning fear is known as Uranophobia.
We all understand logically that urine is something that comes from our body, yet we tend to have a significant problem coming in contact with urine that originates with anyone else. While it is natural to experience a slight “ewwww” factor Uranophobia is a profound fear that finds urine frightening and repulsive.
What Causes Uranophobia?
An adult can pass along this fear by refusing to use a public bathroom. They may hold their nose and perhaps even gag if the odor of urine is present. If a pet urinates in the home a uranophobe will not be able to take care of the issue, but will insist it be removed. They may even go so far as to have their carpet replaced if an accident occurs. When a young person observes such extreme behavior they can conclude that urine is a fearful substance.
In many cases uranophobia is absolutely a learned fear. Germophobia is often a fear that accompanies the fear of urine.
There may be cases where the fear was developed after a personal encounter with urine that was disturbing to the senses, but in a lot of cases the actual fear is something like a ‘sucker root’ on a tree. It looks like it’s a stand alone fear, but the root is actually attached to a much bigger fear.
A person who has this fear may insist that their bathroom be cleaned regularly and may pay someone else to do the work. They will avoid all but their own bathrooms and may struggle with a visit to a doctor is a urine sample is required.
Other symptoms may also include…
- Air hunger
- Elevated heart rate
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Panic attack
- Trembling
- Loss of control
- Screaming
For someone who does not live with a phobia it can be hard to describe the feelings that can even include quick changes in body temperatures and feeling faint. The fear can rush upon an individual through a sight, sound or smell and they may feel powerless to alter how they respond to this unusual stimuli.
How to Overcome Uranophobia
The recovery from this fear may take place through the use of a therapist to help discover if this is an originating fear or one that is linked to another fear. The reason this is important is that it can be easy to fixate on a fear that seems most frightening at the moment and essentially enable another fear to exist in a covert manner. A therapist can help evaluate the source of the fear and the best way to intentionally subdue the fear and manage your personal response. This plan of action will likely result in a better overall result than simply dealing with what may ultimately be a symptom and not the true cause.
The fear of urine is also referred to as:
- Urine fear
- Uranophobia
