Toilet anxiety refers to not feeling comfortable using a public toilet despite feeling comfortable at home. Toilet anxiety affects around 1 in 15 adults. People with toilet anxiety often find themselves becoming restricted in their activities as they worry about entering situations that might make them feel anxious. When someone with toilet anxiety approaches a potentially distressing situation and then avoids it in some manner, future anxiety is actually increased. This is because the drop in anxiety following the “escape” from the situation tells the brain that avoidance was sensible, and strengthens the avoidance behavior. This means that symptoms of anxiety don’t actually stop, even though you might feel less anxious when you avoid a situation.