anxiety and urgency

This is kind of common and it is super tough!
I wish I had a "cure" for this but I don't.

Some suggestions,
Wear depends, knowing that you have them as security may prevent accidents. And if it doesn't, it buys you time to get to a bathroom.

Carry emergency kit ziploc baggies, depends, wipes...

Hypnotherapy is a food idea, there are special therapists who deal with chronic illness and GI. I see a therapist who deals with GI and we do hypnotherapy.
It's important that you know hypnotherapy will not cure you. It may help with anxiety and even help some with sumptoms.
It is very relaxing and calming. It takes several weeks to "work" I have only had it twice so far. There are some apps that can help too (calm.com, stop think breathe...)
Also getting inflammation under control will make it possible to "hold it"

I see you are on prednisone, this makes anxiety much worse. How long have you been on it? When are you tapering off?

Anxiety is a tough one to conquer. Urgent bms with less than a minute's notice are common with uc, accidents, close calls, which can be unnerving and leave psychological-scars and your gastroenterologist doesn't treat them. It's often bad when you're not sure when you'll have access (public transit, car travel, new places, etc). We've all been there and are sympathetic. I've been in remission for over a year, yet morning car rides scare the crap out of me, when I haven't crapped yet. It's getting better, but it takes time to heal.

It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of anxiety compounding upon itself(like an amplified feedback loop with a microphone and speakers until you hear a high-pitched squeal). The best you thing can do is get your uc symptoms under control, as if you've not been having troubles lately then there's less to worry about. Second is have an emergency kit for peace-of-mind. Experience caused the anxiety, and experience can help undo it (repeatedly going to new areas without an accident). Do a few easy, quick trips to new areas to build your confidence. It's always the worstcase scenario that scare us. Have a 1 gallon ziplock bag with extra tp, wet wipes and a change of underwear keep it in the car. At least for me, it eases the mind, I'm prepared id I have urgency and I'm unexpectedly stuck in traffic, can't find a restroom, and have an accident while out.

There's no easy button, you can try it solo, you can seak counseling, therapists, even anti-anxiety/depression medications can help if it's severe.

Hello Derby County,

Did you found any solutions for the anxiety problems and the fear of not able to go out when ever you want ? I had lot of episodes like this in the last 1 month when I traveled out of county. Frankly my UC is under control and had gut messed due to travel and jet lag. But this anxiety aggregated my bowel movements and the fear of not having rest rooms and doubt of not able to find a restroom killed me lot of my happy days. Can you please share any ideas or recommendations to avoid this situation? Did you tried aby hypno therapy or apps on the AppStore which are subscription based which have a meditation / mind calming programs or some sort to reduce these thoughts in the brain? I’m really for a day where I can travel peacefully and wnjky my life

Thanks in advance

My good and kind physician prescribed a short course of clonazepam. The anxiety is real and only makes the urgency worse. Ask your doctor if they will prescribe some form of anti-anxiety drug. They DO have many to choose from and they are made for a purpose!

CBT is helpful for anxiety if you don’t want to try the med route. Basically you learn to “hear” and combat the negative voices in your head. There are books and maybe websites or apps. What I recall if it was that you would write down the negative thought (I.e. I’ll crap my pants) and then you list all the bad responses and then counter those with “rational” responses. I found it helpful to quiet down my natural pessimism. It might be helpful in this situation. A short-term anxiety med helps too in that once you actually get through the anxiety-causing situation without experiencing a bad effect, you learn confidence.

I think you might be flaring. I've had urgency and bowel movement apparently triggered by anxiety or stress, but once my UC was fully in remission then my mood didn't influence my bowel movements. And I also didn't need to be afraid of not finding a toilet because I knew I could hold it. Flaring is a really traumatic experience and can send anxiety all over the place.