Mind Over Bladder: How to Take Back Bladder Control

Have you seen the commercials? You know, the ones where the woman is out shopping, or hiking, or at a wedding, and she’s holding hands with a little pink bladder that keeps pulling her towards every bathroom in sight. I’ve seen them. And they kind of make me mad.

If you can you relate to the woman—feeling like you need to go every time you see a bathroom sign, or needing to rush inside every time you put your key in the front door—I feel you. But of course, the commercial is for a medication. And frankly I get pretty frustrated at how much money is spent to reinforce the suggestion that most things can be fixed by a little pill.

The issue that this particular commercial is addressing is an overactive bladder. This typically presents as a strong sudden urge to empty your bladder, needing to get up more than once at night to pee, needing to rush to the toilet, or leaking on the way to the toilet. Basically—your bladder is bossing you around. It’s really frustrating!

But here’s the good news if this sounds all too familiar: you don’t necessarily need a pill.

Yep, there’s an alternative. It may take a little more work on your part, but the only side effect is a more well-behaved bladder.

I’m talking about Bladder Training. No—not potty training. You’ve gone through that already and possibly trained a couple of other humans yourself. This is grown up bladder training to get your own to behave. In fact, the American College of Physicians strongly recommends Bladder Training before medication. That’s straight from the top!

What does it entail? First of all—and possibly most important— you need to understand how your bladder works. Because when you understand how it works, you’re better able to tell it what to do. I covered a lot of the basics in my 3-part series on Urinary Urgency, which you can find here, here, and here.

I cover a lot in those 3 blogs, and it can be challenging information to digest just reading it. For that reason, I’m super excited to tell you that I’m launching some online learning resources—starting with a LIVE online Workshop called Mind Over Bladder on December 11. In the 2-hour workshop I’ll walk you through how your bladder works, teach you the steps to control your urges, and give you a ton of self-care tips for keeping your bladder happy. Check it out here!

If Bladder Training is not something you’re looking for, but you want to learn online from me, tell me what you want to learn about! Just comment below!

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Disclaimer: This information and course is designed for educational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or treat a condition. It is also not intended to take the place of 1:1 medical care.