Voiding when scared?

So there seems to be a funny trope that if a person is scared enough that they will cause them to void weather it be #1 or #2. As popular as it is to describe how scary something is, I don’t think it’s even possible. Anyone have knowledge about if someone was scared enough they would loose control of thier bladder or bowels?

I believe it's possible to so scared as to void, but I think it takes being truly terrified and I never want to experience that kind of terror.

I read somewhere that it's not uncommon in cases of torture (or anticipated torture) to wet yourself.

I also read a hypothesis that it's a survival mechanism. If you need to flee mortal danger, better to get rid of any excess weight that might slow you down!

Humans take longer to defecate, so I don't think that's a common response to fear. But I wonder if it's just a one-upmanship... Bob was so scared he wet himself! Oh yeah, well Dan was so scared he crapped himself, ha-ha!

Oh it's real. I do not care for unsecured heights, and once nearly fell from such a height. I peed myself, though only just a little. It's worth noting I was urge incontinent at the time, but did not even get an urge. More recently I got a VR system and have "fallen" great heights. With the realism of VR I've instantly peed myself each time (even in spite of being functuonally incontinent)

little kids that haven't been potty-trained for very long are much more likely to wet their pants when scared. I assume part of that is not being as firmly traine yet, and part of it is kids being easier to scare badly.

ThePhotographer said:

So there seems to be a funny trope that if a person is scared enough that they will cause them to void weather it be #1 or #2. As popular as it is to describe how scary something is, I don’t think it’s even possible. Anyone have knowledge about if someone was scared enough they would loose control of thier bladder or bowels?

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I have what's commonly called a nervous bladder. Something sufficiently raises my fight or flight response, then I'm in trouble. The first couple of times I've actually had this happen were the same--almost getting hit by a car, and I didn't notice anything was off until I was safe on the sidewalk again and had caught my breath. Luckily I hadn't had my lunch yet (I like giant sodas) so there wasn't too much damage.

Unfortunately there are some triggers that are less dire than life 6 and death, too, which keeps me a little paranoid at all times. Quite possibly the most embarrassing anxiety problem ever.

Having worked on an ambulance in the past. It's entirely true that people coming off a motorbike at 80MPH tend to have brown trousers when you scrape them off the floor. I don't fully understand the mechanism though.

I've been a skydiver for over twenty years, and I get to see a wide range of reactions to people coming down and landing under parachute while being taken for their first tandem jump.

There are people who are whooping and hollering in excitement and enjoyment. There are people who are just glad to be getting back on the ground. I've seen people who have thrown up on themselves, people who have wet themselves, and even some coming down in a state we call 'dead stick' where they have passed out from their minds getting overwhelmed by the situation.

The one tandem jumpmaster I felt most sorry for was the guy who noticed in freefall that the girl he was taking on the jump seemed to have something not right. As he leaned forward to yell in her ear and see what was going on, that was the point in time that she turned her head to the same side and vomited. Yep, right into his open mouth. The instant they landed, he unhooked her, ran a few feet over, and proceeded to throw up several times.

So yes, stress/excitement/fear can cause a wide variety of reactions in people, and I have seen it firsthand.

---adding something my wife reminded me of---
I did forget the one utterly unique time my wife was editing a video of a lady being taken on her first tandem jump while the tandem master and videographer got ready for their next jumps and you could see the point where the lady had an orgasm in freefall. Yes, an orgasm. The lady admitted it happened, and you could see her eyes flutter and body shake as it happened on the video.

When I received a call that my dad was having a heart attack when they were on vacation, I had some stool that ran down my leg. It was a miserable day and I just didn't feel well at all that entire day. He's fine now though. He was able to survive his heart attack and has some stents in that opened up his arteries.

if you need to go, it can be "the straw that breaks the camels back" especially true in the event of #2, when I was a small child before I had any the bowel problems, I always found myself uneasy in the basement as well as needing to defecate shortly after any time in it.

Neural control of voiding is very complicated.
A good and simple explanation for voiding due to acute stress can be found here: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...te_when_they_re_scared_.html?via=gdpr-consent

MrPurple said:

Having worked on an ambulance in the past. It's entirely true that people coming off a motorbike at 80MPH tend to have brown trousers when you scrape them off the floor. I don't fully understand the mechanism though.

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I believe it is taught over here , that this is an indicator for spine injury. Especially interesting to us firefighters attending rti scenes

It happens. It has to me. Only once, only a dribble of pee, but, yep. When something happens to my computer, and I can't fix it, and I'm afraid of losing my best friend, who lives in Britain, with me all the way in America, or, I'm afraid I'll tick off the person who fixes it, my bowels want to move. When I can successfully fight them moving, orgasms have happened, instead. It's just the adrenaline.

Fear causes 3 responses, fight, flight, or freezing. In a lot of situations, you'll fight, or run. I have CP. Me, fight? I'd be killed for trying. Me, run? I can't walk. Freeze, that's me, most of the time, unless I can make my words a weapon. Sometimes I can.

It's a very short trip from the mildest bad thing ever happens, and I think, "I'm dead; I'm dead; I'm dead; I'm dead; I'm dead; I died; I'm dead!"

Downright scary parents as a kid.

Now, what good does a frozen animal do for itself? It poops or pees, so it's less apitizing to whatever wants to eat it.

When would someone without a disability freeze and go? On a roller coaster, what are you going to fight? Where are you going to run to? You can't do either, from inside that ride.

I distinctly remember one time when I was maybe 6 or 7 we were celebrating some holiday or a birthday with fireworks. Big fireworks. I didn't know anybody had lit anything yet so I wasn't paying attention and out of nowhere, *BOOM* a huge motor launched up into the air. It startled me super badly. At the same time I realized I completely pooped my pants. I don't remember exactly but I probably already had to poop anyway, the loud sound just scared it out of me. I vaguely remember locking myself in the bathroom for like an hour in shame. Don't remember how it ended. I'm sure my parents eventually convinced me to come out and they washed my clothes.

If I get really nervous a trip to the bathroom is soon in order to go pee and sometimes poo.

This guy does not need to be scared to go pee I do it and do not even know I am doing it. Dang Incontinence UGH! Plenty of filled diapers is the aftereffects of this disability.

Yes, it can happen. It's common at least among all mammals and birds, other animals I'm not sure about. It's not at all uncommon, say, for a pigeon to excrete when a young child is chasing it. No idea about the evolutionary reason for it, yeah it lightens one up but not really by all that much. It could just be that in a true moment of terror even involuntary areas of the brain experience changes in normal activity.

xpluswearer said:

This guy does not need to be scared to go pee I do it and do not even know I am doing it. Dang Incontinence UGH! Plenty of filled diapers is the aftereffects of this disability.

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I was not trying to offend anyone I was just curious about if the association with voiding and being scared were true since it’s common when describing something terrifying. Like the phrase “you will crap your self when you see this movie”. I know it’s a way people use to describe something scary and all I was wondering was if that was just a metaphor or does it happen to some people. So I apologize if I offered you in any way by asking that question.

Anyways kind of neat that there is some science behind this phenomenon. I kind of knew about the fight or flight but the information about the nervous system being overwhelmed when truly terrified was very interesting.

ThePhotographer said:

I was not trying to offend anyone I was just curious about if the association with voiding and being scared were true since it’s common when describing something terrifying. Like the phrase “you will crap your self when you see this movie”. I know it’s a way people use to describe something scary and all I was wondering was if that was just a metaphor or does it happen to some people. So I apologize if I offered you in any way by asking that question.

Anyways kind of neat that there is some science behind this phenomenon. I kind of knew about the fight or flight but the information about the nervous system being overwhelmed when truly terrified was very interesting.

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Nah no offense at all. All good!