Death, Sex & Money: My Shy Bladder
Christopher Zara didn\u2019t finish high school, and can sometimes feel like an outsider working in a field where it\u2019s more common to have a college degree. Sometimes he\u2019s able to push through his social anxiety, to put on a tough face. But other times his body won\u2019t give him a chance to feel at ease \u2013 it seizes up, and in Christopher\u2019s case that means not being able to pee even when he really, really has to.\xa0\xa0\n\u201cImagine you\u2019re unable to perform a basic function like move your hand or your leg,\u201d Christopher said, \u201cYou're standing, in my case, in front of a urinal or wherever the bathroom is, and it just doesn't happen.\u201d\nIn this episode, Christopher talks to producer Zoe Azulay about \u201cparuresis,\u201d more colloquially known as shy bladder syndrome, how it\u2019s been disruptive to his life, how he thinks it's connected to class anxiety, and how it\u2019s gotten better.\xa0\nChristopher Zara\u2019s memoir is called Uneducated: A Memoir of Flunking Out, Falling Apart, and Finding My Worth\nPodcast production by Zoe Azulay\nDeath, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.\nAnd if you\u2019re new to the show, welcome. We\u2019re so glad you\u2019re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna\u2019s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices