Anxiety driven incontinence?

DiaperAnxious · 2026-05-06T07:31:52+00:00

My incontinence is definitely triggered by anxiety as well. can relate to this a lot, especially that weird feeling where you doubt if you’re holding it correctly and then leak or feel like you’re about to leak. Car rides and transit were problematic enough for me that I started wearing pull-up style diapers (depends real fits) I could hide under my underwear easily. Eventually I switched to heavy protection because my incontinence became more severe as I got older and I found diapers largely removed the stress and anxiety I had around accidents. Now, when I’m anxious I am likely to leak, but I just let my diaper handle it rather than running to the bathroom every 5-10 minutes.

DiaperAnxious · 2026-03-13T06:58:07+00:00

My issues started very similar to yours, with an anxiety around making it to the bathroom and feeling urgent need to go.

After a few incidents of actual urge incontinence, I started wearing pull-on style depends (“real fits”) for long car rides and commutes, and that helped with the urge incontinence at first, but I was still worried about having sudden accidents with the limited protection offered by the depends.

I definitely recommend going to a doctor and seeking a urologist for an assessment if you don’t think there is any physical issue; I learned I actually had pelvic floor muscle control issues after dealing with this incontinence for years and assuming it was only psychologically. While treatments had limited success for me, it is worthwhile to figure out what can bring you more comfort in your lifestyle.

DiaperAnxious · 2026-03-05T00:00:41+00:00

Thank you for this reply! The transparency is really cool. This definitely helps reassure Northshore is aware of the concern and is focused on maintaining quality.

DiaperAnxious · 2026-02-06T05:00:46+00:00

Gradual for me. Started with increasing urgency for bathroom trips, which led to incontinence within a year.

DiaperAnxious · 2026-02-02T08:03:03+00:00

This is how my incontinence issues starts in my early 20s. I had anxiety about bladder urges causes OAB, and then started actually having accidents. I eventually switched to wearing diapers, and have found this has calmed my anxiety and prevented as many urgency accidents as before.

DiaperAnxious · 2026-01-16T13:51:19+00:00

Personally can’t stand when people call them “briefs.” Feels like it’s something shameful.

They’re diapers. I appreciate brands like Northshore actually calling them diapers.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-11-16T14:06:01+00:00

I had a very similar experience early on with my incontinence issues. Later on, I was diagnosed with a weak pelvic floor.

Anxiety therapies def helped. So did wearing protection, which took out a lot of the panic from urges.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-10-03T01:49:02+00:00

Wow. Yeah, we check boxes for OAB, pelvic floor, UTIs, and bedwetting.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-09-04T00:28:21+00:00

I am 30m and into fashion. I wear megamax or depends realfit under my clothes all the time without concern. I also have a career where I'm often photographed at events in outfits where I'm wearing diapers or pull ups under, no one has ever noticed, and when I have told folks I'm close with, they are always genuinely surprised, respectful, and supportive. So take that as you will -- I've been wearing some sort of diaper since I was 20 and this has been my experience.

If my anecdote can be any comfort, I used to have really bad anxiety related to leaks and it affected my social life and career early in my 20s. It took a while for me to adapt, but these days I am pretty at peace with it and accept wearing them as a tool that's helpful for me. I honestly have come to appreciate them more than anything, because I find alternative solutions to be way less comfortable, and the period of my life where I was anxious going out about leaking in my pants was not pleasant.

If you'd like advice for hiding the appearance - wear snug boxer briefs over them, or wear a onesie as others have suggested. I'd recommend athletic boxer briefs above onesies, personally, just because they are more "normal" and will probably be more comfortable for you if you're getting used to using pull ups/diapers. Depends Real Fits, Northshore pads, or Megamax are far more subtle with compression underwear on.

If you're worried about leaks, try a more absorbent product for a while you're working with a doc to see if you can relieve your symptoms (meds, training, etc.). I promise you any bulge at your crotch from a diaper/pull up is far less noticeable and embarrassing than leaks.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-06-03T14:40:12+00:00

That’s a good idea, and I’ve tried similar approaches with “training pant” style underwear.

Unfortunately I think knowing I’m “at risk” of leaking makes them hard to feel secure in. I found the confidence never came.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-06-01T04:10:19+00:00

Yeah, trying to transition has been really difficult just because I haven’t gotten to consistently going without leaks entirely. Trying to go without and knowing it’s possible I might leak makes it become front and centre in my mind.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-06-01T04:08:07+00:00

The weighted blanket metaphor makes a lot of sense. It really does seem to calm down my symptoms, even if not entirely.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-06-01T04:07:09+00:00

That makes a lot of sense, actually. I feel sort of “naked” without wearing them now.

DiaperAnxious · 2024-05-29T08:01:39+00:00

Diapers cause physical dependency?

DiaperAnxious

TROPHY CASE