Parcopresis

Parcopresis, also called psychogenic fecal retention or shy bowel, is the inability to defecate without a certain level of privacy, either a difficulty or an inability to do so caused by significant psychological distress and associated with avoidance of public and social situations. It is not a medically recognized condition, though one 2011 case report suggested it should be classified as a form of social phobia, and a 2021 study of 714 university students found a gender-adjusted 14.4 percent of the sample avoided public toilets for reasons associated with parcopresis, with significantly higher prevalence among women. It is closely related to, and often researched alongside, paruresis, the analogous inability or difficulty to urinate in the presence of others.