Overactive Mind, Overactive Bladder
How anxiety and stress affect and contribute to overactive bladder symptoms.
Posted August 25, 2025 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
Do you pee a lot or feel the urge to go when you are feeling anxious or stressed ? You are not alone. Research indicates a positive correlation between the severity of anxiety symptoms and overactive bladder (OAB)/incontinence symptoms. In fact, a 2016 study found that “1) anxiety is prevalent among the clinical population – half of the OAB subjects had anxiety symptoms, and one quarter of OAB subjects had moderate to severe anxiety symptoms; 2) OAB subjects reported higher anxiety symptoms compared to controls; 3) OAB patients with anxiety reported more severe OAB/incontinence symptoms, worse quality of life, and more psychosocial difficulties compared to OAB patients without anxiety.” It is safe to conclude that there exists a relationship between anxiety and overactivity of the bladder.
But why? Is anxiety not a cognitive/thinking issue? If so, what does the bladder have to do with it? In simple terms, anxiety often comes with a physical manifestation—whether it is lightheadedness, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal discomfort, or otherwise, the body responds (often strongly) to feelings of worry, anxiety, and stress. While more commonly experienced anxiety-body symptoms include those listed above, frequent urination, incontinence, or the urge to urinate flies under the radar in a sense; it is less well-known than the other, more “classic” physical responses. We might look at this way: The body’s muscular system is directly affected by anxiety—enter muscle tension, stiffness, headaches, jaw clenching, and chest tightness when we feel anxious. The bladder, too, is a muscle and, therefore, is also susceptible to tightening and constricting when a person is anxious. When this happens, the pressure placed on the bladder can cause feelings of needing to urinate, not fully emptying the bladder when urinating, and, in severe cases, loss of bladder control and incontinence.
If you experience any of the following, it might be worthwhile to consider if your anxiety is affecting your bladder:
Note that, as always, other more serious medical conditions should be ruled out prior to assuming that bladder problems are anxiety-related. The list above, however, presents some of the commonly experienced symptoms that people with anxiety-related OAB experience.
So, what can you do to ease these feelings of discomfort if you experience anxiety-driven OAB? Here are five measures you can take to cope with frequent urination and urges caused by anxiety:
Lai HH, Rawal A, Shen B, Vetter J. The Relationship Between Anxiety and Overactive Bladder or Urinary Incontinence Symptoms in the Clinical Population. Urology. 2016 Dec;98:50-57. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2016.07.013. Epub 2016 Jul 19. PMID: 27450939; PMCID: PMC5116264.
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Phil Lane, MSW, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice and the author of the book Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.