Don’t Always Go With the Flow!

I have an irrational fear of toilets.

Public toilets and restrooms make me feel very uncomfortable and squeamish (even thinking about it right now makes me want to barf).  One time several years ago, I saw a news clip on TV that talked about and showed what happens in a bathroom when you flush the toilet.  They used a special camera to show how if the lid is not closed, millions of tiny toilet-water-droplets erupt into the atmosphere.  They don’t just spit up and then settle—-they project and expand throughout the entire bathroom, covering every surface. After seeing this clip, I immediately made it a top priority to always close the lid. I also have imparted this toilet knowledge to everyone I know who will listen because it’s gross, and people leave things like their toothbrushes out on their bathroom counters. You know what means, right?  {barf}

Anyway, my irrational fear of toilets is mostly regarding public restrooms because of the number of people who use them and don’t wash afterwards, and the fact that there are no lids.  I despise automatic flushers because I like to be ready to leave the stall when the flushing happens.  I call it the Flush and Run method. Touching doors and things grosses me out too, but washing hands and not touching anything helps that issue.

Although it may sound like it, I’m not a germaphobe in general. I don’t use antibacterial hand sanitizer and I believe that it is better to build your immune system than to annihilate germs.  My point here is twofold:

1. Close the lid.  And just to be safe, don’t keep your toothbrush on the counter.

2. Don’t be de-sensitized to the grossness (or unhealthiness) of something just because no one else seems to be grossed out by it—the “everybody’s doing it” rationalization is how Americans got into a lot of the health predicaments that exist today.  Maybe no one is talking about toilets spraying all over bathrooms, and maybe most people leave the lid open out of habit even if they do know about toilet spray, but toilet spray still happens and has consequences.

Think about this in other areas of your life.  Do you go along with the unhealthy processed food and lack of exercise trend because there is strength in habit and in numbers, and it helps you be in denial that you need to change something?  There are no immediate or sometimes even tangible consequences for leaving your toilet lid open (or eating fast food)…but they are there. They add up, and it does matter what choices you make even if you can’t see the effects!