A storyboard from The Fear Nobody Understands illustrates how Anna’s daily routines become progressively structured around toilet proximity, distance, timing, and escape routes. The public awareness film will be shot in Surrey on 25 and 26 July 2026.
Specialising in anxiety-related issues—including toilet anxiety—is the Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy, known as SICH.
The Fear Nobody Understands will use drama to reveal why toilet anxiety is not a fear of toilets, and why so many people believe they are alone
LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — On 25 and 26 July, filming starts in Surrey for a new scripted public awareness film that explores the concealed reality of toilet anxiety—a condition that can quietly disrupt travel, work, relationships, and everyday independence.
Produced by KindFame Productions and sponsored by The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy, The Fear Nobody Understands draws on more than two decades of specialist clinical experience gained from working with thousands of individuals affected by toilet anxiety.
Rather than a conventional documentary approach, the production employs actors and a fictional narrative to immerse viewers in the thoughts and calculations that someone with the condition experiences.
Once completed, the piece will be released both as a short film and as a five-part web series, enabling people who search online to identify and understand an experience often mistaken for other toilet-related fears.
Toilet anxiety is not a fear of toilets
Toilet anxiety is frequently misidentified as a fear of toilets or a fear of using public restrooms. Yet the experience described by many clients is nearly the opposite.
“Toilet anxiety is not usually a fear of toilets,” explained Paul Howard, Senior Partner and Toilet Anxiety Specialist at The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy.
“It is the fear that you will need a toilet and will not be able to reach one in time. Someone with a fear of public toilets may avoid using them. Someone with toilet anxiety is often actively looking for them because knowing where the toilets are helps them feel safe.”
Howard says one of the comments he regularly hears from new clients is: “Oh my God, I thought I was the only one with this problem until I found your website.”
Other clients describe struggling to find information that reflects what they are actually experiencing.
“People tell me, ‘All I have ever found is sites talking about a fear of using a public toilet. That’s just not me. I’m happy if there is a public toilet. In fact, I go looking for them to feel safe,’” Howard said.
“That distinction is extremely important. A person may have spent years searching for an explanation and only found information about a condition that does not describe them. That can leave them believing that nobody else experiences what they do.”
This widespread misunderstanding is one of the main reasons the film is being made.
A hidden pattern of checking and planning
Someone living with toilet anxiety may appear calm and capable while privately calculating access, distance, delay and escape.
An ordinary journey can involve checking routes and identifying toilets in advance. A visit to the cinema might depend upon securing a seat close to the exit. Trains, traffic jams, queues, meetings and unfamiliar locations can all become difficult because access to a toilet may be uncertain, awkward, blocked or delayed.
People may restrict food and drink, make repeated precautionary visits to the toilet, turn down invitations or leave events early. Friends, relatives and colleagues may never know the real reason.
“The person can become very skilled at hiding the problem,” Howard explained. “They may make excuses or quietly avoid situations without telling anyone why. From the outside, their decisions can appear unnecessary. From the inside, they feel essential to remaining safe.”
This can gradually create a conflict between the need to maintain control and the ability to trust the body.
“Knowing that a toilet is nearby may bring immediate relief, but nobody can guarantee immediate access to a toilet in every situation,” Howard said. “If someone’s freedom becomes dependent upon that guarantee, their world can gradually become smaller.”
Using drama to make an invisible experience visible
The central character in The Fear Nobody Understands is Anna, an outwardly capable woman whose daily life is increasingly shaped by the need to know where toilets are and how quickly she can reach them.
Although Anna and the other characters are fictional, the thoughts and behavioural patterns portrayed in the film have been informed by Howard’s clinical work with people experiencing toilet anxiety.
Using actors also protects the privacy of real clients who may not feel comfortable discussing such a personal problem publicly.
“We could have made a conventional documentary with interviews and explanations, but that would only tell the audience about toilet anxiety,” Howard said.
“We want people to experience an ordinary situation as Anna experiences it. A queue, a traffic jam or a closed door may mean very little to most of us. For her, it can change the entire situation.
“This is not intended to be a lecture or an advertisement disguised as a film. We are making a human story about someone who appears to be coping while privately managing a fear that nobody around her fully understands.”
At the centre of Anna’s story is the conflict between control and body trust. She has come to believe that remaining safe depends upon preparation, checking and guaranteed access. However, the more she tries to control every possibility, the less able she becomes to trust her own body.
A short film and five part web series
The production has been designed to work as one complete short film and as five individual online episodes.
Each episode will explore a different stage of Anna’s experience while contributing to the larger story. This will allow someone to encounter the subject through a particular situation or behaviour they recognise, even if they have not yet identified the wider pattern as toilet anxiety.
The complete film will bring those experiences together in a single narrative centred upon control, avoidance and the rebuilding of trust in the body.
Filming will take place on 25 and 26 July 2026, followed by editing, sound production and music. The release date will be announced once post production has been completed.
More information see why the film is being made.
About KindFame Productions
KindFame Productions is a Surrey based video production company producing creative film and video content for businesses, organisations and community projects. The Fear Nobody Understands is being created as a public awareness film and five part web series.
About The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy
The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy is based in Wallington, Surrey. Its therapists work with a range of anxiety related and behavioural problems.
Paul Howard has specialised in toilet anxiety for more than 20 years and has worked with thousands of people affected by fears surrounding toilet access, urgency and loss of control.
Mr Paul Howard
The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy
+44 20 8669 6990
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