The Spiritual Meaning of an Overactive Bladder

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a medical condition affecting millions. Those deep in their spiritual lives recognize the connections between their physical health and nurturing their soul. Could there be a deeper spiritual meaning of frequent urination?

The body communicates in various ways and only one is verbal. Information comes in through more than five senses and it’s up to your brain to understand it, which requires integrating your faith system. Explore the spiritual meaning of an overactive bladder. 

The Body’s Natural Energy Systems

Although the idea of your body as an energy production system might sound unusual to Western minds, it’s an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the human collective consciousness. After all, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” came to life through a powerful electrical charge.

Integrating this idea with Western thoughts about medicine and healing takes mindfulness. Don’t worry if it sounds daunting — top doctors don’t fully understand how all the fascinating overlapping parts of the body work together. But they know the basics, including how certain body chemicals and processes influence one another.

Qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine

The vital energy the human body creates in TCM originates from two sources — what already flows through the body and what it takes in. You might read of these divisions as:

• Breath and blood
• Yin and yang
• The material and the spiritual 

This appearing duality is false — it simply represents the interdependence of the two on one another. Your current physical state influences how you perceive your environment and what you choose to take in from your surroundings impacts your bodily health.

The principles of non-duality and interdependence open the doors to understanding the spiritual meaning of frequent urination. By understanding how everything works together to create the whole, you can better manage the systems influencing your systems, finding relief and acceptance.

What an Overactive Bladder Means Spiritually

What is the spiritual meaning of your frequent urination? To discern this, you must understand the various interdependent parts that create your diagnosis.

Symptoms of an Overactive Bladder

The physical manifestations of an overactive bladder include:

• Frequent, sudden needs to urinate with little to no warning
• Wetting yourself when you can’t reach a restroom in time
• Inability to ignore the urge to go
• Limiting life activities because of frequent bladder urges
• Seeking bathrooms everywhere you go in case of sudden urges 

It’s important to seek a medical evaluation if you suspect an overactive bladder. It’s easy to confuse these symptoms with those indicating an infection, or another condition treatable through medication or surgical interventions. Ruling out the alternatives is your first step.

Medical Causes and Treatments

Another reason seeking a medical evaluation matters is because an overactive bladder frequently results from other trauma to this organ or larger bodily systems, including:

• Nerve damage from abdominal trauma or surgery
• Neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease
• Bladder stones
• Frequent bladder infections
• Prostate cancer
• Medication side effects 

Traditional treatments for overactive bladder depend on the underlying cause. For example, some medications can slow the progression of neurological diseases. Catching cancer early increases your recovery chances and switching to a new drug could stop your symptoms in their tracks. Other times, you might need to accept your diagnosis radically. 

Spiritual Considerations

The spiritual meaning of frequent urination ultimately boils down to mindfulness and your connection with the Divine as you understand it. For example, some consider their symptoms a test of their faith. Others invite them as an opportunity to build compassion for others.

Questions to Ask Yourself If You Have an Overactive Bladder

Each person’s path is unique and you may find solace in speaking with a faith leader about your symptoms. Schedule a time when you can chat without embarrassment. However, you must ultimately look within, too, asking yourself the following questions about the spiritual meaning of your frequent urination.

1. Is There Something You’re Holding Back From Yourself? 

Your body delivers messages to you through your senses, of which you have as many as thirty-three. It doesn’t send you a memo saying, “You need to check in with this,” but provides more mysterious clues mindfulness can interpret.

Perhaps you’re subconsciously avoiding scheduling a doctor’s visit because you’re afraid they’ll find something seriously wrong. If so, you must ask yourself — is living with possibly treatable symptoms worse than the risk of receiving bad news, especially considering waiting can cause minor issues like infections to become life threatening?

Maybe there’s something else you’re avoiding in your life and your body is choosing this method to get your attention. For example, perhaps you’re repressing your anger at someone who continues to cross your boundaries at work out of fear of the potential fallout confrontation could bring. However, the stress is affecting your health and your body is expressing feeling “PO’d” in a manner you’re sure to notice.

2. Do You Have Any Mental Blocks You Need to Break? 

Mental blocks come in two varieties:

• Those you are aware of — for example, getting “stuck” on a writing project or workplace assignment.
• Those of which you remain unaware but affect your life.

For example, perhaps you have a conflict with a family member over a misalignment between your opposing belief systems. As the holidays approach, your dismay at the situation grows, increasing your physical symptoms. You want to reconcile, but only if they see the world your way.

Ask yourself what you aren’t seeing. For example, would it be better to invite your family member to break bread under the condition that you mutually avoid triggering topics like religion? Mindfully explore how various solutions to your dilemma feel and act on the one you think is best only after deep, honest reflection.

3. What Are You Unable to Accept Radically?

Perhaps in the above scenario, your beloved family member is unable to attend such events while respecting boundaries. In that case, you may have no choice but to accept radically that right here, right now, the risk of inviting them to family functions outweighs the joy found in their presence. The spiritual meaning of your frequent urination may be, “You must live with what is, even when you don’t like it much.”

Keep in mind the continual nature of change when radically accepting what you find difficult. You’re simply taking an honest look at current circumstances and directing your mental, spiritual, emotional and physical energy to address the here and now. It doesn’t preclude future possibilities. Indeed, the conditions you create through your mindful actions in the present are the only way of achieving the future you ultimately want.

What the Spiritual Meaning of Frequent Urination Can Mean

It can be tough to find a spiritual meaning behind frequent urination. You want your symptoms to stop, but health is a complex interaction of multiple factors, encompassing the emotional and interpersonal spheres with the physical.

Mindfully explore the spiritual meaning of your overactive bladder. Integrating what is into your life perspective can help you accept your condition or find the help you need to manage it.