Overcoming gym shower fear
- Thread starter AdamFin
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This thread does not apply to me. I have been a nudist for many years, being nude in front of people is quite normal for me.
I do have some social anxiety, it is men in general, I have never been able to relate to any man, I don't like what they like, what they talk about, and by and large they are unpleasant to be with in group. So I avoid gatherings of men, in the gym, I choose times where there are more women, or the men are at work, times with less people overall. Being naked in the shower with men does not have any effect on me at all, if anything, I will make sarcastic comments to the men. So far, so good, probably because I am quite intimidating.
I do have some social anxiety, it is men in general, I have never been able to relate to any man, I don't like what they like, what they talk about, and by and large they are unpleasant to be with in group. So I avoid gatherings of men, in the gym, I choose times where there are more women, or the men are at work, times with less people overall. Being naked in the shower with men does not have any effect on me at all, if anything, I will make sarcastic comments to the men. So far, so good, probably because I am quite intimidating.
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Have you ever sought out help for your iirrational dislike of men? Life would be dull without a buddy to go out and do things with.
Wow you are really sexist. You assume that all men are a certain way. Way to generalize an entire gender.
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Honestly, the best way is to take a deep breath, strip off and just walk into the shower. You'll quickly see that everyone's body has imperfections, not everyone has a ludicrously oversized package. They're just dudes, the same as you and me.
Never had gym shower fear just took off my clothes and let it all hang out!
I’m rather small when soft, but can’t care less if others look at my tool.
At the school time nobody took a shower after PE .... different alibi (awful showers, not enough time, more things to bring in the morning) hid our fear and our lack of comfort ... and some of us joked a lot about the others. Very rarely few of us exposed completely while changing, as most of us didn't change the underwear (we changed everything but underwear). Also the guys practicing sport like football, where I assume communal showers are compulsory or at least normal, didn't shower after PE. I only remember a couple of guys changed from boxers to briefs before PE and from briefs to boxers after PE without any issue. I practiced individual sport and I always showered at home.
At the university time I went to a gym and started to use the communal showers, open stalls in a raw. Some concern at the beginning, but I managed to do as the others older than me did, that's what I wanted to achieve and I achieved it.
Later on I attended a swimming class and after it everybody, coaches included, took a shower in the communal showering area; I remember it was a great time to chat with everybody while showering.
Today I join a gym where a lot of university students go and I have no problem to shower and to walk to the showers area completely exposed or dry off without any hurry. Some of the students do the same, some of them just take their jacket and go out without showering ... as I did when I was at the school time, so I understand them, but i don't justify them. I wish I would have started to be comfortable with my body at my school time!
At the university time I went to a gym and started to use the communal showers, open stalls in a raw. Some concern at the beginning, but I managed to do as the others older than me did, that's what I wanted to achieve and I achieved it.
Later on I attended a swimming class and after it everybody, coaches included, took a shower in the communal showering area; I remember it was a great time to chat with everybody while showering.
Today I join a gym where a lot of university students go and I have no problem to shower and to walk to the showers area completely exposed or dry off without any hurry. Some of the students do the same, some of them just take their jacket and go out without showering ... as I did when I was at the school time, so I understand them, but i don't justify them. I wish I would have started to be comfortable with my body at my school time!
I'm okay now being naked in the locker rooms but I lost a ton of weight. I was always self conscious back a few years ago. Now I'll change and be in there with total comfort without being creepy
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Part of being in the closet for me was mortal fear of nudity. I figured I would be discovered more easily and I was intimidated by adult men's bodies because I was so small and weak by comparison. This fear continued into first year university. Then I went to a bathhouse and the idea of being shy after playing naked with five other men in a public space just because I was showering became instantly silly. So gay spaces were covered. It wasn't until I played intramurals in my MA that I really broke it. I saw how shy and awkward many young straight guys were and I was determined not to show poorly in that light. Also they were a little awkward about me too. So I resolved to strip slow deliberate while talking walk to the urinal naked change and change out and shower just as I would at the baths. I had to fake it the first time but the reaction was immediate. They all got more relaxed, I felt kinda ballsy and when one dude did ask me if I was looking at him I said yes. We're naked. You're talking. I'm sitting. Your junk is in my face. He laughed we laughed and from that day on I never let it bug me again. I was so jealous of how comfortable men were in those settings as a young guy but what I failed to grasp is that self confidence is not a body or an age or a comfort zone. It's being ok with you.
Awesome reply! He must have felt quite silly after this. Some guys think you look at them because they think they are all that when in reality it is natural to look at anyone/thing that enters your space. It's probably a survival instinct left over from evolution because anyone/thing that comes near you could be a threat, so it's hardwired into us to look when someone/thing comes near.
Incredibly well put and bang on the money. It's all about confidence and being OK with who you are. I couldn't give a flying fuck what others think of me while I'm nude - grossed out, attracted, turned on, turned off, whatever. That's on them and their own insecurities, not me.
I really am comfortable about showering with other guys, i did have a worry about getting a hardon in the shower as you know they have a mind of their own sometimes,it doesnt worry me anymore,its just natural,I also think its just instinctive to look around if someone else enters the shower,security thing inbuilt in us,as for my appearance,doesnt worry me, we are all different for whatever reason,dont judge a book by its cover is my motto,cheers
I’m planning on using the public shower for the first time very soon, but I can’t deny that I’m nervous. I’m not insecure about my body at all, but it’s just the feeling of wearing nothing in a room where basically every men can see you. Last time I was at a gym a guy from my age used the showers but walked to them with his underwear on so I’m planning on doing the same too for the first time, and then I’ll hope no one is using the showers at that time. I don’t want to dump my underwear in the shower area for good so eventually I want to walk naked from my locker to there and back.
Dave NoCal
Superior Member
The sooner you do it the sooner you will be free.
Ballstowalls
Sexy Member
You missed one point... the creepers at the gym... guys who never go to actually workout but are always in the shower / steam. Having said that I still shower naked.
Ballstowalls
Sexy Member
bro I can relate actually. I just wrote my first (long rambling) post on similar subject lol
I cannot stand those people — cause they are pathetic. I don’t care if people like scenery, but the guy who sits there for a half hour leering...no patience for that.
One gym I belonged to fixed it by hiring an old sociable guy to hang out in the locker room. He was in there typically every ten minutes. He mopped it up, etc. His unofficial job was to chase away creeps. His method was to simply talk to everybody. “You have a good workout?” “You get it done today?”
If he saw a guy in the same spot for more than ten minutes he would say just that. Cheerfully, but direct: “You need help bud? You stuck on that bench. Muscle cramp or something. You okay?”
“You waiting on a shower? There are several open.”
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There's a guy like that at my University gym. He's and older, obese guy who only uses the steam room and shower. At least the undergrads get a graphic view of their potential future.
We didn't shower during high school and I never had the opportunity growing up to spend time naked with other guys. As a result I ended up avoiding any chance to do so as an adult until some time last year where I ended up going to the late swim and hot tub at the local public pool with my girlfriend. I went for the 'deep end,' I guess; undressed openly, showered with my trunks off, and towelled off naturally. Didn't cover up at all. It was fine.
I was less self conscious about size, although I am a grower at only 2-3 inches soft, than I was about having foreskin. And, the first three or four times I was at the pool, I didn't see a single other guy with skin. I didn't see every cock, of course, but everyone I showered next to or towelled off near was cut. If anything that made me bolder, but I also started keeping my foreskin back. That's my habit at home - retract in the shower and only roll the skin forward when I put my underwear on. Doing the same in the pool shower made me more confident though.
Now, when there is another guy with foreskin I will keep my skin forward in solidarity. But if all the other guys are cut, I feel more comfortable with my glans equally bare.
I was less self conscious about size, although I am a grower at only 2-3 inches soft, than I was about having foreskin. And, the first three or four times I was at the pool, I didn't see a single other guy with skin. I didn't see every cock, of course, but everyone I showered next to or towelled off near was cut. If anything that made me bolder, but I also started keeping my foreskin back. That's my habit at home - retract in the shower and only roll the skin forward when I put my underwear on. Doing the same in the pool shower made me more confident though.
Now, when there is another guy with foreskin I will keep my skin forward in solidarity. But if all the other guys are cut, I feel more comfortable with my glans equally bare.
