Hello! I have been very anxious for some time. Anxiety that I may have forgotten something or that I may have done something in the wrong way, which could cost me any material damage. I mean things like forgetting to lock the car, the front door, forgetting the headlights on, forgetting the appliance on, etc., which would be a prerequisite for theft, fire or other problem with the equipment. This causes me great mental discomfort. It makes me check things over and over, over and over again to make sure everything is okay. I expend an awful lot of energy, I analyze things, I assess all the risks that could arise theoretically if I forgot something or something escaped me by accident. The more I check, the more my worries increase. This makes me double check, for the second, third time and so on until I am convinced that everything is fine. Finally, I realize that these "checks" were unnecessary, that I may not be well, that I am sick, and this causes additional worries, even paranoia. Basically, I dare say that I have a very good analytical mind, I am technically literate, I am even a perfectionist, and I think that these traits, which many people think are positive, are the reason for my impaired mental comfort. Too analytical and technical thinking suggests possible problems that may occur. I see that there are people here who have experienced a lot, also people who are really competent in problems of this kind, and I believe that I will get help. I will try to illustrate what I wrote above with a few examples of things that ruin my daily life. Example: I'm coming home from work, I lock the car and go up to my apartment. After a while I remember "if I locked my car, I don't remember the exact moment". I think for 10 minutes whether to go down to check, I'm worried during that time. Finally I go down. I check and find that I have locked it. So far so good, but I immediately remember "lest I forget a ceiling on and my battery falls off." I'm coming down a second time. I'm checking. I get on and remember, "Did I lock the car on the second descent ?!". You remember from here what's next :) This is almost every time! The example is similar in the morning when I go out to work. I leave and on the way I remember "did I lock the door", "did I turn off the appliances". Of course, in most cases I don't have time to go back to check, but this causes anxiety throughout my day. At one point I grabbed his jack and when I do these things (I lock the car, the door, turn off the stove) I repeat in my mind "I confirm that I turned off the stove today." Yes, but I began to feel mentally ill. At times I wonder "did I not suggest that I had locked it?" I'm under steam again and that makes me check again ... and in the meantime I'm starting to analyze what the probability is that I missed something and what the probability of damage would be. At the same time, a kind of paranoia appeared, lest someone watch me repeat the same actions and take me crazy. As you can guess from the example, the anxieties (obsessions) are related to the material part of life - property, technique. I have always been a perfectionist in how I will use and maintain the equipment, the car. What conclusion did I come to: It's like a living organism - a parasite that lives in me. He feeds on these compulsive actions (constant checking and analysis), for which he generates worries - to feed him. The more I check things out, the more strict I am, the more I feed him. And the more I feed him, the more greedy he becomes. The more I analyze and check things, the more anxious thoughts become. The fact that I have realized that this is how I nourish this "something" does not help me, on the contrary! I begin to doubt my own abilities and senses. Some time ago I read about the so-called "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)" Would you advise me what to do? I guess many people have encountered a similar problem at some point in their lives. How do I handle this thing?
1 louisa_and_marco_x answered
Anyone who thinks about whether he has locked up will not be sure if he has locked up, etc. For this, the only thing I can advise you is to be focused when doing the thing and the other thing - to go to a psychiatrist. Probably some medication would suppress this anxiety. Sites will not cure you.