does anyone worry in an obsessive way?

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nelle
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09 Jun 2010, 10:55 pm

I get fixated on certain things that worry me sometimes. It's happening to me now. Any ideas how to snap myself out of it? It's like my worry subject is my current special interest. Some parts of Aspie I enjoy but this isn't one of them.



hale_bopp
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10 Jun 2010, 12:06 am

I have the same problem >_<



Linear2
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10 Jun 2010, 12:12 am

Medications can help, or even St. John's Wort. The obvious answer is try to do something that will keep your mind off of your worries.



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10 Jun 2010, 12:55 am

Linear2 has the answer, find something to take your mind off the subject. I use electronics for this but YMMV.

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10 Jun 2010, 12:58 am

You could try cognitive behavioral therapy too. I try to think about something different or do something to get my mind off it. It's probably the only time when I want to socialise.


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Alex_M
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10 Jun 2010, 1:11 am

I get this too. So much so that it has been diagnosed as OCD - however treatments for OCD don't really treat it. I tend to obsess about my worries in a very Aspie way, in that I will spend time researching potential outcomes for whatever it is I'm worrying about.



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10 Jun 2010, 2:36 am

Yeah.
I find that finding an absorbing and fairly repetitive activity helps to distract oneself from the thoughts.


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10 Jun 2010, 4:26 am

I've had this a lot......seems to have got better recently. I don't know what's made the difference. Probably partly because I've mostly eliminated the causes of worry from my life (employer has been informed of my condition and is now unlikely to give me any more crap for fear of being prosecuted for disability discrimination). And partly because I've seen over and over again how nearly all the things I worry about don't actually turn out so bad. Eventually that nagging voice shuts up if you lose faith in its stupid message. But it can come back on a bad day.

Also my anxieties seem to be calmed if I stay in the company of friendly people.......women often seem to be quite good at helping me to forget my cares, probably because I get on with them better than I get on with guys.



missnessa85
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10 Jun 2010, 4:56 am

idk if this is relevant but have any of you done something kind of embarrassing, or have a deep shameful secret that sometimes you jjust can't get rid of? i embarrassed myself like 4 days ago in the dumbest way and admittedly it wasn't even like the worst thing i could do, but i keep feeling SO dumb about it and like tweaking out when i think about it. to me it sounds like ocd or something. i don't know but it keeps me up.



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10 Jun 2010, 5:10 am

missnessa85 wrote:
idk if this is relevant but have any of you done something kind of embarrassing, or have a deep shameful secret that sometimes you jjust can't get rid of? i embarrassed myself like 4 days ago in the dumbest way and admittedly it wasn't even like the worst thing i could do, but i keep feeling SO dumb about it and like tweaking out when i think about it. to me it sounds like ocd or something. i don't know but it keeps me up.


Yeah, I've always been like that. That's why I started that thread about children because I've been obessesing about the conversation I had with my friend. The thing is I like him alot and I know that one of the reasons things didn't work out with his last girlfriend is that she wanted kids and he didn't (which suits me fine) but because I mentioned that i didn't like babies he was a bit funny with me about it, like he knew I knew what had happened and he though I was maybe trying to get in his good books and I was really embarassed. Any time I think about the conversation it makes me feel sick. And it was last year. Time has passed, but I still feel raw and I obsess about it.

I am just an obsessive worrier by nature. I try and distract myself, but I can only stay up so late and I have to go to bed and lie down in the quiet of the night at some point and then i start worrying again. I'm so tired at the moment, but I just can't seem to unwind at night and I can't get to sleep.



psychointegrator
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10 Jun 2010, 7:52 am

nelle wrote:
I get fixated on certain things that worry me sometimes. It's happening to me now. Any ideas how to snap myself out of it? It's like my worry subject is my current special interest. Some parts of Aspie I enjoy but this isn't one of them.


Will you provide some examples? Personally I do not but for the rarest of times feel worry at all and especially never in an obsessive way. I've experienced people so frustrated by my lack of worry they have blown up at me screaming. Humans are odd.



enid
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10 Jun 2010, 8:43 am

Gosh, yes, I have this so much too! It's so intrusive, too- the anxious thoughts will leak into normal thought patterns, then obliterate them.

I found something absorbing on headphones, like funny comedy tv show on ipod kind of thing quite helpful. Blocking out other noise so that you only focus on that, and loud too, so that it can't be ignored. I stuck with it and it worked.

Getting drunk and watching CSI or something (CSI because it's ALWAYS on)- getting drunk is the fastest way to relax, and watching something pacey and engaging.
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10 Jun 2010, 9:04 am

I'm like that, when it comes to money.


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10 Jun 2010, 9:13 am

Wow...I'm so jealous of the person who doesn't worry much. For me, the worst part of being not-NT is the constant anxiety. I'm constantly losing things, forgetting things, missing appointments (well, not so much any more), misreading test questions, misreading my calendar, etc., despite my best efforts to guard against such mistakes. Not to mention general awkwardness like walking into things, getting in people's way while walking around, saying awkward things or not making the right facial expression, etc. (Yes, I'm blessed with the ability to notice when I've done something wrong but not the ability to avoid being awkward in the first place). So I'm constantly anxious that I'll do one of these stupid things, and then after I've done them, I feel so embarrassed it's physically painful. Kind of like Miss Nessa, I used to obsess over embarrassing things I did for days, weeks, months, until it got less painful...not recommended. (I do still obsess sometimes, but not for as long).

Cognitive behavioral therapy really does work (although it took a while for me. I used to just argue with myself when I tried to use it, lol). Distracting myself with some sort of fun online activity works in the short term, and I do that more than I'd like to admit. :D I wouldn't recommend it, though, for the obvious reasons.



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10 Jun 2010, 9:28 am

psychointegrator wrote:
Personally I do not but for the rarest of times feel worry at all and especially never in an obsessive way. I've experienced people so frustrated by my lack of worry they have blown up at me screaming. Humans are odd.

You'll get that reaction sometimes if you're always calm and composed. I'm sure some partners took it as a sign that I didn't really love them..... :?



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10 Jun 2010, 1:36 pm

Yup. I worry very much when there is a slight chance I may miss my telenovela, or when the episode ends in something very suspenseful.


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