[greeneyedbaby]

In 1999 my family had a house fire. Because of things in a laundry room not being up to code our dryer burst into flames. Also because our landlord never installed smoke detectors when the fire was found it was to late. I was 10 almost 11 at the time, and I found the fire. It spread fast and we lost 99% of our belongings. The way the fire burned if it would have happened at night my sister would have died, so now I'm really paranoid. But not just about fires. About burglars and rapists and fires and car crashes. I no longer live in that house but I still wake up and have to check the house to make sure its locked and all the appliances are unplugged. I check on my roommate to make sure she's still breathing and I drive fast and weave through traffic to get ahead of the other cars so I'm around nobody else and I have a really hard time not driving because I'm afraid that since I'm not in control we'll get in a car accident. My roommate understands and lets me do my thing but other people think I'm just weird. Am I to paranoid? And if I am is there something I can do about it? Or is it healthy to be this careful? :confused:

[N0help4u]

I don't think it is so much paranoid as the circumstances have caused you to form an Obsessive compulsive disorder. You don't need to be overly precarious but it is more that you are obsessed over safety.
If you have an inspector check your wiring then that should relieve your worry about the electricity and you should not have to go around the house making sure everything is unplugged.
Racing to get ahead of traffic doesn't make much sense because then you could actually cause a wreck. You are suppose to drop behind if you want out of traffic.
I got a ticket one time because I was in the passing lane and went to pull over to get off at my exit and the car in the right lane kept speeding up and wouldn't let me pass. Even though they were going as fast as I was and I was the one in the passing lane the police gave me the ticket and said I should have slowed down and gotten behind that line of traffic.

[mimi03]

From your description I would say you are paranoid and it's probably unhealthy.
Im pretty sure you would say that it effects your relationships with people and gets in the way of other priorities...
If that assumption is correct that's a problem. Being afraid of a fire or other uncontrollable life threatening hazard is probably normal because of your past experience but your fear is approaching an unhealthy level...

I say this specifically because you mention that you basically drive recklessly to get out of/avoid traffic. That's so dangerous, your paranoia is leading you to have other irrational behavior that could harm you or someone else.

If you are in college, see if your college offers counseling services. At my school the service is free for a number of sessions but if you need continuous help they'll refer you to someone to continue to help you. If this isn't a possibility, talk to your parent(s) to see if they can get you help (not sure if this is covered by your health insurance). If you go to church, you could seek counsel there.

Don't feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask for further help!
It may initially seem like a HuGe mountain to climb but a lot of people who get the help they need can overcome their issues and are able to live the life they'd prefer. Surely this is not the way you want to live your life (in constant fear and distress) So please take the steps to get this under control.

Best Wishes :)

[kolkay]

I also say you seemed to form obsessive complusive disorder, but that is understanding in your case. There are medications for it, which you can talk to a doctor about, but unless you think they hold you back on a day to day basis, I wouldn't worry.

I am also OCD and paranoid about the same things you are, except that I haven't had an incident in my past that may have caused this. I can relate to checking doors, appliances, as I do the same things and can't sleep if I don't. Do you have a certain number of times you must check the doors, do you check everything before you leave for the day as well? It does worry me about flying through traffic. That is never safe. If you work on any of these habits, driving should be your first.

[greeneyedbaby]

Usually what ends up happening is that I check them lay down check them again wake up and check them again. But I was talking to my roommate and She also said that I have OCD. I never noticed it before but there are things that have to be done a certain way or I have a small panic attack. Like the groceries on the convery belt to be checked out for example. If the groceriess aren't a certain way I can't handle it. No it doesn't hold me back much and people close to me are able to over look it. I am working on flying through traffic, I still have issues not being in control and letting someone else drive but if anything I am slowing down and I try to stay calm when there is other people driving in cars next to me. Oh and when I do things yeah there is a certain number I do them. Its 3 when I'm actually doing the things and 5 when a number has to be left (Like the volume setting on the radio)

[kolkay]

From the sounds of it, the only thing that worries me about you is the traffic driving. Otherwise it seems under control, at least to me. It doesn't sound like you have a lot of habits that take too much time out of your day. Something that helped me realize all of my problems is actually looking up OCD and common habits. When I did that, I learned little things I did were also considered OCD, so that may help put it in perspective for you. The only time my time was being wasted on these was when I lived in my college dorms and I would walk down the stairs and outside only to walk all the way back up and check the door cause I wasn't sure I checked it though I knew I had. I know some people say OCD can be severe, but it doesn't sound bad with you. I can deal with mine, everyone close to me can overlook it, and it just makes me feel unique.

[gigi0317]

I think after what you been through being a little paranoid isn't wrong but explaining everything else I think you should get some help.Talk to someone about this.Good Luck