Hi everyone,   Basically, whenever my sister is visiting (she currently lives out of home) I get really scared to go out - particularly if I am going to be gone overnight and therefore she might sleep in my room. My sister and I have a bad relationship, and I really, really hate the idea of her being around all my belongings. I know it's paranoid, but a part of me always feels she is going to do something to damage or take my things. She doesn't have a history of stealing or anything, but I feel like she could just do it out of spite. The thought that she might scares me so much, that I am afraid to even leave the house when she's here. It makes it hard to go out and get on with my life.   I was wondering if anyone has experienced this or has any insight into why I feel this way? Any suggestions for how to overcome this feeling?   Thanks, Jardin ... View more

Hi everyone (I apologize in advance for the long post)   At the moment I am really struggling with feelings of being trapped. I am a uni student and am currently on summer holidays. My parents both want me to work over the holidays to save up money (I live at home). I already have saved up a decent amount over the past year and really wanted to use these summer holidays as a break (there's a whole list of books I've been wanting to read). But every time I tell my mother this she says it's not healthy to be at home all the time and that I should keep on saving up money. The thing is I'm perfectly fine with spending time at home - I am not bothered with being alone.    Anyways, I began working at a café for a couple of days, but I began getting super stressed out. I had trouble sleeping and felt nauseous and scared. For me, it's not the interacting with people that stresses me out, but rather the feeling of being trapped. Like I have no control whether I work or not.    I have realized that this intense fear of being trapped has shown in other areas of my life as well: I struggle to commit to things because I feel like walls are closing in around me, and then I want to back out. This is true for my university degree (I changed degrees twice in one year) and with relationships (I don't like getting to close to people because it feels like I will be trapped in a relationship).   I think it really all comes down to control. I really, really hate feeling out of control. And when I feel like I am being trapped, I feel like I have no control over my life and that terrifies me. I had OCD a few years back which I think was also stems from my strong desire to remain in control.   I guess the point of this post is to ask if anyone experiences the same extreme fear of being trapped (I mean like to the point where you can't sleep, can't focus on anything else, feel like vomiting)? And also if anyone knows if this is some sort of disorder I am experiencing that I don't know about?   How can I stop myself from feeling so utterly terrified?   Any help would be appreciated .   Thanks, Jardin ... View more

Hey everyone,  its been a while since I have posted anything. I just had a conversation with my parents tonight about my sister. She has had anorexia for around two years now. They told me she might have to be hospitalized soon. Some of my closest friends have also had eating disorders. Around a year and a half ago I visited my best friend in hospital. She was so thin that it was even affecting her memory.   I am just so scared. I read an article saying that the more people around you with an eating disorder, the more likely you are to get one yourself.  So many people around me have had them and I am terrified that I will too. Because of this fear I find it really hard to be around my sister. Every time she starts freaking out about food I am scared I will start thinking like this too. I get so fearful that I have to leave the room. I just feel like I can't breathe. My parents are saying that I really need to support her. And my mum says I should try eating as much as possible in front of her. But how can I support her and eat in front of her when I'm terrified? When I'm scared that I will start thinking/acting the same?   I have struggled with eating at times in the past as well. I don't want to go back to that.   I am probably being selfish. But I just don't know how to answer the questions I have mentioned above.      ... View more