Hello all! This is gonna be short but I wanna say that I’m not asking for a diagnosis of any sort, just wanting to ask what this might be or might be caused by and if anyone has experienced anything similar and knows how to manage it.
As the title says, I’m obsessed with even numbers. It’s not a preference, I literally get anxious when there’s not an even number of things. It’s like almost distressing to me.
When I drink, I have to take two sips and two gulps (Sip one: two gulps, sip two: two gulps). When I hit my vape, I have to hit it twice in a row (yes ik this is a bad habit don’t lecture me)
Most of the time it’s not with big things, like the amount of furniture in a room or something similar. Though on bad days, it’s gets bad. I can’t feel “not anxious” when I’m not counting my steps, how much I chew my food, my breathing per minute, etc.
This is going to sound weird but knowing my birthday is on an odd number and knowing there’s a possibility I could die with my age being an odd number just makes me feel uneasy and nervous. Not the thought of death, the thought of dying at an odd age.
The only mental illnesses I’ve been diagnosed with are autism and anxiety, can this even number thing be related to those?
Sometimes I get so nervous about having odd numbers it makes me itchy? like feeling stuff moving under my skin type of thing if that makes sense.
This “obsession” has only developed recently, maybe over the past two years? I’ve always had a preference for even numbers, but it was never this bad.
If anyone knows what this might be, please lmk!
Comments
Sounds to me like counting OCD, or the proper word, Arithmomania. Common signs are setting dates in like 5 days apart, 2, etc. Needing everything an exact # apart. Or in some cases, doing tasks in relation to numbers IE: Taking 3 bites of food, chewing, 2 sips of water, etc.
Hi! I work with people with autism and anxiety issues. An obsession or fixation on something can come from a lot of things. It can be stress related/anxiety. Are those thoughts about numbers occuring more often when you have stress, or is it always the same?
I would recommend talking to a professional if you are not already doing that. Together, you can find out why you have this number “obsession,” and more importantly, you can learn how to deal with it.