Please help - can't stop sorting stuff

[PermanentPenrose]

I have a frequent urge to sort through the contents of the entire house - every drawer and cupboard. If there's say a bag within a drawer, I will tip the contents out and touch each item before putting it back again. Even a plastic bag with other bags in it will need to be checked. If I don't manage to complete the task I feel unsettled and anxious. This has been going on for a number of years and has a negative impact on my mental health.

Can anyone give any advice on how to stop this and why it might be happening? Do I have some form of OCD?

Thanks!

Sounds like OCD you can get medication if you seek help I suffer GAD and OCD

Thanks @Nicetobenice67 I've taken antidepressants and anti anxiety meds in the past but it unfortunately didn't help with this problem.

How about talking therapy that’s what helped me not the medication

I've had EMDR and CBT but they didn't focus on the sorting habit. I think it's called compulsive decluttering from doing a bit of research.

I do it to but I enjoy decluttering

I used to enjoy decluttering but it's got to the point where I do a whole house declutter at least once a week (and it's not a small house!). Even if I manage to finish it all, there's the car, the shed, computer documents etc. It's starting to take over and get in the way of other things I should be doing.

Quiet part of MN isn't it? 😁

Can you remember the circumstances surrounding the first time(s)this happened?

@Eyesopenwideawake Not exactly, but I think it was around the time panic attacks started happening and also a number of relatives died in a short space of time. I did go through (clear out) the belongings of a few.🤔

OK, so there's a possible correlation there, as you've spotted. Maybe sorting through the belongings gave you comfort and/or brought back happy memories? If so you could be subconsciously trying to recreate those times?

What are you worried will happen if you DON'T sort out the drawer? Can you resist doing it, do you only do it in times of stress?

Do some reading about OCD. I do a very similar thing when highly stressed as part of my compulsions to block out intrusive thoughts. I am mostly free of it now, thanks to ERP therapy. Good luck.

@Eyesopenwideawake I associate sorting through the belongings of loved ones negatively. I think it was the realisation that one day someone will be going through all my belongings in a similar way, after I'm gone, which brings up unhelpful thoughts of death.

@Zimrun Yes, the sorting does get worse during times of stress. There's no obvious consequences in my mind as a result of not doing it, just general anxiety and not being able to rest until it's all done.
ERP therapy sounds good and it's not something I've tried, although when I have mentioned my 'habit' to counsellors in the past they've tended to dismiss it. I haven't actually been diagnosed with OCD.

Some people might see this as being a nice problem to have, but my house is still a mess because sorting isn't the same as tidying or organising or cleaning. There's not much time left for those things after a declutter. It doesn't help that my house is a long term renovation project and nothing really has a home at the moment.

How do you view sorting through your own belongings, is it a positive or negative experience? (or neither). There's a part of your subconscious driving you to do this and there's always a reason behind it.

@Eyesopenwideawake Probably neutral but with a sense of satisfaction afterwards. Maybe this is just perfectionism gone wrong?

Hmmm, why do you think perfectionism? Would love to delve into this with you if you'd like!