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Anyone else with anxiety need everything to be familiar?

I watch the same movies and tv shows over and over, get to the end of a box set and just start it over again. I constantly get comments like “you must have seen this a thousand times” I have! That’s why it’s safe, predictable and comforting!

I eat the same foods, listen to the same few songs, only go to the same familiar places. People don’t get it, but I need it to feel safe and calm.

Anything new and different just causes me so much stress and anxiety. The worse my mental health is the more these things become limited and repetitive. It annoys people! Frustrates them. But for me, it feels safe.
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LordBarbossa · 36-40, T
I'm like that, but I also crave change sometimes.

My biggest change was back in 2012 when I got a job in Scotland and moved there without knowing anyone, having a place to live, and never even having left Norway before. It gave me the worst anxiety ever, but I managed to stay for 3 months before I left and went home.

I'd never do anything like that ever again, but I'm glad I have that experience. Whenever I go somewhere new, or do something new, I remind myself of the fact I survived Scotland, so I can do that too.