Are you scared of your neighbors making sounds?

[moses199]

I have this problem killing me. I'm afraid to make body movement because i feel like my neighbors will (at exact same time) make a sound like clank the dishes, accidentally hit the wall or some sound. For example, i get scared to stand up from my chair because i feel like as soon as i stand up they will make a sound at the exact same time if i stand up. Anyone else have this issue?

[gypsylee]

No but I do sort of understand this. It's a bit of an Obsessive Compulsive thing and I'm pretty sure it's arisen out of a state of anxiety.

Anyway welcome to this here forum :)

Gypsy x

[moses199]

I used to do everything quietly, but after a while this created this current "by product" fear you could say, which is if i make body movement someone else will make a sound in same time i move. By that i mean if i'm sitting in a chair this nervous energy will build up that as soon as i get up from my chair i will hear my neighbor make a sound so they can escape my nervous energy. And the weird thing is that it happens alot. Like it would be all quite (no sound) in aparment, then when i get up i hear someone make a sound same time as i got up. Which is crazy....The aparment could be quite and I could have my arm resting, then as soon as i move my arm i hear someone make sound at same time.

This all stemed from my doing everything quitly, because when shut the door VERY quitly it would live a lingering nervous energy which i think my neighboors could feel so they would make sound through the wall or i would hear them get up from there bed to escape the lingering nervous energy i made from doing things quietly (shutting door quitly, getting out of bed quitly, etc.).

After while i thought in order for me to end this fear of hearing my neighbors making sound same time as my body movement, i would need start making sounds/noises and stop doing things quitly. So i moved to a new apartment with my mom/sister and stopped doing things quitly. I watch TV with high volume , didn't whisper when talking to my family, didn't shut doors quitly. However, this didn't stop my fear of neigbors making sounds same time as my body movement. I seriously which i never did things quitly because i wouldn't have this fear of simultaneously.

[GageSA]

definitely sounds like an OCD issue. When/if you are able to get to the point where you don't care what others think. It will be a beautiful day for you.

[moses199]

definitely sounds like an OCD issue. When/if you are able to get to the point where you don't care what others think. It will be a beautiful day for you.

Do you have any helpful material about overcoming this?

[luser]

Hi, moses199

I've had similar problems for about 10 years now. In the apartments that I lived in with thin walls I would get extremely nervous and conscious about the "non-verbal communication" that seemed to be going on with the random noises that could be heard between apartments.

I had the most problems with noises that could be felt - e.g. footsteps, doors, dropping things, etc.

I tried wearing headphones, and it worked to some extent, but then I would kind of lose self-awareness and be really loud and I could tell the neighbors would get pissed off about it. It is extremely annoying.

Now I have to use really loud white-noise generators to cover up the sound. It's kind of like headphones, but you can still maintain more awareness of how much sound that you yourself are making.

You're not alone in this. It's totally fricking weird and really ruins the peace of being alone.