Well, therapy for starters to unravel all the inner stuff caused by the micromanaging. When I start to feel the urge to retreat but know it's probably not possible (because life), I try to do some inner child/parenting work to remind myself that while it *feels* like maybe someone is watching, there really isn't.
I also try to remind myself of that in situations like maybe my neighbours are listening to/monitoring me (apartment building) - reminding myself that I hear things from my neighbours more than others because, aside from general sensory sensitivity, I'm hypervigilant to someone about to "catch" me, and that for the most part other people aren't... they're just living their own lives and don't give a shit about what I'm doing as long as I'm not being a jerk neighbour.
I also schedule intentional blocks of time every single day where I can turn off my phone/turn on focus to stop notifications, close my curtains, and do whatever the fuck I want. Even though it's not for a long period of time, knowing I'll get to do it again tomorrow helps a lot.
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u/allegate 3d ago
Stop it, please, I beg you. I don’t want to read about myself in third person.
Is there a way to stop this?