i'm 27 and i've been doing this for about 5 years now. it started as a joke with my friends at the gym, but it turned into an obsession. i'd fill up bottles during peak hours when they were abundant and hide them in my desk or under my bed. it was just a harmless way to stockpile something useful, right? wrong.
as time went on, i began to feel this crippling anxiety every time i saw another person taking water from the dispenser. would i be next? would we all run out at once? i started to hoard more and more bottles, until my desk was overflowing with them.
but here's the thing it wasn't just about the water itself. it was about control. when everyone around me was worried about dehydration, i felt like a responsible adult taking care of business. but in reality, i was just avoiding the uncertainty of life by controlling something as mundane as hydration.
i've since started working on overcoming this fear and finding more productive ways to cope with stress. but i'm ashamed to admit that sometimes, when no one is looking, i still sneak down to my desk and grab another bottle just to feel safe