Avoidant Personality Disorder: is this a symptom?
So I see a lot of things about APD regarding social situations, fear of failure, etc. I experience these things to varying degrees, but a bigger problem for me than avoiding social situations is avoiding more pressing life issues.
For instance, I once was so afraid that a cucumber in my vegetable drawer had gone bad (because I was avoiding throwing the cucumber away) that I didn't open either vegetable drawer for several months. I wouldn't buy more vegetables, because I knew that my vegetable drawers were full of vegetables. They were probably bad by now, but since I refused to open the drawers, they remained schrodinger's veggies. The result was that I didn't eat any vegetables for several months, and then I had a big mess of seriously gnarly rotting vegetables to deal with, which I eventually finally did once the rotting vegetable smell had seeped into every other item of food in the fridge.
It's also a common pattern for me that when I fall behind at work I'll have a really hard time showing up to work or getting any work done from home, because the situation becomes so stressful (I have a markedly low-stress job, too) that my brain just refuses to let me think about work any longer than is immediately necessary.
Obviously, these things are not normal. I'm curious if these are also part of APD, or if it might be related to something else. (depression and anxiety tentatively diagnosed, pondering whether I might have borderline or some other things as well but I've yet to bring that or the APD stuff up with my therapist)
It has taken me a while to re-establish my usual serious tone after reading your wonderful, wonderful description, "schrodinger's veggies" 
There is an out-of-date checklist describing seven symptoms of APD that you may have seen. Some websites still use it, and there might even be some professionals who are not up to date. Diagnosis of APD using the current criteria is not so simple, and there would have to be very significant and pervasive problems with your sense of who you are and the way you relate to all the people you interact with. Your relationship with cucumbers would not come high on the list of diagnostic criteria.
Diagnosing anyone on the Internet is impossible, but I have to say that the way you write doesn't make me think personality disorder. It sounds like you have some irrational fears, to my mind more in the area of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and usually pretty easy to treat with psychotherapy.
As you are already seeing a therapist, I am wary of treading on their toes here, but I agree with you that the things you describe are not normal. In real life I might suggest a formal diagnosis by a psychiatrist next, but on a forum I know it's not my place.
@anxiousApricot
@RodWhiteley hmm that's good input. For what it's worth I do avoid social situations the same way I avoided the vegetables, but in my opinion avoiding cleaning, eating well, going to work, etc, have much more serious impacts on me than when I walk a different route home or avoid going to an event because I'm avoiding a particular person because I'm unwilling to risk the criticism I'm sure they'll give me, or even when I stay home all together because my self esteem has taken a nose dive.
I'll definitely be bringing this up with my therapist but it's slow going because I'm only on about my 8th visit and I've had pressing relationship problems, self care difficulties, an intense anxiety attack, less intense but more general anxiety, and feelings of depression which have been taking up my sessions (along with my anger episodes and emotional and sexual trauma which I haven't even gotten to dive into yet) so my plate is pretty full there and I'm just trying to take it one step at a time. I haven't really had time to dive into my own speculation of what I might have.
@anxiousApricot
The best person to discuss it with is your therapist or another professional as we aren't really in the position to diagnose here.
Avoidant PD is what it says on the tin and persistent avoidance of demands and uncomfortable situations that go beyond usual procrastination would be one of the key symptoms. Most people were in the situation when they avoided cleaning out the fridge, put it off for a while and were confronted with something rotten or mouldy in the end. Your situation was more extreme, which would point towards there being other issues than just procrastination about unpleasant task.
Discussing it with your therapist to understand it better sounds like a very good idea.
@anxiousApricot
know this is an old thread but i am so glad you posted. i am often like the ways you describe...it also came across to me that your avoidance can seem to know no bounds at times. so of course, avoiding people is a given and one more very big part of the psychological pain and the stress.
