I'm not exactly sure why this obsessive behavior started, or why it continues, but I can tell you this much. Since around November 2012, I have become obsessed with recording conversations I have with people. Prior to this, I started to feel like I wasn't remembering enough from my conversations with people. This feeling started around Summer of 2011, but didn't intensify until the following Summer. In Summer 2012, and thereafter, and for no rhyme or reason, I started to become obsessed with remembering conversations, and if I couldn't remember even the most minute details of a conversation, I would literally go the rest of the day trying to remember. Anyway, I eventually realized that the webcam on my computer could record conversations and I started using this feature quite often. Since then, I have even bought a digital voice recorder to record conversations, and take every possible measure to record practically every single second of the conversations I have with my family. For a while, I recorded some conversations with friends too, but after one of my friends noticed the behavior and asked me not to record our conversations anymore, I realized the behavior was abnormal and stopped recording my conversations with him. However, I still could not stop recording conversations with family. Like I said, I started around November 2012 recording, and the behavior has become more than a habit... it's now a full-blown addiction, to the point where I am petrified to hold a conversation with a family member without recording what they say. At times when I don't have a recorder at my disposal, I attempt to write down my conversations on paper or on a Word document. That is the gist of the background, and here are a few of the things that really worry me:
(1) I drive myself crazy trying to hear every word people say, to the point where I can't stand it if two people in my house have a conversation where I am close enough to hear them mumbling, but not close enough to make out clearly what they are saying. I follow people around trying to ask them what they were talking about, even if it is clearly NONE of my business. I recognize that this is insane behavior, and I drive my family crazy doing it.
(2) Recently, my family has discovered that I've been recording them, and they are obviously not happy with it and want me to stop. I tried to stop recording, but that only lasted for a couple of days and in that time, I still tried to write down everything my family said, before I relapsed and went back to recording mode.
(3) In MOST cases, I truly don't care about what anyone is saying, yet need to hear every word they say. I truly cannot rationalize this. It's one thing to want to remember memorable conversations, but trying to remember conversations that don't matter to me just doesn't make sense, and it drives me crazy.
(4) I find myself unable to do practically anything productive when other people are in the same room as me. Instead of focusing on things I enjoy, like watching TV and movies and writing, I am instead trying to hear everything people say, and REMEMBER every word they say. I feel I can't do this without a recording device or a piece of paper.

Please, somebody help me to make sense of this. Any tips you may have to stop this behavior would be greatly appreciated. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me. Thanks in advance for whatever help any of you can be.