Might just be a subconscious response to still-active societal social pressures, and your mind reminding you why it’s not a good idea. Perhaps on some low level you may still want a certain amount of relation with your peers that’s reminiscent of those younger days that you no longer have, but your brain is fighting back to that base instinct.

Encryption won’t do anything is your real IP address is exposed. A VPN covers that. Most ISPs don’t care, they just have to forward those nasty letters and may shut off your internet if pressured. Rightsholders will attach to the swarm, note all the connected IPs, and then go after the ISPs to get to the users. You have to obfuscate your personal IP somehow.

And sure I can see paying being an issue for some, but there really isn’t much other way. As for use, they’re no harder to set up that a torrent client.

I use it, and it has more helped with exposed tooth root sensitivity. Are you consistent with using it? I’m pretty sure it takes at least a few days to a week to build effectiveness and you have to keep using it without substitution.

I think it’s important to highlight the obsessive portion of it. Many people care about others perception of them, whereas narcissists literally obsess over it, to the point where every though and action is permeated by the crafting their image and boosting their other’s perception, to the point where it becomes the narcissist’s only goal. It’s highly connected to ego, and a narcissist only ever does anything to chase a sense of superiority.

And set the user age requirement to 99, promptly violating your own TOS!