Paranoia

I get paranoid.

I was bullied and laughed at a lot in school and now people did whisper about me and then laugh, point etc. 

So it’s hard not to assume it’s about myself when I see people whispering. 

Sometimes for some surreal times in my life i’ll Manage to convince myself that support workers are against me along with all my neighbours and everything they do and say is a set up. 

I’ve been told most people are too busy inside their own heads to be whispering and watching me or whatever. The more I observe of people the more i’m Starting to realise there is some truth to this. I’m not always convinced by this, but if I keep reminding myself of this I can let go of the idea they might have been talking about me. 

On the other hand I also try to think, “so what if they are?” Let’s just assume for a second they are, would I change for them? And in some instances can I even change for them? 

For example my my sister takes the mick out how I react to greetings of extended family and sometimes strangers. I’m not entirely sure what is so weird or funny about the way I am being. All I know is that i can’t help whatever i’m Doing because it’s just the way I am. She says I say hello funny and pulls a face in an attempt to show me how my face supposedly looked (which is supssoidly funny) but it’s not like I can change for her. Plus when’s I try to act different I clearly fail because I still get laughed at, sometimes more so than before! 

So even if people are laughing or whispering about you, you need to try and think “so what?” 

Not that its its easy to do that. I struggle with this a lot myself. 

Darkshines said:

Does anyone here suffer from a tendency towards paranoia?

Yes, Me, but My advice is "Paranoia" is a thing to learn about and to heed, just like any other Sense - just like Sight or Hearing: If One hears or sees something coming to engage You, then that is the time to pay attention and perhaps to Act... or in this case, "be paranoid". Paranoia is also often dismissed by others, just like "over-sensitive" sight or hearing, too... because it is aimed at Yourself, others can dismiss it as "just imagining things", because what happens is likely not aimed at *them*...

I hope this is so far understood. I shall say some other things, mostly about My own experience(s) now. *External* matters are the cause of paranoia, as if something had occurred to trigger that awareness, and keep it so high a concern. Just like having once being partly blinded or deafened, there is an awareness there. The BIG problem & trick is to "manage" it, and learn from it...

There is a difference between Paranoia and *Justified Paranoia*. If beginning, start simply, by not projecting it or assuming it of all others --- e.g. "stand tall and ignore others". When the paranoia is justified, then pay quick attention to the feeling and get used to it. People who really are whispering or plotting against You, will usually show it via body language or actions. Then learn about that and see what happens, and even if nothing happens just then, remember it and get used to it.

...I cannot really advise much more, since everyone is different and this leads onto lots of different topics (e.g. body language, gestures, bullying, etc.) But I am posting this anyway, to mostly say to not dismiss things totally but rather to take into perspective direction towards a learning situation. 

I do occasionally get paranoid, though not as much as I used to when I was younger. It's usually in a situation where I can't judge another person's intention or something strange is happening and I don't understand why! 

I spent a lot of years training my mind not to assume that other people think bad things of me or are talking about me, I'm sure that there are many things other than me that they could be thinking or talking about.

Definitely! The first time that word really turned up in my world was with the release of the Black Sabbath LP, Paranoid. I enquired the meaning of the word, but to be honest it was already blatantly obvious from the lyrics. My immediate feeling was that I too tended to paranoia. I won't bother to describe its effect, which others here have detailed already. But I still figure that I am just a shade more paranoid than some others; even with my tendency to brush these things off with humour.

Hi,

yes. I get it especially when on bad days. Though I've cued myself to try recognise it as just a product of my AS and go through a 'reality check' So I don't believe I'm clinically paranoid, it's just many years of social difficulties as others in this thread have also said.

Bad days can also make me feel there are bad vibes going on somewhere nearby- in the workplace mostly. It makes me stressed and very insecure.