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Member
Member Since Oct 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 272
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May 04, 2018 at 01:33 PM
#1
Okay, so last week I had this strange thing happen to me. I was driving home in the evening when all of a sudden I got this scary feeling that I was being followed. I took a different route back and when I got home, I bolted all the doors and hid in my room away from the windows, terrified someone was going to break in. I managed to sleep it off and I felt better the following morning, but that scared the heck out of me.
My therapist said this was just anxiety, but I'm not sure given the nature of it. __________________ I>/\\/ Dx: Bipolar I w/ mixed features, BPD, ADHD, Anxiety, Gender dysphoria, ASD |
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 Sunflower123
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Veteran Member
Member Since Oct 2015
Location: Canada
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May 04, 2018 at 04:32 PM
#2
I don’t have an answer for you. I can’t tell when I’m having anxiety for a reason and when it’s just wildly out of control for no reason. I’m sorry that you went through that, it sounds like it was really scary.
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Legendary
Community Liaison
Member Since Jun 2016
Location: USA
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May 04, 2018 at 08:30 PM
#3
It sounds like paranoia to me.
I think all paranoia is "real paranoia," yet this is just my own opinion. Google paranoia and check the definition. See if it fits in with your experience.  WC __________________ May we each fully claim the courage to live from our hearts, to allow Love, Faith and Hope to enLighten our paths. 
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Elder
Member Since Mar 2013
Location: NJ
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May 04, 2018 at 09:16 PM
#4
I looked into the same thing myself a month or so ago when I was feeling paranoid but it wasn’t interfering with my functioning. Dr google said that since it WASN’T interfering with functioning it was just intense anxiety. One article suggested that someone with anxiety might worry about being in a car accident but someone with paranoia might worry that someone would intentionally cause and accident.
That being said, where is the line? I started out by worrying about being pulled over, which then morphed into worrying about the police pulling me over and then falsely claiming I was high or drunk and arresting me. Did I go from anxiety to paranoia? I’m still not sure. All I know is an increase and eventual change in my AP completely eliminated the police paranoia, along with the food poisoning thoughts and the general sense of unease that someone was going to hurt me. If it’s nit bothering you anymore then I think it may have been intense anxiety. But if it continues to happen it could be paranoia. I’m sorry if this wasn’t much help :-/ __________________ Of course it is happening inside your head. But why on earth should that mean that it is not real? -Albus Dumbledore That’s life. If nothing else, that is life. It’s real. Sometimes it f—-ing hurts. But it’s sort of all we have. -Garden State |
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| Wild Coyote
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 Wild Coyote
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Legendary
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May 04, 2018 at 09:25 PM
#5
My pdoc once explained to me:
If it's personalized, as in someone is targeting you, it's paranoia. Yet,   WC __________________ May we each fully claim the courage to live from our hearts, to allow Love, Faith and Hope to enLighten our paths.
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| Fuzzybear
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Wisest Elder Ever
Member Since Nov 2002
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May 06, 2018 at 02:59 AM
#6
It sounded scary and I’m sorry you went through that
__________________ 
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| Wild Coyote
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Wild Coyote
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May 06, 2018 at 02:07 PM
#7
My counselor says it's paranoia if it's not likely happening/going to happen and not based on previous events, and anxiety/fear if something similar has happened to you or is widely happening to other people. The example we talked about was being abused by someone. I was afraid it was going to happen again, and that was anxiety, not paranoia. Paranoia, however, was believing doctors were intentionally injecting me with deadly bacteria every time I got my blood drawn.
Sometimes the line is hard to define. People get followed, but I don't think it's very common especially with malicious intent of breaking into your house to harm you. Have you ever had something like that happen to you, or have you heard about it happening to someone else close to you or maybe it was in the local news recently? If that's affirmative, I'd say it was definitely more of an anxiety thing. Otherwise or without any other reason to believe such a thing was happening I'd say it's more accurate to call it paranoia. |
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| Wild Coyote
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Wild Coyote
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Member
Member Since Oct 2017
Location: USA
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May 07, 2018 at 11:16 AM
#8
Quote:
__________________ I>/\\/ Dx: Bipolar I w/ mixed features, BPD, ADHD, Anxiety, Gender dysphoria, ASD |
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*Laurie*
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SUPERMAN
Member Since Feb 2016
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May 07, 2018 at 08:02 PM
#9
Motor oil is motor oil.
The strategy is to keep subdividing. In every aspect. Machiavelli at work...... they have conquered. __________________ ]Roses are red. Violets are blue.[ Look for the positive in the negative. PIRILON. If lemons fall from the sky, make lemonade. Unknown. Nothing stronger than habit. Victor Hugo. You are the slave of what you say, and the master of what you keep. Unknown. |
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Account Suspended
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Location: California Uber Alles
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May 08, 2018 at 12:12 AM
#10
I wish I had an answer for you, but I often experience the same feeling and question.
Regardless of what it was, frankly, I'm glad you followed your instinct - especially because your feeling of being followed was not accompanied by any other symptoms at the time. |
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