Social Paranoia

[Robert632]

.When a kid I knew shot himself and committed suicide I learned via text. I thought it was a practical joke so I went on facebook and saw that everyone was posting R.I.P to him and I still thought it was an elaborate prank on me...I still think it is too...I know they're just waiting for an excuse like that to call me out on something or make fun of me.

Before I give you some advice, I just want to know, how much of that bolded bit is a joke?

I guess you could call it more denial than paranoia but none...I got the text and thought it was to see my reaction and denied that it happened and then checked FB and I still thought it was a prank and we had a mass at school...I still think, in my mind, that someone is trying to prank someone[/quote]

Ok, seriously, you desperatly need Pyschiatric help, it's seriously the only advice I can give you. If this was not so..

 

[AnAngryMoose]

Hey there. I suffer from similar problems, mainly due to (as far as I can tell) a not-so-great school life which only picked up in 11th Grade (for you Yanks). My advice to you is to try and push all those thoughts the the back of your head, try not to think about, or better yet, try not to think at all. It's helped me so far. I'm the same though. My immediate response when I hear people say something I can't make out and then laugh is to think it's about me.

When I walk down the halls, I feel like people are staring at me and making fun of me as soon as I pass. I try to ignore these feelings but they never stop!

Well your feelings of paranoia are automatic responses, and can't be gotten over just by "getting over it," as some people will tell you.

Time for some Cognitive Behavioral Psychology!

The next time you walk down a hall and feel this way, I want you to actively tell yourself that first off, they most likely are just discussing something stupid that they did last night that they don't want you to hear out of embarassment. Secondly, if they are talking about you, tell yourself that there is an equally probable chance they're saying something positive. Maybe they like your shoes, but don't want to sound like creepers, so they whisper.

Again, in order to eliminate an automatic response, just repeat the following phrases in your head the next time you're in a situation like this:

a.) "That guy is propbably just embarassed that some one saw him crying in Toy Story 3"
b.) "She must think I'm damn sexy.

If you keep telling yourself things like this, the responses they bring about will be automatic, and your paranoia should get better.

That is extremely good advice...

And the last bit made me giggle.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

snip

That is extremely good advice...

And the last bit made me giggle.

Thank you.

The technique isn't mine, though. I learned it in therapy for depression. It works for a lot of mental illnesses (although sometimes it's a chemical problem, I'm not discounting medication).
For example, whenever a person starts to have depressed or suicidal* thoughts they just say to themselves all the good things they've done in their life (My doctor suggested depression patients do volunteer work to make this more effective). Again though, it can be applied to anything.

*If you're considering suicide, you absolutely, positively need to seek professional help. Using this method is like giving yourself a makeshift tourniquet to stop potentially fatal bleeding. It helps, but there's still a larger problem, and you need a doctor.

 

[jamradar]

Sorry cant help you there.
I often think that people are saying stuff about me behind my back.But the thing is that I dont care what other people think about me.

 

[zombiesinc]

So my question to you escapists, is how can I stop being so paranoid that everyone hates me? I know this may seem pointless but please only give advice and if you don't have any, don't come and post how this is such a useless post or anything please.

It seems that you're struggling with insecurity and a lack of confidence. The more you struggle, the more confidence you lose, the more insecure you become. And going to school and being around people while in this state will only strengthen it. Unless you start actively forcing yourself to get out of your comfort zone.

Stop ignoring this guy. He obviously wants to talk to you about something he believes you two have in common. You overheard him defending you as well, just another reason to give him a chance. It could be the first step to getting out there, and putting a little faith into people. Yes, there are a lot of dicks out there who will make fun of most anyone simply because they can, but there aren't as many as you think. Once you get a few friends, you'll find yourself becoming more comfortable with yourself, and expressing your opinions.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most everyone thinks that someone is staring at them from time to time, but that in itself should help lessen that stress for you. Just remember, those people you quickly eye over there who may be looking in your general direction... well, they may very well be worried about someone staring or laughing at them. Or, even better, they're distracted amongst themselves, and won't notice anything else.

The more you ignore people who are trying to be friendly, or run from any sort of interaction for fear of embarrassment, the more "weird" you're going to make yourself look to those people.