Paranoia and how to deal with it?

[ShaunRyder]

Hi everyone, not sure if this is the right place to post but as it makes me anxious I thought i'd post it here.

So, I'd say the last year I have become very paranoid about the police and I keep thinking people are trying to stitch me up and send me too prison.

4 years ago I was on a night out and I got into an argument with two lads I knew from college, I walked away from the argument and went home, a day later I had a knock on my door and it was the police and they were arresting me for GBH. After my argument they had been set on by three other lads and badly hurt, one of the lads accused me of attacking them(even though I had left and knew nothing about the attack) I was placed on police bail for 4 months and later charged with Joint Enterprise GBH, they thought I was involved because of the argument and one lad saying I had done it. So it went on for a year and a half and it finally went to trial, during the trial the boy admitted he had lied about me attacking him because he was angry. I was found not guilty in the end.

3 years on I have been fine, but it started this time last year... I went for a run one evening and when I got home I aw on the news there had been a bomb found(Turned out to be a hoax) in the same area I ran through, for some reason I started to think that because I was running through the area that the police would think I had planted it or someone would put me forward. This lasted about 2 weeks and I finally got over it.

From that point its been nearly everything, a few weeks ago I was walking to work and a little kid was walking behind me, I crossed over the road and he sprinted down the road, I started to think ''Why is he running? is he going to run home and accuse me of doing something?'' I was paranoid for days that the police would turn up at my door even though I had done nothing. Another time I was in a busy town one day and I walked past an older man and knocked his shoulder a going past, I remember he said something and I started thinking ''Hes going to go to the police and say I attacked him''. There has been man incidents like this(too many to go through but these are a few examples).

But last night it happened again and I really want to sort this as it is stopping me living a full life as I am too scared to go anywhere. Last night I went for a meal and a couple of drinks for a mates birthday, after leaving the bar i noticed I didnt have my wallet on me so I went back and asked, they said they did not have it but I said I remember leaving it on the bar, the owner came out and I spoke to him and I said I 100% left in on the bar and we were the last customers to leave, he said it wasnt here. I then said I would call the police(bit strange seeing as I am always paranoid about them, but i knew it would work), as soon as i mentioned the police a barman came over saying he had found my wallet down a seat, a seat and a corner of the bar I never been near... I was speaking for a bout 5 minutes with the owner about it and he got a bit angry and said i had to go and he had to make a call. I was walking home and started thinking that he was going to call the police and say I had done something and now I am at home scared I am going to be taken away even though nothing happened but he may try stitching me up.

I need to get this sorted! How can I deal with this?

[Buster70]

Hi , unwittingly you've trained your brain to expect the worst of any situation you feel threatened in , I've done the same to my messed up head through a lot of bad family problems over the last few years , my partner and daughter have both been hospitalised and come very close to death so now I think the worst all of the time my brain fast forwards to the worst possible scenario even if they are just not picking up the phone , you've had a bad experience but it doesn't follow that there will be another , I'm trying cbt when they get back to me to see if I can un learn the behaviour and deal with the problems better without over reacting , sounds like the barman was planning on keeping you wallet and the manger knew this and wanted you gone before the police said were called and started asking for cctv footage but I'm sure the rational side of you already knows that , take care chap .

[NoPoet]

You've also got to ask yourself: is it so odd that you've developed this fear? You went through a terrible, traumatic and extremely prolonged experience and while your innocence was finally proven, it sounds like you got no kind of compensation and you don't mention what happened to the person who falsely reported you. That's a criminal offence and should have been taken seriously by the police and courts, given the time and resources it's cost everyone. Then again Britain's legal and criminal systems are little more than an insulting farce nowadays.

So before you punish yourself by suffering further anxiety about being "paranoid", accept that any such "paranoia" is a natural result of what you've been through. It's an anxious response conditioned into you by unpleasant events.

[ShaunRyder]

Thanks for the replies, yes i expect the worse outcome on everything, but even other stupid little things. I am worried 24/7 about getting a private number ringing me and it will be the police saying they need to talk to me even though there is no reason!

I did go councelling a while back to talk about what i went through but it didnt seem to help, would it worth going to a doctor and seeing if they could help? I think they may feel I am being stupid though.

[Buster70]

Hi , I wish I had the answer for you but it's somthing most people on here have a problem with "what ifs " your doc won't think you are stupid they deal with people like us every day and get paid for it , go and see them just talking to somone face to face somtimes helps just to get it out , good luck with it .

[ShaunRyder]

Thanks buster, I will try get to the doctors this week.

Its been so bad today, just because I went back for my wallet and I said I would ring the police I am now thinking all these strange things, like he was angry for me saying it and now he is going to lie to the police about me and get me arrested. I KNOW its my head but I cannot shake the fear!