Paranoia about other people

[pd]

I don't usually get panicky around other people, but I think it comes out in other ways, I'm so suspicious of people. Does anybody else ever feel like the people around them have a hidden agenda about why they want you around, or are all secretly laughing at you behind your back? (sounds like the kind of thing a 14 year old would worry about, right?) Stuff like this has happened to me before, I've been used by people and now I find it very hard to trust people... I have some great friends, but I always feel like something of an outsider no matter what I do (It's me, not them) and sometimes I find myself questioning if these people actually care about me. Which is ridiculous, because I know they do, there's just this lingering paranoia. Any tips on how to deal with this?

pd x

[kazzie]

Hi Pd:D

I know exactly where you are coming from here I think:wacko:

My so called best mate has turned rather odd lately and everyone reckons its cos she is envious of me......God knows why lol!!!

She used to like me lots cos I was very fat and it made her look thin but now Ive lost weight she has started to "attack" me in a more personal way!!!

The best way to deal with these people is to ignore them.....believe in yourself and hold your head up high!!!

Luv Kaz x

[Meewah]

I love this mind stuff. Who would ever think your mind is so powerful to make so many symptoms. It amazes me that just when I think it has thrown everything at me Bang another new experience is thrown at us.

Just listen to your mind it is great at making you believe things it tells you. How do we know that anything we experience is real?


Food for thought..

Mee

[bluegirl09]

i couldnt care less what people think if they like you hooray if not boohoo its not too worry over people come and go into ur lives the good ones stay the others drift away its life we all judge one another we all talk and gossip im lucky i have a think skin i guess

[pd]

Thanks for the replies. I guess it's a case of accepting the crap that our minds come up with. My mind can convince me other people are laughing at me and it can convice me that I'm dying of whichever disease it's picked up on this week, but that doesn't make it true. Just hard to accept that!

[Carla louise]

Hi pd, Yeah i'm with you on this one. I am suspicious of other people a lot of the time and often feel like am outsider and wonder what it is people `really' want from me. Can count the number of people I trust on one hand-sad eh?! x
(Liked the Pema Chodron quote Meewah)

[Mich1111]

Hi PD
I can relate to how your feeling.
I always think people are talking about me and being nasty, especially if I walk into or leave a room. Its probably paranoia but its hard to deal with.

[Rachel424]

I used to really care about what other people think of me. I think it came from being bullied in school. I always thought that people were talking about me behind my back, which is some cases they were! Now I take the attitude that I couldn't care less what people think of me. It's not worth the worry!

[Anna C]

Hi,

I feel the same, I think if someone laughs they are laughing at me, if someone says something negative they must be talking about me. I find it hard to relax around most people even family.

I have been having CBT so now I'm not as bad as I was. On advice from my therapist, if I hear someone laughing I look around and sometimes the person can't even see me from were they are standing, or it will be a group of people who are too interested in their conversation to even notice me. Or if I think people are staring at me look to see if they actually are. Or if I think people I work with are laughing or talking about me, try to hear what they are saying, join in with the conversation or ask what they are talking about.
She said look for evidence as you are probably wrong.

I suppose you have to try not to care, even though its hard. Even if people say nice things to me I don't always believe them, but now I try to just accept what people say to my face and try not to worry that they really mean something else, as you can never really know what people are thinking about you. If you try you will drive yourself mad with worry.

Take care Anna