Please help

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I just feel so paranoid that everyone is against me and I'm just always so stressed. People are just so horrible to me and I've had enough. I can't handle this anymore. What can I do?

The only suggestion I can make is to look for kindhearted people. I tend to avoid those who seem sarcastic, because even if they don't mean to hurt my feelings, they probably will.

Sorry it's so hard. I get paranoid too. Anxiety is terrible. Best wishes to you.

I echo Transyl.

Find better friends.

I wonder if you have been experiencing a lot of invalidation - recently or in the past?

If you think this may be an issue underlying your issues now, have a look at the "Sanctuary for the Abused" website - it has some particularly helpful stuff on invalidation and its after effects.

Hope you feel much better soon.

Do you have any supportive people at all? Family, etc?

Hi everyone, I was having a really bad day that day and was in mid-anxiety episode when I started this thread. Now that I'm calm, I'll try to explain things in more detail.

My family and close friends are very supportive of me, it's not really those people, the people who I'm close with that I feel paranoid about, it's people that I see and meet for brief periods and don't know on personal levels (such as doctors, other patients at the doctor's surgery, people in shops, cafes, restaurants and other public places I visit...). I often feel paranoid that they are laughing at me, plotting things against me, I just feel extremely awkward, scared and uncomfortable around people because of this. It usually tends to be adults, I feel as if I'm being discriminated against and harassed by adults. For example, once I was at a rescue cat shelter, and I went into one pen to feed the cats there and there was this guy in the pen, and he asked me if I could go into one section and try to feed a timid cat that was in there. I didn't like the way he stood close behind me when I was walking in and locked the door behind me as if he was forcing me in, it made me feel uncomfortable. Another time at the same place I was feeding the cats and a couple were visiting the place looking for pet cats, they were in one room with some cats and I didn't go in to feed them straight away because I didn't want to disturb the couple, and as I walked past I heard the woman laughing at me. A few minutes later after they left and I went to feed the cats in that room she laughed at me again as we walked past each other.

In general I just feel awkward around people because I'm always scared that they are going to laugh at or ridicule me, I have experienced a lot of invalidation in the past at school and I really don't like it when people make fun of me or laugh at me, it's so rude and upsetting.

Hi Catlover5 -- I've seen your other thread about the other forum you are a member of, and how they have treated you on that other website.

It sounds like you had a rough time at the hands of those people, and I think an experience like that over a long period of time can chip away at your ability to cope with other forms of slighting too. It's hard to feel like anyone is a decent or supportive person when you've been immersed for a while among more than one person who is not those things at all. Also, an internet community has a certain micro-culture of its own, and if it's not a good one for you it makes it feel like nobody's a good person anymore.

For balance, do you have friends and family who can help remind you that you are respected and cared about? The best antidote to people who are being dicks to you is to get a dose of the people who do love you and like you, and often those are not the internet folk but the ones who know you best, face to face.

From your other thread I think you were treated unfairly and I hope you get to feel better soon. Cuddle a cat, hang out with your real-life people who love you. And cuddle a cat again too. Animals are a great comfort as their love is judgment free.