Hi Eden
A few years ago things were not good and I was very paranoid. It was terrifying.
Now, looking back on it all, I realise the medication I was on had a really negative effect on me and it made me very paranoid. I'm not sure if you are on any medications but some are not good and can actually cause paranoia and hallucinations. Please talk to your doctor about this as soon as you can.
In terms of coping skills and what helped me most during that time was:
- Keeping the windows and curtains open and letting in as much light to my house as possible
- Not being in the dark and having lots of lights on
- Having lots of noise - tv on, radio on, music on
- Having people I trusted nearby
- Checking everything in the house (cupboard, under beds) during the daylight to make there was nothing there
- I put up string and wire so I could see if something had gotten through
- Sleeping with security nearby (baseball bat, spray) - this made me feel safer if someone tried to get me
- Having good security in the house (locks on doors and windows etc)
At that time, there were other issues about my safety and threats had been made against me by people so i had genuine reasons to feel frightened and scared, but the medication blew it all out of proportion.
