Hey I am new to the forums and wanna know if anyone can relate. I am very averse to sex and the thought of it often disgusts me, and I’m always paranoid that I’m being watched or stalked by perverts trying to rape/kidnap me. Earliest I can remember it started when I was around 8 years old playing video games at an arcade and an old man was following me around and staring at me. The adults present informed me that he was a pervert and to stay away from him and be more careful. This caused me to have some paranoia but it intensified later when my autistic cousin was molested by a special Ed councilor who was training at his school. I was shocked that someone so trusted could do such a thing and I warned as many people as I could to avoid him. Despite my efforts he was still viewed as an upstanding citizen and a “good guy” and he warned my cousin that the last person who tried to testify against him was found dead. So from that point on I have been going through phases where I feel like I’m developing a plan to rid the world of sexual predators such as this man and then followed by phases of intense paranoia thinking that there are groups of sexual predators who are angry at me and want to kidnap me, rape me ect to get revenge. With all the talk of predators being exposed in the media I have even stronger waves where I feel emboldened in my plan to get all the perverts off the streets, then even more intense paranoia that I’m being stalked now more than ever, and that these creeps may even try to frame me for something so that people will be turned against me. On bad days I lose it when cars pass me slowly and I fear I’m about to be snatched off the street, and EVERY passing car can give me this feeling. This is not the only issue which causes me intense paranoia but with all the stuff in the media lately it’s been affecting md the most. Can anyone relate?
There’s always an element of rationality to our paranoia. There’s always a grain of truth about our paranoia that keeps it in place.
But at the end of the day it’s paranoia.
Are you taking meds ?
I have this problem, also. For me, dealing with my underlying issues in trauma group has helped me feel safer.
It’s tricky, because, unlike other paranoid thoughts, this one has a basis in fact. There really are people who assault others, and they are frequently disguised as nice people.
Would a self-defense class help you feel more secure when you’re alone? Many women’s centers run classes for free or cheap.
I have the same thing, but mine is mostly PTSD related because crazy random ■■■■ like that does happen and it’s happened to me. I’m even kind of afraid to lose weight again because staying fat helps keep the pervs away.
Aren’t there also evil people and killers? 
My fears stem from being a bored and controlled child. When I feel that I am in this state of mind, it is easy to fear as a child.
It’s hard to fear something when you grew up with it in your own household.
What else can I say?
I have this same issue but mines rooted in trauma so Idk if that counts
I have heard voices of child abusers/sexual abusers at times too. I would literally get physically ill when I heard them. Completely repulsive.
No, I don’t have sexual predator paranoia, even though my own father and husband were sexual predators and abusers towards me for years and years. My paranoia is about serial killers and people out to kill me. Like institutions wanting me dead. Like the government.
I was abused in many ways as a child. So for me the fear is really out of control when I am unmedicated.
Well, yeah, there’s sexual predators out there, you’re right about that. But you’re just taking it to the extreme. I don’t think you should start a crusade or devote your time to aggressively exposing or catching sexual predators.
If you run into one or you know it’s going on because someone tells you a particular person is a predator then it would be good to tell the authorities or people you know. But you mentioned the famous people being exposed for there sexual misbehavior in the news lately. You might want to think about why victims keep it a secret and don’t tell anybody for years in some cases. It is fear. Fear of retaliation. Exposing sexual predators is dangerous. So be careful.
It’s not healthy for you to dwell on stuff like that. Sexual predators are sick twisted people and it’s just weird negative stuff. Better not to fill your mind with more negativity then having schizophrenia already gives you.
Yes, but it’s gotten better over the years.
I have taken self defense training.
Most often the victim is blamed so be careful who you put in prison as it could be the victim. Victim blaming complicates the issue because does the majority blame the victim? Just the perp? The perp and the majority?
People often think they are what they think other people think they are. Many of these #timesup people might be blackmailers who didn’t get paid because of any number of circumstances. Maybe they peaked and were running out of money. Maybe they didn’t have money and were beginning their come back.
Everyone and their mother blames me for things that I didn’t do so I know the story can be refunked in ways that people can’t comprehend because they aren’t ready for it. So I sit at home alone most of the time because of the false narrative that went out about me and avoid becoming the monster that will almost definitely land me up in jail.
I won’t give details but that used to be a real fear of mine. It came from experiences i had.
im not putting anyone in prison. I do think about it constantly but when i went with my cousin to the police to report it they just told him to get therapy. And yes I am well aware of the dangers of retaliation, thats exactly what makes me so paranoid. It just infuriates me that most people seem to turn a blind eye to this stuff.Ive also had friends make inappropriate advances on me despite saying no many times. Thankfully i was never raped but it contributes to the paranoia.
its not uncommon for paranoia to follow a certain theme or trend like you describe it doing. sometimes the things we have experienced or seen play into our paranoia and ideas which are rooted in reality can consume our minds to the exclusion of anything else. these can be bizarre or non bizarre delusions
lets just agree on one thing, sexual assault is tragic and is sort of like a rampant yet hidden problem globally. just because people are civilized and orderly does not stop people from acting in an animalistic way when no one can see them.
on the topic of relating, i certainly feel intense paranoia and fear, as a child i knew i was vulnerable to sexual assault and even had nightmares of it. that anxiety was worsened by things i saw on television depicting children like me being abused, abducted or taken advantage of.
once i reached puberty and was less vulnerable to abuse from older men those fears went away. though during adolescence i had minor events where older females flirted with me or touched me in ways which made me uncomfortable. it was never full on sexual assault though as i saw it, so i never reported it.
during my psychotic episode i actually became paranoid of the opposite scenario, being a sexual predator, but then again i had many bizarre delusions at the time involving sex/assault
during my psychotic episode i thought i was becoming gay and believed my family were having incestuous relationships. i also had a strange preoccupation with strange sexual ideas which were totally out of character, like having sex with animals and amputating my own sex organs
in hindsight these were just intrusive thoughts which say nothing about me as a person any more than being preoccupied with ufos and aliens says something about another person with sz. ive come to accept that my brain is not normal and as a result i have these totally bizarre ideas and preoccupations.
my advice to you is, recognize that aspects of your delusion are bizarre (people are following you etc) while others are non-bizarre or based in reality (many people in society are potential abusers or sexual deviants).
also, just get out more, take up some sort of hobby. travel, make new friends and so on. take medication to dampen the distrust and paranoia then do those things. normal human activities which get you out of the house and active.
rest assured that the legal system is coming down hard on people who have abused vulnerable people sexually. recognize that the law and society are currently coming down hard on this issue, society is finally starting to take this issue seriously. so dont feel like all the responsibility is yours or that anyone is targeting you specifically.
I’m more worried about serial killers. Like sociopaths and psychopaths coming after me. I’m paranoid as ■■■■ about that.
I have a motto, ‘kill all rapists’. Saw it on a bumper sticker once and it’s stuck with me ever since.
I’ve always been afraid of sexual assault. Everytime a group of men walk behind me I hold my keys between my fingers and think of the best way to fight back or run or scream.
I’ve had awful experiences with being unsafe as a woman. I have heard countless stories about sexual harassment/assult from family, friends, teachers, and experienced it myself. It’s really sad.
I don’t think I’m being too paranoid though. It’s a fact of life. A sad one, but I think it’s a normal reaction for girls to panic about that kind of stuff. There’s at least a 25% chance that we will be attacked in some way.
There are women who will use their sexuality as a weapon. If I think someone is luring me into a trap, I get scared right away. And then when they force me to do the nasty, they will go around and say I was the one putting the pressure on her. They will use whatever mental force they have to, to get what they want. Whether it would be triggering your pride or telling you that they will “go crazy and kill you if you don’t do it right now”.