Yesterday I went to the park to walk for 3 mins as per goals set with hubby. It was too wet and icy to walk. So I sat in my car for like 20 mins just to there. When I left the winding road there was a man on the street standing in front of his car with his phone close up to his eye taking pictures of me. Pointed directly at my car and me. I looked at him and he stared at me and put his phone down. 100 % was taking pictures of me. There was absolutely nothing else to take pictures of. He just stood there after and was surprised when I caught him. He stepped back and got into his car. I drove away and decide to go back and see if heās there and his car was gone. He passed me as I drove back there and I could see into his car and he was dressed like someone who would be an agent. He looks exactly like one. I know I have paranoia that stuck with me re the degree of hypervigilence when Iām ill but I also know that people DO follow me at periods of time. I could 100% tell this was real this time and I donāt know what I can do. I called my hubby when I got home and I could tell he did not believe me and told me to just go ahead and run the errands etc. Now he thinks just because I do get paranoia when ill that itās just paranoia, which is just stereotyping me. I drove through my neighbourhood but he was no where to be found. I tested to see if he was following me far behind but no. Then I watched as I ran some errands and I couldnāt see the car. He may have stopped because he knew I saw him. They hate it when I catch on. I feel my van is being tracked which is easy to happen, how else would he findme? Itās happened before, they show up with cameras where they would have no way to find except to track my husbandās cell text messages.
Sometimes I need to tell someone when it happens and Iām terrified bbut I donāt want to lose my husband because he thinks Iām too hard or unattractive to love, I try to be normal. I hate talking to anyone about these things because they think Iām just ill and argue with me so I often handle it myself when I can. Keep blinds closed, stay in as much as possible, etc.
Do you get people not believing you bc of mental illness when something did actually did happen??? Itās really bugging me.
This honestly sounds like paranoia. The man could have been taking pictures of something nearby that seemed irrelevant to you just to send it to his friends, and even if he was taking a picture of you and the car, that doesnāt mean there was anything sinister going on. Maybe someone he knows has the same car. Thereās really a million things that could have been going on here, most of them completely normal. Also, how would you tell some kind of agent from a normal person? Wouldnāt the whole point of dressing as an agent be to avoid looking conspicuous, i.e. dressing like everyone else?
Thanka for replying bc I am trying to understand this and why he wouldnāt believe me, those are some good questions he may have. But I wish someone could have seen it, was pointed at me so directly it was like eye contact. It was a casual dress shirt that stood out like a person who is on business but ānot obviousā. I wish someone was there. I have an appointment this afternoon and now Iām scared they are going to try to get my medical records. I get harassed so I know where this is headed. Thanks for your reply.
I have straight up hallucinated people with cameras. It can happen
Maybe he was just a creepy guy. Or maybe you just happened to be standing right in the middle of what he wanted to take a photo of.
This disease sucks. If anything out of the ordinary happens we immediately think the worst.
The one time my husband even saw a man taking pictures directly of me and then smiled, smirked, at me. I do think he was real. Maybe my mind is declining and I am completely seeing things as very very real. I am worried I have Alzheimerās early. I wish someone was with me they would have been as shocked as me. The whole thing was so obvious. I donāt think I should bother my husband with such things unless I have to take significant precautions that require his support. This is really hard
Chances are there was a real guy there. Chances are he had a camera. But zero chance he was an agent.
First of all agents on stake out wear casual clothes.
Secondly they donāt get out of their cars to take photos - it makes them too obvious.
Trust me my major problems are thoughts of being followed by people with cameras. Truth is people out and about do some weird stuff. 99% of the time the observer just dismissed it. But when we are ill that ā ā ā ā has major significance. But itās just the illness tricking you
Plus agents have hidden cameras now. Built into handbags and vehicles. Old school manual cameras are not used
Thank you. But I donāt feel ill, like how I get when I am ill? At all? Like I donāt need to be hospitalized because I canāt function type of thing like 3 years ago. I can think somewhat clear, dont feel manic or mixed or anything, just having some minor illusions and hallucinations more but that happens to me sometimes. I am struggling with being overstimulated more. But I am making a little gains with 30 second showers and treadmill. I am not trying to argue bc I appreciate the discussion with someone. I just feel so violated and on guard now. I have a lot of fear about this I canāt let it go
Yes I have seen them do this and I have read that before. That is true. They use a lot of tactics. A-holes. I canāt imagine living with myself if I harassed people they way that they do.
I think itās pure paranoia
I have a friend who is a photographer, and he sometimes takes pictures of people just going about their day. Occasionally someone will notice, and he will feel embarrassed. It is not the most socially acceptable habit, but thereās nothing sinister going on. He just likes practicing things like framing and lighting, and occasionally sees someone doing something that would make an interesting photo. Most likely, this person was just taking a picture he thought would look nice, then noticed you staring and realized he probably looked creepy, so he left to show you he meant no harm.
Like some of the above posters mentioned above, I donāt think theres actually anything sinister going on. Itās just making a extraordinary experience out of something very ordinary. Plus, you know you are a good person. What do they have to gain by taking a picture of a regular person chilling in their car? But I feel you, there are times when I experience such things. It really shakes me up and I never talk to anyone about it, I might bring it up quickly with my case manager but I never explore it with him. As for friends and family, unless Iām in a crisis, I donāt bother them with this type of thing. It sucks I know.
Yeah, I donāt like this legal interpretation of privacy that if weāre in a public space then we agree that we can be photographed. Some people like to consider themselves āphotographersā and thatās fine but ordinary peoplesā sense of privacy is being infringed just so that companies that sell phones can get rich.
We have to avoid public areas to avoid being pictured. Congress should consider new laws.
But itās not likely because they have other agendas: to get rich through politics.
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