Stalking!!!!

[mimosa]

Hello.

I have been stalking (their word, the sickos) Britney Spears for about 18 months now. Well, I say stalking. You see, me and Britney had a thing going. It was beautiful, amazing. She's a bit thick, but if you saw her in that school uniform for "one more time" or the sprayed-on red creation, then you'll know what i mean. What a booty, I tell you.

Now, my psychotherapist says I imagine the whole thing. But he would, he's mad. I've seen him. When he says those terrible lies his head starts to melt slightly. I feel sorry for him. It's only when he gives me the medication it straightens out, but that's coz it's secret stuff developed by the "whispering people" to confuse and deceive me. But they don't fool me. The implant in my brain from the "guiding ones" keeps telling me what's really going on, and they'll never discover it because the materials it's made from don't exists yet and it's smaller than a molecule. I'll tell you more about the horrid "whispering people" and my saviours and contollers the "guinding ones" in other threads maybe. As long as they don't get to me here and stop me posting.

Anyway, back to lovely Britney. She is such a b1tch. Apart from denying everything she made the FBI and the CIA follow me and bug my nutritious Kellogs Pop Tarts (yes, that's why I did the thing in the supermarket...I had to find the unmarked packet, OK).

Well, the Guiding Ones told me it was OK, and we all know she still wants me if only those evil Whisperers hadn't got to her too. So I have to keep sending her stuff....private stuff, the "special words" only she understands, and sometimes other things from inside me. One day they told me that I could only save her if I stabbed her through the heart because the Whisperers had made her into a vampire and she would turn back.

But when I'd sent some of the things, the Whisperers told the police to look out for me, and as I broke into her house and hid in her closet with my stake and hammer, and wearing the special tribute rubber catsuits to fight the Whisperers rays, those evil conspirators came and got me.

And now I have to go to this place and see the mad psychotherapist who really needs help. And I've heard nothing from Britney other than the "restraining order" stuff and the "civil suit" stuff from some lawyers who say they work for her but are really employed by the Whisperers.

I have to save her....what can I do?

Oops...have to go...important message coming in....amammmmaaammmmmaamammmmmmmmm..............

[X-press]

:confused:...a bit confused here mimo...we obviously can give this man any advises, so is it supposed to be a joke? Do you want us to talk about "stalking" in general? Guide us please....

[raffee]

Yes mim, do guide us please.:rolleyes:

[grasshopper]

Mim im your best mate. and im worried.!!!!:eyes:

[DeSerTDesTroYeR]

hmm... was this a dream or something..:confused: ....no wonder you can sleep :lost: .....

what can you do.....?

hmm...depends why you ...are being stalked i guess.... isnt there any other dreams..:D

[mimosa]

Tell you what....why don't treat this as one of your "Third Person" problems ("I've got this friend.....")?

I think Fahd and the medics should post an initial diagnosis of the problem here....then maybe your thoughts on how to deal with people in such a predicament?

Sheeeesh.....it's like pulling teeth sometimes :rolleyes:

[raffee]

The predicament of stalker (predator) or stalkee (victim)?

[Neena]

You got me lost there for sure mimi.... why don;t you really post a DIRECT QUESTION.... and please make sure its in PLAIN TEXT ENGLISH !!!!! :D

[raffee]

Noonie, we are talking about mimosa here darling:rolleyes: Plain text english would deprive him of all the fun her gets from such posts.

If you need clarification, I would be happy to oblige in pm.:D

[mimosa]

Please! I thought the medics and "touchy-feely" types in the Sabla might be able to offer some advice to the troubled mind describing the scenario. Yes?

[Dr N]

I'll get back to you mim, so be patient..:)
I'll give you a medical point of view later on today..

[Dr N]

This is from an irish journal/ www.imj.ie/news_detail

The commonest stalker is one who stalks following a real relationship. The behaviour comprises both a means for revenge as well as a wish for reconciliation. An estimated 50 - 70% of this group actually assault the victim, making these the most common and dangerous stalkers. These ‘rejected’ stalkers account for approximately 50% of all stalkers encountered.

The ‘intimacy seeker’ stalker is the one most discussed in the media. Two groups are seen in this subset. Those suffering from erotomania, who believe the object of their affection to be in love with them, comprise the most persistent of stalkers. Accounting for 10% of all stalkers, contact with the victim is repeatedly attempted; rejections often fuel the conviction of their beliefs.

The other group have been described as ‘ love –obsessionals’ are intensely preoccupied with their victim, perhaps to the exclusion of all other activities. Contact with the victim is attempted on numerous occasions. Common victims are complete strangers (including celebrities) and very casual acquaintances.

The ‘incompetent’ stalker is one who is often socially isolated and lonely. He attempts to initiate a relationship with someone he imagines to have ‘ideal partner’ qualities; his awkward social skills ensure a negative response. Unlike other types of stalker, he moves from victim to victim, searching for the perfect love.

Other less common types of stalkers include the ‘ predatory’ stalker who stalks to gather information prior to an attack on his victim, and the ‘resentful’ stalker, who stalks in a more obvious manner with the express purpose of frightening the victim: he is ‘getting even’ with his victim following what he believes to be a ‘wrong’ done to him.

[Dr N]

A significant number of stalkers suffer from a psychotic illness, which needs medical treatment. This particularly refers to those suffering from erotomania, who make up 10% of stalkers. The stalker believes the object of her affection to be deeply in love with her, despite repeated rejections providing evidence to the contrary. Thought in the past to be a condition almost exclusively affecting females, more recent studies have shown it to occur perhaps as frequently among males. Treatment has limited success. Antipsychotic medication is less effective than in treatment of other psychotic illnesses. Supportive psychotherapy and attempts to enrich the patient’s otherwise socially impoverished life are essential.

The most effective measure in management of incompetent stalkers is legal intervention, leaving the likelihood that this stalker will repeat such behaviours when he next meets a potential ‘partner’. Supportive psychotherapy has been of anecdotal benefit in improving self-esteem and social skills.

‘Rejected’ stalkers may also benefit from supportive psychotherapy though legal intervention is also usually necessary.

‘Resentful’ stalkers respond only to threat of legal intervention: these individuals tend to be too caught up in their own grievances to engage in a psychotherapeutic relationship.

Predatory stalkers are effectively managed only by imprisonment.

Impacts on the victim are multiple. Supportive psychotherapy is necessary for the traumatized victim along with utilization of all support and legal assistance available.

[mimosa]

Thank you Dr Noon! There is hope yet....

Would you put your reputation on the line and give an instant diagnosis? I appreciate this is limited material to work on, and that this probably isn't your area of specific expertise. But I think the key points are in there if we assume that the writer is not knowingly attempting to deceive.

Go on, and you Thug, Fahoudi too! Humour me this once if you wouldn't mind....there is a serious point on a serious issue, but I'd really like a professional first impression before we get into it.

[Seham]

I am not a physician but here is what I think ...

I'd say he is showing symptoms of Schizophrenia. The classic 'positive symptoms' of schizophrenia are 'hallucinations and delusions'.

Hallucinations (auditory)>>>> "whispering voices"

Delusions >>>> "the implant in my brain keeps telling me..."

Paranoid Schizophrenia >>>> "she made the CIA and FBl bug my Kellogs Tart...."

[Dr N]

Ok mim, I've just printed it so I can go through it again, so I'll see what comes out and I'll let you know..

[Fantasia]

I am totally lost here. Is this kind of a joke or what? I thought this has something to do with personal and social problems. If this is a joke, then this thread should be posted in the right section.

:lost:

[mimosa]

OK, it's not entirely serious in that I've not actually been stalking Britney Spears. But the point of it is serious, I think.

What I wrote at the beginning of this thread was based on a number of accounts of episodes suffered by people with schizophrenia (full marks to Seham!). Some of it seems nonsensical, some of it frightening, and some of it probably funny to any normal person. In fact, what gave me the idea for this thread in the first place was a joke i made on the subject somewhere else. And I asked myself why I had joked about something so serious, and why many societies looked at mental illness as something to ridicule. Judging by the responses to this, the Sabla society is pretty representative in that respect.

It is estimated that ome person in five will suffer some sort of clinical mental disorder during their lifetime. This can range from the relatively mild and unspectacular such as acute depression, to the extreme, such as a lifetime of paranoid schizophrenia as described (however badly?) above. On average then, someone in each of our families will have some sort of mental problem.

But will we notice? Or care? In our Sabla family, one member ("Raffee") has openly discussed her long struggle with clinical depression. But given the law of averages, I suspect there are a few more with similar, perhaps worse, problems who do not choose to discuss them. It is ironic that Raffee, who as one of the most erudite members of the Sabla and one who is comparatively aware of psychological disorders, was the first to label the sick individual as the "predator". She was not the only one think it. It is normal to distill things down to "good versus evil", "predator versus victim".

There is no question that "Britney" in the text is a victim of something (whether or not the subject actually did the things he thinks he did). But where is your compassion for an unwell man? Where is the awareness, even among the most intelligent, that the mind as well as the body can malfunction and need treatment? When these cases arise, you have to ask how the disorder ever got so bad without someone - a friend, a colleague, a relative - noticing that there was a problem?

And when we do notice - often not until some antisocial behaviour has resulted - what do we do? Call the patient "evil", "possessed", "predatory", "wicked" etc? Quite frequently.

Next thoughts?

[raffee]

Im sorry you think I was mocking of your character mim, but you didnt exactly choose the most serious of ways to communicate what you intended from such a thread. I really did think it was a joke, with no purpose besides comic appeal.
My apologies for misunderstanding.

It is true that mental illness is a prevalent issue in our society, and sadly, in most societies it is a taboo topic of discussion. There is little, if any education or awareness given about it, especially in Arab countries. But even in Western countries, there is a residual stigma attached to it even in these modern expressive times.

Although i have not been directly touched by someone with schizophrenia, one of dearest and closest friend's father has lived with it for years. He has been institutionalised repeatedly, and has been dependent on drugs consistently since it was diagnosed almost a decade ago. It has been a burden upon the entire family, and at one point, it became so bad that he actually caused his daughter injury (he broke her nose, and almost shattered her entire face).

The question remains: how can it reach such severity without it being picked up in its early stages?

Personally, I think it is due to this lack of education about the symptoms of these illnesses, and the continuing fear associated with mental illness. People dont want to deal with it unless they really have to; they are not comfortable with things they dont understand.

Therefore, the first step to take in creating a more sensitive and sympathetic approach to the mentally ill is to talk about it openly, read about it, try to understand it, and therefore break down the barriers that remain in preventing effective and liberal discussion.

I know this is just a starting point, but if we become more comfortable talking about it, then we are one step closer to accepting it, and therefore dealing with it in a more compassionate manner.

[mimosa]

Raffee....thank you! Sorry, I did not mean that to appear like a dig at you personally, apologies for using you as an example of "normal" :D

The stigma over mental illness is still very prevalent in Western societies, as is ignorance as to its causes and treatment. I think that perhaps the situation is worse in some Arab countries. A Saudi psychiatrist I knew was fighting an uphill battle in his country, as mental illness was often confused with "possession by evil Jinn", and treated as such by self-proclaimed "holy men". The effects of beating a man or woman suffering from a schizophrenic episode with a copy of the Qur'an and a stick, and locking her in a cupboard can only be imagined. But this sort of thing , according to the Saudi doctor, was pretty common - even among relatively educated people.

As for schizophrenia in itself, I think maybe it's more useful to discuss social prejudices rather than this specific disorder (health sabla?), but maybe the Sabla medics could add some more background to this and other common disorders.

As I understand it, schizophrenia (meaning literally "split head"), is where there is a problem with communication between the two sides of the brain, leading to symptoms such as those described by Seham above. The meaning of the word is often wrongly confused in the public mind with "multiple personality disorders", something rather different.

A cousin of mine began to suffer from schizophrenia at the age of 17. As a highly intelligent and charismatic young man, he has now suffered the disease for 18 years, with varying severity. It is rather tragic that someone with so much potential is likely to depend indefinitely on others, and has never had a job or a normal relationship since his teens.

[raffee]

I cant agree with you more mim. Ive had first-hand (or first eye-witness) experience at that mentality. My ex-husband's sister suffered from some kind of phobia (although it was so severe that it was debilitating). Im not sure what its called, but she couldnt leave the house at all, she was afraid to even step foot outside her front door, she could no longer drive (and to this day will not drive at all), could not stay at home alone, and she even suffered physical symptoms like migraines, stomache cramps, and nausea. Occasionally, she had panic attacks.

The entire family diagnosed it as her being possessed or accursed with the 'evil eye'. They took her from sheikh to sheikh, but her symptoms only improved slightly, maybe because she consciously made the effort to improve, due to her belief that it was in fact possession.

Finally, her husband knocked some sense into her, explaining that since she was not getting better, then it had to be either a psychological disorder or a physical one, and he coerced her to see a doctor. Not surprisingly, she was referred on to a psychologist, but whatever passed from that point on was kept private, and we were nevermore updated on what the diagnosis or treatment was:lost: .

She is better to a certain degree; she can now go out, but as I said above, she still doesnt drive, and she is busying herself with having more children:duh: . (when I left she was onto number 7).

[Wanderer]

Now, let's not overlook the influence of Jinn.

Surely before any medical treatment, Mimosa should be taken to a Muslim holy man to see if the problem is spiritual, and not biochemical, or stress related.