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Sleepiness and mental health post peeping Tom


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I think I am psyching myself out every night before I sleep. I usually wait til the day light hours to sleep now even when I'm tired. Ever since the peeping Tom incident at my residence I have been afraid at night that someone might be watching me when I'm not aware. I am so tired right now, I have to leave the hall light on like a child now just to feel more at ease with sleeping. My landlady the one who he the peeping Tom was watching seems completely back to her normal sleeping habits, I can't even believe she can sleep. I have been hearing helicopters all night too which makes me think the police are looking for someone in my neighborhood. I can't move out where would I go? This is the best rent deal you can get in LA that I have. I wrote this because my mental health is suffering, the fear is keeping me up. If I keep this up, it's not doing my mental health any favors. When will I stop being uncomfortable? Any suggestions other than moving? How do I stop worrying? I wish someone was here on my air mattress.

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If you have curtains or blinds on your windows, how could anyone be watching you? If you don't have curtains or blinds, get some. Nothing has happened to you; I would actually bet money that nothing is going to happen to you. The biggest danger to you right now is yourself: You are going to drive yourself into a breakdown messing with your sleep habits. Go to the drugstore and get some over the counter sleeping aids like Nytol or even Gravol, and go home, and go to bed tonight at a normal time. You will stop being uncomfortable when you stop living like a crazy person. Considering the length of time this has been going on, however, and how acutely uncomfortable you have been the whole time, I would suggest going to see a doctor as soon as you can and letting them know what's been happening to you. Lots of people go through difficult breakups, but this latest thing you're going through is not typical. Something else is happening here, and I think you need help.

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I am sorry this is a long response. Perhaps hearing other's experiences will help you with dealing with this matter.

 

I know first hand how scary peeping tom incidents can be. When I was younger I lived in an apartment ( with my mother ) and we had a regular peeping tom off and on for a few years. During the winter time you could see foot prints in the snow leading to our windows, but they would end at the street. Whomever was doing this came from a few streets over we assumed and had jumped the fences. We were not the only ones stalked, there was another young mom with a son who had this incident. I loved having sleepovers, and we would always lay our blankets out on the floor in the living room as it had more space than my bedroom. And sure enough not long after the lights went off, you would see a persons silhouette behind the curtains standing on our first level apartment patio. Needless to say my friends didn't want to sleep over anymore. At the time the building did not allow animals. My mother told the landlord that if they did not do something about this, we would be getting a guard dog - and we did. She was the most protective dog I have ever come accross. On any other occasions we would never use our dog as a weapon but there were a few nights when my mom would see the tom and let the dog loose and give her the command to " get him ". He always hopped the fence, but the fence was too high for the dog.

 

Whenever the tom felt like they were going to be caught they would stop for a few weeks and then start coming back again. At one point, we had one of my mother's friends Bill (whom also lived in the building )stay with us for a week - to attempt to try and catch this person. The entire time Bill was with us, the peeping tom did not come around. The night Bill went back to his own unit, the peeping tom came back - almost as if he had known bill was there. That night when he came around my mother called Bill in a panic and told him that the peeping tom was back, Bill bolted out of his apartment in his underwear and came around the opposite side of the building ( outside ) to try and catch this guy off guard but the tom heard him coming and took off. It got to a point where we had to live with one of my mom's friends for a few weeks on the second level apartment because we were too scared to stay by ourselves. On one incident I had been laying on the couch with my head on my moms lap while she sat up reading a book. She just happened to look up from her book and looked out the window and there was someone there staring back at her, and then they took off.. On another incident my mother had just gotten out of the shower and walked into her bedroom. She looked out the window and someone was looking back at her, she called the cops and they told her that she shouldn't be walking around her house naked - basically said it was her own fault.

 

Moving along to more recent times, my spouse took on a job that required her to work midnights which meant sleeping alone 5-6 days a week. Back in January the car was broken into. While it is not the same as having a peeping tom, it was a terrifying experience for me. I was home when it happened, had just gone to bed. I was already scared being home alone at night but knowing someone was on my property and that close to me, I cannot even put into words how it has made me feel to this day. For the first few weeks after I had asked my niece to stay with me. She is only 10 so she wouldn't do me alot of good if there was an intruder but having the company took some of the scaryness away. Then I refused to go to bed. I would sit up all night, keep myself entertained by the computer , tv, reading etc. Slowly I would ease my way back into the bedroom. I would keep the lights in the house on , keep the tv on, make sure all doors and windows are locked and I would lay in there with the biggest butcher knife I had beside me. ( I'm sure I could probably never use it, but it made me feel a little safer ). Then paranoia kicks in and I thought if I have the TV on, will I be able to hear if someone is outside? So I would turn the tv off or mute it, then it was too quiet - which made my mind think I was hearing things.

 

In all truthfulness, I am not over the situations and am completely paranoid about them. Some things that kind of ( but not really ) help are: having a dog, keeping lights on, keeping your phone charged and right beside you ( incase there is a tom you can call police ). I would call them regardless just to let them know that someone was been there multiple times over the last few nights. Talk to your neighbors, have them be on the look out, set up a neighborhood watch program. Especially if there is anyone in your area who has young children - moms are all over that ! Protect yourself, if that means having a bat at your bedside than so be it. Have a plan ! Create a plan so that if you are faced with the situation where you are lying in bed and you see this person outside your home you will know what you need to do . I don't suggest confronting them but I do suggest calling the police. Try and go to bed only when you are super super tired and feel like you could pass out at any given moment. If you go to bed when you are not tired or only kind of tired, your mind will begin to make you think things. Oh, and one last thing - do not watch scary movies they mess with your head.

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