One reader's rave

"Thanks for the newspaper with your book review. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with this terrific piece of writing. It is beautiful, complex, scholarly. Only sorry Mr. Freire cannot read it!" -- Ailene

Cassie Jaye, the day before I met her at the _Red Pill_ world premiere

Friday, September 05, 2008

Paranoid Guy

I understand now that Paranoid Guy triggers me. Paranoid Guy is a man I sometimes see in Suburban Station, usually in the men's room. Since I first saw him a couple months ago and approached him to suggest he get treatment for his apparent Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, whenever he sees me he tells me various things about myself which are actually true about him: that I'm paranoid schizophrenic, that I've been in a mental hospital and am homeless, etc.

The first time he did this I tried to argue with him, but he just responded by saying, "You lie." This time I tried telling him these same things about himself, with the idea that this would restore my sense of control in the situation. But I still got unsettled and anxious.

I see the problem is that he's imposing his reality on me while denying my reality. This is triggering me because that's what the cult did, particularly in the process of forcing me out. I'll avoid him in the future, since he can't be good for my mental health.

No comments: