Gang Stalkers

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IsabellaLinton
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01 Sep 2023, 6:57 pm

What are they exactly, and what psychiatric condition would cause a person to be paranoid about them?

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blitzkrieg
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01 Sep 2023, 7:04 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:

What are they exactly, and what psychiatric condition would cause a person to be paranoid about them?

Delusions can be a part of:

Schizophrenia
Paranoid personality disorder
Delusional disorder

There are other psychiatric conditions, where delusions can be a symptom, but those are the main ones I think.

Usually, people who believe they are being gang stalked are delusional. Though in a small percentage of cases there may be some merit to their claims.

TwilightPrincess
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01 Sep 2023, 7:14 pm

There's good information on this site:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... k-paranoia

Quote:

In 2015, Drs. Lorraine Sheridan and David James conducted an analysis of 128 responses to a survey about stalking that similarly concluded that 100 percent of cases involving gang stalking by multiple coordinated individuals reflected paranoid delusions (in contrast, only 4 percent of those reporting stalking by a single individual were deemed to be delusional). In both of these studies, gang stalking claims were attributed to paranoia because they defied credulity, often due to the sheer amount of resources or level of coordinated organization that would be necessary to carry out what was claimed.

Quote:

Throughout my career [as a psychiatrist], I’ve worked with hundreds if not thousands of people with paranoid delusions, including but not limited to those who have claimed to be victims of gang stalking. In such cases, claims of persecution defy credulity on several grounds.

First, there’s the unbelievably vast extent of what’s claimed… fleets of black SUVs with tinted windows, persecutors in disguise on every street corner, and futuristic secret technology being deployed from God knows where. Second, there’s a lack of any obvious or credible motive for the persecution… why would the CIA be devoting considerable resources to keep an “average Joe” under constant surveillance for years on end (note that paranoia and grandiosity—an exaggerated sense of self-importance—often go hand-in-hand)? Third, the persecutory experiences continue regardless of attempts to escape or relocate, including when hospitalized in the inpatient psychiatry ward and are contradicted by acquaintances or family and friends living in close proximity. And so, by process of elimination as well as recognition as a textbook case, paranoid delusions often offer the best explanation for most gang stalking claims.

Sometimes individuals who've claimed to be gang stalked have disclosed that they were already diagnosed with a delusional disorder.

Last edited by TwilightPrincess on 01 Sep 2023, 7:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

DanielW
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01 Sep 2023, 7:15 pm

It could also be as something simple as a UTI. Especially in older individuals because it can cause dementia-like symptoms and/or delirium.

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01 Sep 2023, 7:20 pm

A study from Australia and the United Kingdom by Lorraine Sheridan and David James compared 128 self-defined victims of 'gang stalking' with a randomly selected group of 128 self-declared victims of stalking by an individual. All 128 'victims' of gang stalking were judged to be delusional, compared with only 5 victims of individual stalking. There were highly significant differences between the two samples on depressive symptoms, post-traumatic symptomatology and adverse impact on social and occupational function, with the self-declared victims of gang stalking being more severely affected. The authors concluded that "group stalking appears to be delusional in basis, but complainants suffer marked psychological and practical sequelae (e.g., pathological conditions resulting from disease, injury, therapy, or other trauma). This is important in the assessment of risk in stalking cases, early referral to psychiatric services and allocation of police resources."

Source: This Wikipedia Article

(The references at the bottom of the page have greater significance on the topic.)

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IsabellaLinton
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01 Sep 2023, 9:49 pm

Interesting. So then, it doesn't relate to actual physical stalking but rather a delusion?

I've had physical altercations / assault from a "gang" or group, and I was manipulated, but it would never occur to me to describe the situation as "gang stalking" because that sounds like grandiose paranoia.

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naturalplastic
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02 Sep 2023, 2:26 am

DanielW wrote:

It could also be as something simple as a UTI. Especially in older individuals because it can cause dementia-like symptoms and/or delirium.

What is "UTI"?

blitzkrieg
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02 Sep 2023, 7:21 am

IsabellaLinton wrote:

Yes.

Gang stalking, in summary, is the delusion that there are hidden actors for example, or conspiring individuals present in a persons life, and that they seem to appear everywhere they go.

A random person shoving past the deluded person, on public transport, would be evidence of a gang-stalker conspirator for someone with such a delusion. "They did it on purpose to intimidate me and let me know they are watching me" would be the line of thought.

"A black SUV parked in a parking space is clearly watching me".

"The white van down the road is a secret surveillance setup, watching my house."

Gang-stalking is usually claimed to be psychological in nature, and that is why it is difficult to disprove such delusions and why they persist.

If a handful of stalkers in a gang of 2 or 3 physically harm someone, that is likely more real/realistic. And if a person has the physical evidence of being harmed by such people, then that would be even more evidence (unless it was purposefully self-inflicted).

blitzkrieg
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02 Sep 2023, 7:22 am

naturalplastic wrote:

DanielW wrote:

It could also be as something simple as a UTI. Especially in older individuals because it can cause dementia-like symptoms and/or delirium.

What is "UTI"?

Urinary tract infection.

FleaOfTheChill
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03 Sep 2023, 9:22 am

My adopted brother is schizophrenic (generally not medicated either), and he has dealt with gang stalker type delusions. For him, he believes people are following him, messing with him in various ways, leaving signs out for him to see and then connect those metaphorical dots. It's like he thinks he's some lab rat and there are these people in power who observe him and do things to see how he reacts, how much he can handle and so on. As of yet, he's never thought they actually meant to kill him, but it still causes him a lot of distress sometimes. Other times he gets almost delighted by it and tried to follow all the 'clues' and such...like he's solving some great mystery of the universe and has this knowledge no one else does.

IsabellaLinton
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03 Sep 2023, 9:47 am

blitzkrieg wrote:

If a handful of stalkers in a gang of 2 or 3 physically harm someone, that is likely more real/realistic. And if a person has the physical evidence of being harmed by such people, then that would be even more evidence (unless it was purposefully self-inflicted).

At that point they'd be called "assailants" rather than gang stalkers, I assume.

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funeralxempire
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03 Sep 2023, 11:45 am

FleaOfTheChill wrote:

Other times he gets almost delighted by it and tried to follow all the 'clues' and such...like he's solving some great mystery of the universe and has this knowledge no one else does.

He'd love QAnon. :lol:

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IsabellaLinton
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03 Sep 2023, 11:52 am

Do gang stalkers and detractors ever intersect?

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TwilightPrincess
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03 Sep 2023, 11:54 am

Both terms seem to be used interchangeably at times...

funeralxempire
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03 Sep 2023, 12:00 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:

Do gang stalkers and detractors ever intersect?

I've heard people refer to their 'gang stalkers' as detractors.

That said, the person who I've encountered who mentioned detractors constantly didn't seem to believe in any sort of coordination between them. Based on that I wouldn't describe that former poster as suffering gang-stalking delusions.

No coordination, ie: no 'gang' = not a gang-stalking delusion.

IsabellaLinton
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03 Sep 2023, 12:11 pm

Interesting. That's a good point. Thanks.

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