Am I being stalked? Typically, the most common sense way to determine this depends on the nature of the behavior — are you constantly followed? Has someone stopped to look at you as you walk alone? What do you say if they stop on the street and turn around? Is the person intense, worried or heatedly annoyed with you? But as with most things, these things change. Sometimes you’re being followed. Sometimes the person is intrigued by you. Or just feels like their attention is being overstretched by you. Which is why the purpose of the Washington Post’s Hidden Hand initiative is to find out the answer to this question, which can quickly become problematic. Check out the full series here.
How do I know if I’m just paranoid? The simplest answer is that we can never say for sure. But sometimes you can just feel like it — we all do.
Next, this collection of essays from David Hamilton, a psychotherapist and author of the book Fight or Flight.
Ahead, more advice from Dr. Robi Ludwig of Harvard’s McLean Hospital on how to recognize if you’re mentally unstable.