SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

My STBXH has always been a lover of conspiracy theories…flat earth, there’s a firmament, never been to the moon, planets are fake….not just your average Big Foot believer he def goes above and beyond.

I chalked most of it up to his massive ego and needing to believe that HE has all the answers, the smartest man in the room, the rest of us are all "sheep".

So now when we last spoke the other day now he’s saying he’s getting all these random WhatsApp phone calls, followed up by text messages about answer your phone…and the last few times he went to the park he thinks he’s being followed. Like he’s very intent that this person walking their dog was following him, and he’s had it happen 2 other times by different people. he said it could be "gang stalking".

I guess I’m like….anyone else have an ex-spouse like this? At what point does it cross from conspiracy theorist to concerning delusions?

Look him right in the eye and tell him
"That's just what they WANT you to think!!!!!!"
and walk away.

Have you asked what he thinks these people want with him - what makes him so special everyone has to stalk him?

Has he shown you the text messages he's allegedly getting?

I guess it becomes concerning if he ever confronts any of these people who are 'following' him.

The only vaguely similar situation I can think of was a friend of WH who had a number of paranoid episodes and ended up being sectioned (may be a UK term - taken for his own good into a medical facility). He used to smoke a lot of weed as a teenager according to WH and maybe went onto other drugs though we I have no proof of that. WH lost contact with him and then we met him at a random party and he seemed normal, WH gave him our number (big mistake!) and then he started phoning us at all hours warning us that these people were watching him through his TV and they were probably onto all his friends as well so we should unplug all our devices...

Could you have a quiet word with someone close to him - a friend or relative to keep an eye on him?

Please follow wantnomore’s advice, which is the only correct course of action.

Hahaha I need to out conspiracy the conspiracy theorist

He’s been a daily weed smoker for probably about 30 yrs now, started to wonder if that has any part. It’s legal here, but that doesn’t mean no long term effects.

I hope this fizzles out and doesn’t come up again.

The weed probably isn't helping with general paranoia and fantastical ideation. But I live in a very pro-weed area and know lots of long time smokers who don't even believe in Big Foot so it's not the weed giving him these crazy ideas.

There's been some studies cropping up about people who believe in conspiracies and it boils down to mindset. If you believe in one, you're far more likely to buy into other conspiracies. It's similar to people who join cults. It's something a person is pre-dispositioned for mentally instead of an external factor making a person believe in something that sounds farfetched.

If you type keywords like "THC, psychosis" into your browser, yeah... it's concerning. I thing's get bad, you might want to talk with your attorney about child safety during visitation.