Shy_miss_fly,
Your story sounds very similar to my own. My heart goes out to anyone who suffers at the hands of workplace bullying of any kind. Because that's exactly what it is - BULLYING!
I have been working in my current job for 4 years now, and I've pretty much hated every minute of it. You may be asking why I don't just find myself another job? Well, I guess it's a case of 'better the devil you know, than the devil you don't'. It sounds like a pretty lame excuse, but at least where I am now, I have managed to work my way into a job where I spend the majority of my time on my own - plus the money is pretty good!
Anyway, my problems started almost from day one. Before my current job, I worked for a company in my home town, until my work colleagues somehow managed to find out about the therapy sessions I was attending at the time due to my SA, (When I say 'somehow', I mean I KNOW exactly how they found out. But it would make a long story even longer). So you can probably guess the kind of comments I began to receive from then on, such as, 'He's got a screw loose' or 'we're not meant to talk to you, because it might upset you' etc etc.
So due to the understanding and empathy I received from work colleagues, I ended up spending almost a year on sick-leave (almost losing my house in the process due to mortgage arrears). Until I finally plucked up the courage to get off my arse and go back to work.
I finally landed an interview at a double-glazing firm, and to my amazement was offered the job. This was when the real problems began!
It was only after I started my new job, that I found out that someone I used to work with had started work ther a month earlyier. So when this person heard of my imminent arrival, they had obviously 'primed' everyone else with certain information about me (as well as a good dose of lies and innuendo).
Almost from the first day, I began experiencing strange looks from people. These strange looks were then accompanied by 'cuckoo' noises and 'whooping' noises whenever I was around. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was going on at first. And like you Shy_miss_fly, I began to feel paranoid about certain peoples behaviour toward me.
Along with the 'noises' I would hear, people would also punctuate their conversations with phrases relating to mental illness and depression (which tells you a little something about the ignorance and general stupidity of certain individuals).
As time went on, I was (and still am) subject to rumors of homosexuality. This is probably based on my low number of relationships with women since the onset of my SA (no girlfriends, no friends at all in fact). To be the subject of such rumors is absolute hell within the blue-collar environment I work in.
On several occasions I have confronted people about the problems I'm experiencing. I have taken it to management level with absolutely no satisfactory outcome. I think their attitude is more toward the (relatively) smooth running of the factory, rather than sorting out the problems of an individual employee. I have even threatened certain people with violence because I have been driven to breaking point. But where does this get anybody except a spell in prison? How can anyone fight against a tide of prejudice such as this?
The truth is, i don't actually care what these people think about me - I really don't. The thing that hurts me is the fact that none of them have the guts to say these things to my face. it simply boils down to cowardice. They can't even say these things to me whilst they're in a group, let alone individually! I would absolutely love one of them to say something to my face instead of behind my back. because I think the release of tension I'd get from kicking the crap out of them would be enormous! Though I wouldn't recommend violence (usually).
Once again Shy_miss_fly, I can relate to what you're going through at the moment. And I can only hope that these people get what is coming to them tenfold! Hang in there! And this goes for anyone suffering at the hands of bullies. Because bullying doesn't just happen in school.
Regards
Matt
