Inconsiderate, intimidating neighbors cause depression and anxiety?

@maryking3977, hi, I just wanted to say that it’s usually quite normal to feel drowsy and uneasy when starting a new medication, they can sometimes cause other symptoms but it usually resolves in a while depending on your body. I’ve used antidepressants many times and I still take them, I often felt dizzy and upset because I felt so different and that can make me feel uncomfortable. I think if you’re really worried then call your doctor and discuss what to do. It can take time to settle in with a new medication but it’s always reassuring to see what the doctor says, good luck with your journey to a better place.

Robert,
That's great! Isn't it nice to be free from fear and worry over something as simple as doing laundry?

I don't blame you for being upset that the manager and maintenance people didn't do more. Possibly they were afraid to do anything. These guys sounded like they were very bad. I wonder why they let them in at all. Regardless, they are gone! God answered our prayers as he always does. We need him more in today's awful world than ever!

Have a good evening!
PML

PML: It feels so good to have clean clothes now!

It appears the men got into the building by deceit and/or having someone they know with acceptable credentials rent the apartment and then the men just moved in. This I believe is a fairly common "trick" in apartments rentals. It can be very difficult for landlords to determine if the people they see around the building are guests or have become tenants. Typically, in the lease or by law, there are a maximum number of days guests can stay, like 7 or 14 days in a row or within a certain period of time. I've seen this at another place I lived at and I have heard of it at other places.

But they are gone now! Thank you so much again for your concern and prayers.

Update: I woke up this morning and thought "You know when someone greets you with the standard greeting "How are you?" Most of the time you answer something like "Good, thank you. Yourself?" Right? Me for the last several months? I went through a living hell!

I know the men are gone for good but I'm still thinking of it. That experience is now part of my life experience and while I recognize some good things that have come from it, like I'm able better handle situations like this, not that I probably ever will again, but I wish I never did in fact have to go through this.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Neighbor problems are endemic everywhere, right? In my case though my peace of mind was completely shattered and I literally felt like my life was in danger every time I went out or came back to the building where I live. Because it was!

If there's one thing I would say to anyone going through something similar, and my heart goes out to you, take action early on! Don't wait. Document and report it anonymously or in complete confidence to the police and owner of the property. These two need to work together. The owner needs police reports to legally remove the problem. The police need the cooperation of the owner. The police can not remove the problem, at least for long. Keep reporting it each and every single time it happens. Do not exaggerate. Tell the facts and how you feel as best you can. This works. Professional landlords and police do not want trouble in their communities and will take appropriate actions to stop it.

I guess this is the "post stress" I'm feeling. I said before in a few weeks I'll be over it. It's almost two weeks now. I think I will give it maybe another two weeks. I'll be fine. The men gone. Thank you for listening again. It really helps to get this out.

Update: I'm still afraid when I get close to coming into the building. I know there gone but it has persisted. I'm looking around and I get anxious. Not to the same degree when they were here but certainly noticeable. I did not expect this. I'm also a bit fearful that they may come back to retaliate, but I think that's a low risk.

I would offer that you research and educate yourself on how trauma affects our brain and nervous system. Perhaps then you can decide about seeking therapy.

@robertwills they must have been paying their rent - and on time - to have been able to stay there thst long. Would the landlord not have known they were not the legal occupants, if their friend had let them in …?

The landlord would not have been able to easily determine if people who were not on the lease where living in the apartment. This is because a tenant can have guests over, every day if they want, and guests can even stay overnight for a period of time, like two weeks, before the guests would have to be put on the lease. So unless the landlord is watching their door 24 hours a day to see exactly who comes in and out and counts the number of days the person(s) have been there it's difficult to know whose actually living there. Some people may move in and never go out, which makes it near impossible to know.

That was not the problem though. It was that there were often several of these people right outside the building entrance constantly smoking marijuana threatening other tenants simply walking by. It also appeared that this was a coordinated drug selling operation with blatant exchanges of money and small packages. This went on for months! And after the landlord and police told them to not do it. Think of the kind of people who would continue to do something like that? As I indicated in previous posts, we looked up one of the men online and what we found was absolutely frightening! It then all made perfect sense that this was happening. Thank goodness it is finally over!

My guess is that someone with acceptable credentials rented the apartment. Then the other unsavory people moved in and they all chipped in to pay the rent.

Yes. If my anxiety does not go back to normal I may have to seek therapy. I believe though the anxiety is the place where I am located. I still expect to see the men here. I actually came back into the building earlier and was looking around with some fear, unfortunately. Any men I see are suspect.

I used to live in a small city by the ocean for many years and literally I don't ever remember any crime whatsoever. None. No threats of any kind from people at all. I used to go out at night to the oceans edge, listening to the waves crashing and look at the stars in the sky. It was wonderful! If I went back there, which I won't because I need to be here, I would not have any anxiety at all.

I understand and resonate with your post. I am struggling with my ptsd due to my husbands beliefs. I understand about feeling that if you return to a former safe place your symptoms would improve.