Is anyone out there also being subjected to extreme surveillance? Can anyone tell me how to make it stop?

It has been going on for ten years. It may have been precipitated by my being exposed to nerve gas in the lab where I worked. The ventilation in the building was terrible. It was only a small amount. My arms and legs started jerking. I was able to run out, though.

The harassment started soon after that. The lab was in a residential area, so I imagine they were doing something illegal. But the experience was so unexpected and horrifying that my mind blocked it until about a year ago. I couldn't have revealed the truth anyway, but I guess they didn't know that.

They installed surveillance in my apartment. It's attached to my electrical system. I opened a switch box and found an antenna leading away from the switch. I imagine they replaced my switch with a pre-wired one. I could change all my switches and receptacles, but they'd just change them back the next time they entered my apartment when I was out. They're in my apartment at least twice a week, servicing their devices, messing with my computer, and stealing stuff.

I can't describe how terrible it is knowing that they're watching every move I make and listening to everything I say. People who are incarcerated have more privacy.

I used a wireless camera to try to catch them. They jammed it. I used a hard-wired camera, running the wire to a VCR in my friend's apartment, which is above mine. They simply broke in there and turned off the VCR when they wanted to enter my apartment.

The worst is what they did to my laptop. I like to write, and I can't anymore. I Fedex'd the laptop to Hewlett Packard to have the wireless component removed. Someone apparently bribed a Fedex employee, because it never reached Hewlett Packard.

I got it back, supposedly from Fedex. The wireless component that came with it was still in it. But they also hid a miniature wireless transponder somewhere in the body of the computer. I found this out when I removed the wireless component and was still getting hacked.

I just paid $200, which I can ill afford, to have a tech come over. He only partially dismantled the laptop and said he couldn't find anything. I'd asked that he bring along an RF detector or something that could detect infrared light. He didn't. He just reinstalled the operating system.

The hacker is still getting in. His calling card is changing the date of the files to the date of my daughter's birthday. They've threatened my daughter and told me that she was being watched.

I have asked every law enforcement agency and government agency for help. They've been rude and unhelpful. I believe the place with the nerve gas has formed an alliance with the government. They have a huge new lab and are building all over the neighborhood. They've obviously got an enormous infusion of money from someplace.

Has anyone been in this position? If so, how did you deal with it psychologically? I haven't had a moment's peace.

Dear Rat - That is a tough bind and I suggest someone experienced in how the psychology of the mind works. A Doctor, that is psychiatrist, or a licensed psychologist would be the best person to consult about how to deal with this.

Sounds like you are under lots of pressure over this and talking to one of those above is absolutely going to help you out with expert advice and understanding.

I don't know what I would have done without my therapist. I found her about three years into this, and she's been my best friend. She's even offered to talk to the cops, but getting their attention long enough has made this impossible. In fairness to them, they're used to dealing with overt acts of violence. I don't think they even teach PsyOps in the police academy.

There's been blowback for her, though. The guys who are hassling me have also been hassling her, though not to as great an extent.