Woman vindicated after she was put on antipsychotics for being ‘paranoid’ about home invader
The cost of not being believed.
Chloe Spooner, a 31-year-old living in Gravesend, Kent, with her two-year-old daughter, has finally been vindicated after her fears of a home invader were dismissed as paranoia, leading to her being prescribed antipsychotic medication. Her worst nightmare became a reality when she actually saw a man in her flat.
According to Dexerto, Spooner had been convinced for some time that someone was sneaking into her apartment. Her suspicions began when she noticed a hatch in her ceiling was open, revealing a spacious loft that ran the entire length of her building. This meant that, hypothetically, anyone from a neighboring top-floor apartment could easily access her home through the loft.
The possibility became terrifyingly real after she felt an unsettling sensation of being watched one evening while she was just trying to relax and watch TV. Later that night, stress keeping her awake, she clearly heard footsteps above her in the ceiling.
Chloe was gaslit, medicated, and dismissed – until the horrifying truth came out
Desperate for someone to believe her, Spooner reached out to her friends, family, and neighbors, but no one validated her concerns. Instead, they chalked it all up to her imagination, which eventually led her to seek help from mental health services.
“No one would believe me,” she explained in a viral TikTok video. “But I don’t blame the people in my life then.” She went on to say that it got to a point where everyone around her thought she was hallucinating or experiencing a psychotic episode. They even sat her down and told her she needed to see a doctor.
Spooner was eventually prescribed quetiapine, an antipsychotic medication typically used to treat conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder. The drug had a profound impact on her, making her increasingly drowsy and almost costing her job.
“It was like I was not a real person,” she recalled. “I didn’t care about anything. I’d sit on my sofa and if my friend rang me I’d just stare at the phone.” She essentially felt completely detached from her own life.
Her gut feelings were proven horrifyingly correct when, some time later, she saw a man unlatching the loft hatch “blatantly” in front of her eyes. Terrified, Chloe immediately ran downstairs and called the police. When officers arrived to investigate, they quickly discovered supplies like backpacks stashed away in the loft, confirming her fears were far from imagined.
It turned out that one of Spooner’s neighbors, who had previously denied any knowledge of a break-in, had actually been harboring a homeless friend in the loft space. “He was talking down to everyone, saying he didn’t hear anything,” she said, referring to the neighbor. “But he knew there was someone there. He was helping him, giving him food and letting him use his bathroom.”
Finally vindicated and with her fears confirmed, Chloe made the decision to leave those flats and has since moved elsewhere with her daughter. A spokesperson for the housing unit released a statement regarding the situation, confirming that they have since secured the loft space.
“Thanks to reports from customers living in the building, we were able to work with the police to investigate the incident, leading to an arrest,” the spokesperson said. “This highlights the importance of staying vigilant, and we encourage customers to report concerns to us immediately, so we can work with the right agencies to address them.”
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