Forensic psychiatrist reveals the various kinds of stalkers

Stalking has been in the spotlight recently thanks to the smash hit success of Netflix drama Baby Reindeer, which was created by and stars comedian and writer Richard Gadd.

Based on a true story, the drama highlights the act of stalking, and how it can affect both the victim and the stalker themselves.

Now an expert forensic psychiatrist has revealed some of the different types of stalkers – as well as explaining why just ignoring them may not necessarily make them stop.

Dr Sohom Das, 44, from London, has a YouTube channel called A Psych for Sore Minds, where he covers a range of mental health and crime-related topics.

He has made a number of short videos on the topic on stalking, including a clip from a recent appearance on This Morning when he spoke about the different drives behind stalking.

According to forensic psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das (pictured) ignoring stalkers does not necessarily mean they will go away

According to Dr Das: ‘There are different categories of stalkers and we can categorise them in terms of their motivation.

‘So you can get your rejected stalker, who is somebody that’s already been in a relationship with the victim and there to reconcile the relationship – they won’t take no for an answer. 

‘Then you have a resentful stalker which is not necessarily about a romantic connection, but it’s somebody who feels aggrieved. They feel like the victim. It could be an argument over property, for example, and they do whatever they can to make the victim’s life health.

‘And then you have an incompetent suitor…so that’s somebody who genuinely thinks that what they’re doing from their perspective is romantic. 

‘[They are a] fantasist and there’s even a subcategory of that called erotomania, which is a mental illness [where people have] delusional ideas, so actually believing that you’re in a relationship.’

Speaking about myths around stalking in another clip, Dr Das pointed out that many people assume only the famous and well-known get stalked, which is not the case.

‘[A myth about stalking is that the victims are] mostly celebrities, and they’re mostly stalked by fans,’ he said in the video.

‘So people assume that having a stalker is almost like a status symbol for fame – like…having a private jet or being invited to the Oscars…but in reality, most stalking victims are regular people .

However, Dr Das (pictured) explained that depending on the type of stalker, ignoring them can work sometimes

‘In fact…about 80 to 90 per cent of the time, the victims know their stalkers, so they could be ex partners….co workers…acquaintances . [Stalkers] can even be family members.’

When talking about how to deal with stalkers, Dr Das made another video, in which he debunked the myth that ignoring them will make them go away. 

In it, he said: ‘[A myth about] stalkers is that the best way to deal with them is to ignore them…[but] ignoring the problem will not make it go away. 

‘Having said that, it kind of depends on the reasons and the motivations of the stalker in the first place.

‘So for example, somebody with a erotomania – that’s a delusional belief that they’re in a relationship – they might have other psychotic symptoms. So ignoring them will make a difference because they might be getting their encouragement or the messages from a delusional source that you can’t control. 

‘And there is the resentful stalker. They’re already aggrieved, they already feel wronged. So if you ignore them, it could actually make them even more angry, so it can continue their behaviour. 

‘But if you have somebody like an intimacy seeker, although they might be transfixed on the original victim for while, they might eventually get the message because they’re basically looking for any kind of relationship. 

‘So they’ll move on to another target, which is not great for the target, but you know, it solves the problem, so can help sometimes.’

Dr Sohom Das can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as YouTube.