Paranoia-- a Study

 

 

Paranoia

Paranoid is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or

fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes

persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.

(e.g. “Everyone is out to get me.”) Making false accusations and the general distrust of

others also frequently accompany paranoia. For example, an incident most people would view

as an accident or coincidence, a paranoid person might believe was intentional. However,

just because an individual is paranoid does not necessarily mean his or her suspicions are

false, as noted in Catch-22: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after

you.”

Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state. In modern

use, the term “paranoia” is sometimes misused to describe a phobia. The general

lack of blame in phobia disorders sharply differentiates the two. In other words, fearing

that something bad or harmful might happen does not in itself imply paranoia. Rather,

with paranoia there is an irrational fear of malice by others (excepting rare cases of

schizophrenia)

From the Greek, The term was used to describe a mental illness in which a delusional belief

is the sole or most prominent feature. In an original attempt at classifying different forms

of mental illness, the term pure paranoia was used to describe a condition where a

delusion was present, but without any apparent deterioration in intellectual abilities and

without any of the other features of dementia praecox, the condition later renamed

“schizophrenia”.

 

 

Symptoms of Paranoia

 

Symptoms of paranoia and paranoid disorders include intense and irrational mistrust or

suspicion, which can bring on sense of rage, hatred, and betrayal. Some people suffering

from paranoid personality may have a high-capacity to annoy or enrage others because of

rigid and maladaptive behavior. Some identifiable beliefs and actions of paranoid-related

disorders include mistrust, taking offense easily, difficulty with forgiveness, defensive

attitude in response to imagined criticism, preoccupation with hidden motives, fear of

being deceived or taken advantage of, inability to relax, argumentative, abrupt, stubborn,

self-righteous, and perfectionistic.

 

Causes of Paranoia

The cause of paranoia is a breakdown of various mental and emotional functions involving

reasoning and assigned meanings. The reasons for these breakdowns are varied and uncertain.

Some symptoms of paranoia may arise from repressed, denied or projected feelings. Paranoid

thoughts and feelings can become part of a delusional system through an accident, a

misunderstanding or minor injustice, heightened intimacy, or increased responsibility.

 

Treatment of Paranoia

 

Treatment of paranoia is usually via behavior therapy which is aimed at reducing sensitivity

 to criticism and improving social skills. It can be difficult to treat a person with

paranoia as they may be irritable, emotionally guarded, hostile, and unwilling; therefore,

progress is slow. Therapy attempts to break the cycle of suspicion and isolation by using

relaxation and anxiety management and by aiding the person to change certain behaviors.

 

Paranoia and mental health problems:

 

 

Paranoid schizophrenia

is a particular type of schizophrenia that features

extreme paranoid thoughts. If you experience paranoid schizophrenia, then you may also hear
 
voices, which might confirm your paranoid feelings and cause you further distress by mocking

or threatening you. You might also feel that you are an important or powerful person, such
 
as a religious figure or royalty, which is why you are being persecuted.

Delusional Disorder

If you experience delusional disorder you are likely to develop one particular dominating,

paranoid idea, of great complexity, that puts you in conflict with those around you. You
 
are more likely to contact the police or a lawyer than a psychiatrist for help, as you will
 
feel your persecution is real.

 

Paranoid personality disorder

is another diagnosis which is usually considered if your paranoid feelings have been around

for some time, perhaps since adolescence. If you have received this diagnosis, you are

likely to feel very suspicious and find it difficult to trust other people. You might feel

that people are plotting against you, and will find it difficult to accept that these

feelings might be exaggerated or unfounded.

Other diagnoses that may include paranoid feelings are bipolar disorder,

schizoaffective disorder, severe anxiety or depression, and postnatal psychosis.

 

What causes paranoid thoughts?

Life events
External environment
Anxiety and depression
Poor sleep
The effects of drugs and alcohol
Childhood influences
Physical causes

Go to:
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/paranoia

for more information about causes and treatments for Paranoia.

 

Personally Speaking, I have had a problem with Paranoia all my life to some extent.

As I wrote in my journal “A Journey of a girl of many faces” as a child I feared

That I was a project that all the world knew about. Everyone knew who I was even the

strangers around me as I went out and about. My parents were in on it and were going

to kill me at some point. When I saw The Truman show, I had an anxiety attack in

the theatre. Then I was paranoid about that. Other than that, I have never really

dealt with  finding out why exactly. I know some of it for me has come along with

mistrusting of people in general. Mental illness as surely played a part.

It is getting better. At this point in my life, I don’t go looking for things to

be paranoid about. I just stay away lol. But I am obsessed with fixing everything

and knowing all the answers. I don’t handle not knowing well. The “unavailable”

post is a very good example. It wasn’t fear that caused the paranoia, it was

the not knowing. I had to believe that I knew and that I had the upper hand. I

had this whole game thought up in my head. So that I felt like I had him

figured out. I do not trust anyone except God. In some ways, I don’t even

completely trust my children. I would never tell them that. As different as

my relationship with my mother is now, I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could

throw her. I still feel like something is up somewhere.

So I thought I would look into it and write about it. There was so much

information that my post would have been way longer than this even. But I

learned a lot and I am going to take the time to figure out my paranoia and

what I can do to get better.

 

 sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/paranoia

http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/paranoia

 

 

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