Paranoia

Contributed by: Surya (surya661666 @ gmail.com)

Paranoia is a term used by mental health specialists to describe suspiciousness (or mistrust) that is either highly exaggerated or not warranted at all. The word is often used in everyday conversation, often in anger, often incorrectly. Simple suspiciousness is not paranoia--not if it is based on past experience or expectations learned from the experience of others.

Paranoias can be classified into three main categories--paranoid personality disorder, delusional (paranoid) disorder, and paranoid schizophrenia.

Signs

Isolation- people who are paranoid often times do not want to be around other people. It could be they fear someone is out to get them. Suspicion- they believe people are talking about them or plotting against them. Perhaps even trying to kill them. Even a kind act is considered to have a hidden motive. Inability to relax- this can cause aggressive behavior because they don't trust others easily. They might think bad things will always happen to them and they may have a poor self-image. Delusional- a person with paranoia may have feelings of grandeur and believe they have great worth and knowledge. Also, they may believe to be associated with a higher power.

symptoms for paranoid personality disorder:

·         preoccupied with unsupported doubts about friends or associates

·         suspicious; unfounded suspicions; believes others are plotting against him/her

·         perceives attacks on his/her reputation that are not clear to others, and is quick to counterattack

·         maintains unfounded suspicions regarding the fidelity of a spouse or significant other

·         reads negative meanings into innocuous remarks

·         reluctant to confide in others due to a fear that information may be used against him/her

·         suspicious; unfounded suspicions; believes others are plotting against him/her

·         preoccupied with unsupported doubts about friends or associates

·         reluctant to confide in others due to a fear that information may be used against him/her

·         reads negative meanings into innocuous remarks

·         bears grudges

·         perceives attacks on his/her reputation that are not clear to others, and is quick to counterattack

·         maintains unfounded suspicions regarding the fidelity of a spouse or significant other

·         suspicious of others until they have proven themselves trustworthy,

• more doubt than belief,
• preoccuppied with death and suffering,
• fears being harmed or controlled, bitter,
• looks for hidden meaning in things,
• personality is centered around low self esteem issues,
• feels misunderstood,
• thinks people would not like them if they really knew them,
• defensive,
• often experiences disgust,

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• love-hate relationships with most things,
• likes to test people's loyalty,

 

Kinds of paranoia

1. Persecutory paranoia - This is the most prevalent type of paranoia, and in this patient makes himself believe that all those around him are his enemies, bent on harming him or even taking his life. In this delusion people of an aggressive temperament often turns dangerous killers.
2. Delusion of Grandeur - In this patient believes himself to be, a great individual, and according to Bleuler, this delusion of grandeur accompanies a persecutory delusion.
3. Religious paranoia - Here the patients suffer from a permanent delusion of a primarily religious nature. He for example believes, that he is the messenger of God who has been sent to the world to propagate some religion.
4. Reformatory paranoia - In this the patient turns to considering himself a great reformer. He accordingly looks upon all those around him. As suffering from dangerous disease, and believes that he is their reformer and curator.
5. Erotic paranoia - Here the patient often tends to believe that some members of the family of the opposite sex, belonging to an illustrious family, want to marry him. Such people even write love letters and there by, cause much botheration to other people.
6. Litigious paranoia - In this kind the patient takes to feeling meaningless cases against other people and feels that people are linked together to bother him. Sometimes he, even tries to murder.
7. Hypochondrical paranoia - In this kind the patients believes that he is suffering from all kind of ridiculous diseases, and also that some other people are to blame for his suffering.

• thinks life is overrated,
• focuses on suffering,
• feels like an outsider,
• existentially depressed,
• does not trust what people say,
• prone to shame,
• suffers from depression,
• knows the dark side of life very well,
• attracted to things associated with sadness,
• would rather remain alone than risk rejection,
• hard to get to know,
• makes enemies,
• loner

Causes

1) Homosexual fixation: According to Freud, the patient suffering from the disease has repressed his tendency to homosexual love to such an extent that he develops a fixation concerning it. Freud's view has been found correct in many cases, but it does not explain each and every case of the disease.

2) Feelings of inferiority: Here the psychologists have found that the main cause of paranoia is a sense of inferiority that may be caused by a variety of condition such as failure, disgust, sense of guilt.

3) Emotional complex: Certain psychologist points out emotional complexes, and also believe that they are seen to be present in other mental diseases as also in normal individuals.

4) Personality type: Cameron believes a certain type to be more susceptible to this disease, a personality that has sentimentally, jealousy, suspicion, ambition, selfishness and shyness etc. Patients of paranoia do exhibit these peculiarities of personality but on this basis they cannot be said to belong to definite personality.

5) Heredity: In the opinion of Fisher the main responsibility of paranoia lies fairly and squarely upon heredity, although he does not deny the importance of repression and emotional complexes. The causes of paranoia are not physical because no patient exhibits any signs of physical deformity and among the causes there are many important" ones, such as defects of personality, sense of inferiority, repression etc.

Treatment

Paranoid people's mistrustfulness makes treatment of the condition difficult. Rarely will they talk casually in an interview. They are suspicious of the kind of open-ended questions many therapists rely on to learn about the patient's history (for example, "Tell me about your relationships with your co-workers."). They may try to avoid hospitalization and drugs, fearing a loss of control or other real or imagined dangers.

Drug Treatment

Treatment with appropriate antipsychotic drugs may help the paranoid patient overcome some symptoms. Although the patient's functioning may be improved, the paranoid symptoms often remain intact. Some studies indicate that symptoms improve following drug treatment, but the same results sometimes occur among patients who receive a placebo, a "sugar pill" without active ingredients. This finding suggests that in some cases the paranoia diminishes for psychological reasons rather than because of the drug's action. Paranoid patients receiving medication must be closely monitored. Their fearfulness and persecutory delusions often lead them to refuse or sabotage treatment--for example, by holding the drug in their cheek until they are alone and then spitting it out.

Psychotherapy

Reports on individual cases suggest that the regular opportunity to express suspicions and self-doubts afforded by psychotherapy can help the paranoid patient function in the community. Although paranoid ideas do seem to persist, they may be less disruptive. Other types of psychotherapy that have reportedly led to improved social functioning without appreciably diminishing paranoid delusions are art therapy, family therapy, and group therapy.