Symptoms of Paranoia

Paranoia Agent, Symptom, Cause, Treatment and Medication of Paranoia

Definition of Paranoia

Here the patient becomes a prey to premature delusion. According to Kraeplein, in the disease the cause of delusion is internal, and no hallucination is involved.

Symptoms of Paranoia

The main symptom is permanent delusion. It should be kept in mind that there is delusion in schizophrenia also but in that case it is not permanent or organized. In paranoia the symptoms of delusion appear gradually, and the patient is sentimental, suspicious, irritable, introverted, depressed, obstinate, jealous, selfish, unsocial and bitter. Hence his social and family adjustment is not desirable, and while he has the highest desirable, the effort that he is prepared to expend is correspondingly little. Here the person does not acknowledge his own failures or faults, and by sometimes accepting certain qualities as belonging to himself, even when imaginary, he develops paranoia.

The "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", fourth edition (DSM-IV), the US manual of the mental health professional; lists the following 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

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.

Cause of Paranoia

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 and Cure of Paranoia

A cure of paranoia is very difficult and it is essential that treatment should be started immediately the disease comes to be known. Once it grows on a person there is no curing to it. The chief method of curing it is the following:

• Psychoanalytic method - Compared to other mental diseases, this disease does not respond immediately to psychoanalytic treatment because, being suspicious, the patient does not cooperate with the doctor. Even then, with due precaution, certain results can be achieved by employing this method.
• Injection of Insulin- some patients also responds to this treatment but this cannot be said of all.

Prognosis of Paranoia

Predicting the prognosis of an individual suffering from Paranoia is quite difficult. Paranoia generally becomes a whole life or lifelong condition if there exists any underlying mental disorder, such as schizophrenia or paranoid personality disorder. It certainly and sometimes get better with some treatments or remission or with slight changes in medication. People who have symptoms of paranoia as part of another medical condition may also have a waxing and waning mental course.

Sometimes it is the case that paranoia is caused by the use of a particular drug or medication. In this case, it is possible that discontinuing that substance may completely reverse the symptoms of paranoia.

Paranoia and Schizophrenia

Paranoid Schizophrenia

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I think I have a mild case of paranoia and I am suspicious, but not to all around me. Those I am suspicious of, I do not harm. But I am introverted, to most everyone but children. Any suggestions to help rid myself of these suspicions. - Tom

About three or four years a go i had a traumatizing incident that has left me with a pretty severe case of paranoia. Unfortunately, it gets worse everyday. I tried to go to a counselor but my paranoia came back, and my doctors havent found anything wrong with me. Some days i have paranoia of the people around me and other days it is a night time paranoia that causes me to turn on lights in fear that someone will appear in the dark and try to attack me. Also, i have a hard time trusting family in friends, thinking that they will try to harm or kill me. Although i am getting better with trusting the people around me, my parinoia of death grows worse.-Shauna

I constantly feel like my job is in jeopordy. No matter how much reassurance i get, the next day I find some reason why I might get fired. Also it seems like the other employees are talking bad about me and its almost an obsession with me now. I try not to make it too noticable but sometimes ill just harp on things until I find out what they were talking about. The slightest bit of criticism I receive will make me think about nothing else for days. What can I do to overcome this? Anyone else feel this way at all? - Toby

I had a traumatic experience 4 years ago and it effected me so deeply that I developed extreme paranoia. I sought proffessional help and my doctor diagnosed me as bi-polar. I am currently on medication for paranoia but I the thoughts are not diminishing. I still believe my husband is having an affair along with plans that he will take my children from me due to my illness. I can not have a conversation with him without thinking there a hidden, cryptic meanings in all that he says. I flat out do not trust him and I believe I am justified in my beliefs. Our relationship has deteriorated dramatically. We have not been intimate since this happened 4 years ago and obviously his lack of wanting to be with me fuels my paranoia. I would leave but I fear he will win custody of my children plus I question my ability to live alone. Is there anything I can do to to manage this way of thinking or will this be a lifelong thing. I would appreciate any advice you are willing to offer. - Hilary Terry

i am not sure weather or not if i am but at night i have a fear that when i am sleeping some one will harm me in some way. so i stay awake all night untill i fall asleep from exaustion - dan

i am in a relationship and i think i may be paranoid since im always suspicious about my boyfriend and making up negative thoughts that he did or does behind my back when there is no rational thing about it. i also seem to twist words he says and the meanings of it and i get paranoid. help me! - Hailey

I think i have a mild case of paranoia as well. I always feel like my boyfriend of 2 years has some huge secret hes been keeping from me, and that he has cheated on me and just wont tell me , and when i dont know where he is i feel that he is cheating or doing somthing that he wont tell me about later. I constantly think he is lying even when i have no evidence. And even if i do have some small peice of evidence that a normal person could easily dismiss, i cannot. I feel as if i will never trust him and i will never let my gaurd down for one second. I usualy try to put aside these feelings during the day but i cant always do that and even when i can, they are there at night and i can never sleep. - sara

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