Paranoia is a term whose meaning has basically changed over the years. Nowadays, it is used to define problems that may result from delusional disorders, schizophrenia or specific personality disorders. The symptoms of paranoia largely depend on the content of the delusions that arise in the course of the type of paranoia. So what exactly is paranoia and what are the treatments available today?
Paranoiais a mental disorder characterized by the presence of absurd delusions. The term paranoia is derived from the Greek language and it was created by combining two words: para (understood as next to, beyond) and noos (translated as mind). Paranoia is related to anxiety, fear of persecution, or other threats. However, paranoia can only be talked about when a person is afraid of something that … in fact does not necessarily threaten him in any way.
In the past, paranoia was defined as having delusional beliefs about potential persecution, attack by other people, or incorrect beliefs about an entirely different subject (e.g. about illness or partner cheating). Today, the problems mentioned above are rather referred to as delusional disorders. Another entity that has also been called paranoia is paranoid schizophrenia. In addition, people who struggled with paranoid personality disorders were sometimes referred to as paranoid.
Paranoia: reasons
As with many other mental disorders, it is difficult to say exactly what the causes of paranoia are. It is believed that the problem may be related to both genetic determinants and the use of various psychoactive substances or various environmental factors.
According to some researchers, the symptoms of paranoia - currently classified as psychotic symptoms - may result from abnormal concentrations of various neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (especially dopamine).
Sometimes paranoia occurs with the use of various drugs (e.g. amphetamines and methamphetamines), especially long-term use.
Many scientists, however, point to the influence of psychological factors on the occurrence of paranoid beliefs in people. Somethe authors observed an increased frequency of the problem, incl. in people who are discriminated against, with a lower socioeconomic status, and in those who were brought up by parents who were distrustful and had a very negative attitude towards other people. Some researchers believe that the causes of paranoia are various types of traumatic events, such as sexual abuse, bullying or participation in a communication accident.
Sometimes the cause of paranoia are various organic diseases - the problem may arise, among others, in people with serious diseases of the nervous system, but also diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Paranoia: symptoms
Paranoia is primarily related to the distortion of looking at reality. The patient may believe things that are not real. In the classic form of the problem, the paranoid has the impression that different (or even all) people wish him badly or even want to hurt him. One of the symptoms of paranoia may be perceiving various situations or events in such a way that others really want to hurt the patient in some way.
As an example, you can describe a situation where a paranoid becomes a participant in a car accident. Just as other people may consider it an unfortunate event, a paranoid person may be fully convinced that the damage to their car was planned and that the perpetrator of the accident simply waited for the right car to arrive on the road.
Paranoia is associated not only with delusional beliefs. People with paranoia may be highly anxious and delusional (love is understood as the belief that all people are talking or looking only at the patient).
It is generally not possible to describe the complete picture of paranoia - it can vary depending on what specific unit it is related to in a given patient.
For example, in the case of delusional disorders, the patient may display beliefs that are inconsistent with reality - he may have delusions of jealousy, hypochondriac or persecution.
The course of paranoid schizophrenia is slightly different, in which there may be delusions, but also other psychotic symptoms (hallucinations) and the so-called defect symptoms, such as apathy or flattening of affect (emotional pallor).
Paranoia: recognition
A patient suspected of paranoia should definitely see a psychiatrist. When delusional beliefs occur in a person, it is necessary to recognize their source and implement treatment before any delusional consequences occur in the patient.beliefs.
These can be very different, but it even happens that due to unjustified fears for their own lives, patients quit work and social contacts, stop leaving the house and do not really let anyone in.
When paranoia is suspected, it is first of all necessary to conduct a thorough psychiatric examination - thanks to it, it is usually possible to determine exactly what problem the patient's paranoid beliefs are related to. Sometimes (especially in people who were previously he althy and in whom paranoia appeared suddenly) it is necessary to extend the diagnosis and perform additional tests, such as, for example, head imaging tests.
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Paranoia: treatment
Treating paranoia is usually not easy and there are several problems with it. First of all, it is often difficult to convince the patient to be treated at all. He may consider the persuasions of his relatives as another conspiracy organized against him.
The difficulty here is usually that patients have little insight into their symptoms, so they are not really aware that how they think and why they fear other people is simply due to the disease.
The type of paranoid treatment depends primarily on the problem with which his paranoid beliefs are related. Psychotherapy (usually long-term) is the primary treatment option when a patient is struggling with a paranoid personality disorder.
The situation is different in the case of paranoid schizophrenia and delusional disorders, where the main therapeutic method is pharmacotherapy with the use of antipsychotic drugs (neuroleptics).
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