How Do You Know If You Are Paranoid?
We have probably all heard of the term ‘paranoia’. It is quite a common word referenced in pop culture- mentioned in some of the trendy songs we sing along to or ignorantly used in everyday conversations to loosely describe an experience or a person. Thoughts of paranoia are common in each of us (mistrust, easily offended, difficulty forgiving) in varying degrees.
Paranoia is the experience of feeling strongly suspicious or mistrustful about people, things, or the world, when others don’t seem to share your level of concern relating to a specific issue. It can involve us holding beliefs that others are trying to harm us in some way, or thinking that people are talking about us, laughing at us, know things about us, or are planning something against us. Paranoid thinking can be very valid to the person experiencing them. Even if we have an awareness that our paranoia might unfounded, the thoughts can be incredibly distressing, and can have a major impact on how we function daily.
One of my intense experiences with paranoia was my inability to trust people and truly let them in. As someone who was incredibly guarded, my walls were always up. As a defense mechanism, I was just waiting for opportunities to either run from relational experiences or sabotage friendships to avoid the potential of being hurt or discarded. Growing up in a broken home made me believe that I was a reject, so I kept people away to protect myself.
In a world where human interaction is imperative for successful living and a healthy mental life, this was obviously not the most viable solution to my mentally fractured psyche, and it wasn’t until recently, that I learnt to appreciate and treasure human interaction without tainting it with the deception of paranoid thoughts.
The impact of paranoia varies from person to person depending on the degrees and severity of traumatic experiences or mental illness. If you suspect that you may have been experiencing episodes of paranoia, attached is a list of symptoms that may be helpful to you in better understanding what you are feeling and how to respond to it
If this is you, you are not alone and your journey to healing is possible, if you are willing to take the necessary steps towards it. You are not crazy, you are just a work in progress, and honestly who isn’t?
