Paranoia
DEFINITION
- Paranoia is a response to perceived threats that is heavily influenced by anxiety and fear, existing along a continuum of normal, reality-based experience to delusional beliefs.
- Paranoid symptoms represent a spectrum with a range of severities:[1]
- Subclinical social evaluative concerns (e.g., fear of rejection, anxiety about vulnerabilities)
- Passive ideas of reference (e.g., a person having suspicious beliefs that they are being talked about or watched)
- Persecutory threats toward oneself (e.g., others have malicious intent to actively inflict harm, deceive, exploit, or condemn the person for a specific reason)
- The content of paranoid thoughts varies greatly among individuals.
- These expectations may be supported by loosely related or no objective evidence.
- Individuals may find hidden meanings or associations between things, ideas, or events that support their beliefs.
- Paranoia can negatively impact an individual’s mood and ability to engage in daily life.
- Paranoid individuals may have trouble maintaining social connections due to doubting the loyalty and trustworthiness of others.
- Of all delusion types, persecutory delusions are tied to greatest amount of negative affect; paranoia can produce low or anxious mood and can also be triggered by these moods.[2]
- Paranoia can be a symptom of psychosis.
- In the context of a psychotic episode, delusional paranoid thoughts may be accompanied by related hallucinations.
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Last updated: February 6, 2020
Citation
Richey, Lisa N, and Anne L Walsh. "Paranoia." Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide, 2020. Johns Hopkins Guides, www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787376/all/Paranoia.
Richey LN, Walsh AL. Paranoia. Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. 2020. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787376/all/Paranoia. Accessed November 29, 2023.
Richey, L. N., & Walsh, A. L. (2020). Paranoia. In Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787376/all/Paranoia
Richey LN, Walsh AL. Paranoia [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. ; 2020. [cited 2023 November 29]. Available from: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787376/all/Paranoia.
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