Do you know someone with paranoid personality disorder?

The essential characteristic of paranoid personality disorder is a pattern of generalized suspicion and distrust of others.. Other people’s motives are interpreted as malevolent. This pattern is usually identified in adulthood, although there may be signs earlier, and is present in a variety of contexts. Individuals with this disorder assume that other people exploit, harm, or deceive them, although there is nothing solid to support this hypothesis.

People with paranoid personality disorder suspect, without having evidence in favor of their idea, that other people are conspiring against them. They may also come to think that other people can suddenly attack them, at any time and for no reason, which is why they always show a defensive attitude.

The world is a hostile place and I must protect myself

Often they feel that they have been deeply and irreversibly damaged by another person or people, even when there is no evidence of this damage or that this damage was intentional. They are worried about unjustified doubts about the loyalty or fidelity of their friends or acquaintances. For them the world is an unsafe and very threatening place.

People with paranoid personality disorder closely examine the actions of those close to them to discover hostile intentions. Any perceived violation of honesty or loyalty serves to support their hidden assumptions. If the rest of us have a confirmatory bias when it comes to highlighting some aspects of reality over others, they have this bias much more pronounced.

This people They are surprised when a friend shows loyalty and cannot trust or believe it to be true. If they get into trouble, they expect friends and family to attack them or ignore them. If they perceive help, they will not stop thinking that there is a hidden and selfish interest on the part of the person who gives them that help.

Individuals with paranoid personality disorder are reluctant to trust or maintain close relationships with others because they fear that the information they share will be used against them. They may refuse to answer personal questions, saying the information is no one’s business. They see hidden meanings that are degrading and threatening in non-malicious comments or events.

For example, a person with this disorder may misinterpret a mistake by a store employee as a deliberate attempt at deception. Also They may perceive a casual funny comment from a coworker as a targeted and premeditated attack. Furthermore, praise is often misinterpreted and they may perceive an offer of help as criticism of their way of acting or they may feel that the other person is helping them because they believe they are incapable.

You better treat me well or you will suffer the consequences

People with paranoid personality disorder are burdened with resentment and They are not willing to forgive the insults or contempt they believe they have received. Even small slights arouse great hostility in them. Furthermore, feelings of hostility last a long time.

Because they are always aware of the bad intentions of others, they often feel that their character or reputation is being attacked or that they have been slighted in some way. They are quick to fight back and react angrily to insults they receive.. These people can be pathologically jealous and often suspect that their partner is not faithful without any real indication for this suspicion.

The 7 main symptoms of paranoid personality disorder

As you can imagine, Individuals with paranoid personality disorder are generally difficult to get along with and often have problems in their close relationships.. But this is not all… At this point it is worth asking the following: what are the main symptoms of this disorder? The main symptoms of paranoid personality disorder are the following:

Suspicion, without sufficient basis, that others exploit, cause harm or disappoint the individual. Preoccupation with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trust of friends or colleagues.Unwillingness to trust others due to unjustified fear that information will be used maliciously against themCovert reading of denigrating or threatening meanings in comments or acts without malice.Lingering resentment (that is, he does not forget insults, injuries or slights). Perception of an attack on his character or reputation that is not noticeable to others and willingness to react quickly with anger or to counterattack. Recurrent suspicion, without justification, regarding the fidelity of the spouse or partner.

Suspicion and hostility by flag

The excessive suspicion and hostility of people with paranoid personality disorder may be expressed discussing everything openly, through recurring complaints or with a distant and apparently hostile attitude.

Because they are hypervigilant on the lookout for potential threats, they may act in a cautious, secretive or malicious manner. Thus, it seems that they are cold and lack feelings of tenderness. Their combative and suspicious nature can provoke a hostile response in others, which in turn will serve to confirm their original expectations (self-fulfilling prophecy).

When controlling everything around you is not enough

Because people with paranoid personality disorder lack trust in others, They have an excessive need to be able to cope with everything themselves. This gives them a strong sense of autonomy.

They also have to have a high degree of control over their environment. They tend to be rigid, unable to collaborate, and hypercritical of others.. This is paradoxical, since they themselves have great difficulty accepting criticism.

Everyone is to blame, except me

People with paranoid personality disorder They tend to blame others for their own shortcomings.. Due to their quickness to counterattack by responding to threats they perceive around them, they can become involved in legal disputes.

They seek to confirm that others are to blame by attributing malevolent motivations to them.. This attribution of evil is a projection of his own fears.

Power fantasies

People with paranoid personality disorder often have grandiose and unrealistic hidden fantasies. They are often attuned to aspects of power and rank. They tend to develop negative stereotypes of others, particularly population groups other than their own.

Attracted by the simplistic formulations of the world, They are often very cautious in ambiguous situations and rarely take risks.. They may be perceived as fanatics and may adhere firmly to cults or groups of other people who share their paranoid belief system.

In short, people with paranoid personality disorder feel a great distrust and intense suspicion of others. Their motives are interpreted as malevolent and they are blamed for all their ills. These people exercise their sustained attention a lot because they feel the need to frequently monitor the environment to detect possible attacks or threats.

In this sense, They also have a hard time and need help.but think about how you would feel if you perceived reasons to suspect that the people around you want to harm you.

Bibliography:

Grossman, Seth & Millon, Carrie & Meagher, Sarah & Ramnath, Rowena (2001). Personality disorders in the modern life. First edition, second edition 2006. Barcelona: Ed. Masson & Elsevier.

American Psychiatry Association (2014). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), 5th Ed. Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.

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