Some mental disorders able to have a significant impact on a person’s life, the choice of activities, as well as determine the level of its involvement in society.
One of these is paranoid personality disorder. What does this concept mean? What characterizes the paranoid state and how can you get rid of paranoid thoughts?
Definition of concepts and characteristics
We will understand the basic terms and concepts.
- Paranoid Disorder - it is a personality disorder that is characterized by distrust of people, suspicion, a sense of danger from others, vindictiveness, and a tendency to treat people's statements as offensive.
- Paranoid syndrome - a complex of symptoms, including delusions, hallucinations and pseudohallucinations, as well as ideas of persecution. The severity of this syndrome characterizes the severity of paranoid personality disorder.
The following types of paranoid syndrome are distinguished:
- affectively paranoid syndrome which is characterized by manic or depressive delusions prevailing over other symptoms;
In manic delirium, megalomania is expressed, and in a depressive form, persecution.
- depressive syndrome. Expressed depressed patient, who is in despair, depressed and often tearful.
Further:
- Paranoid state - chronic delusional disorder lasting more than three months without organic brain pathology. Hallucinations in the paranoid state are absent.
- Paranoid psychopathy is characterized not as paranoid, as such, but as a tendency to overestimate or, on the contrary, underestimate the assessment of one’s own qualities, to exaggerate the significance of the statements of others directed at one’s address.
A paranoid psychopath is egocentric, sensitive to situations that affect his interests, as well as a perverted interpretation of environmental factors, as well as self-righteousness.
- Paranoid delusions - this disorder of thinking, expressed in the person's conviction that others seek to negatively influence him, cause him harm.
- Paranoid ideas - less pronounced than with delusion, the ideas of a person that someone threatens him, pursues or unfairly treats him.
Description of paranoid personality type
For a person of paranoid personality type characterized by the following character traits:
- Unfounded suspicion of people around them of exploitation, harm or deception.
- Distrust of people, due to the possibility of using information for malicious purposes.
- Emphasis on insults, the impossibility of forgiveness of offenses and their conscious memorization.
- Extremely painful perception of criticism, even if it was justified.
- Doubts about the reliability of friends and loyalty to a loved one.
The above qualities lead to such features of human behavior paranoid personality type:
- Avoiding other people with a purpose get away from possible criticism and responsibility for actions.
It is also characteristic of the paranoid personality type to first dissolve the attitude in order to avoid betrayal or to be rejected.
- Focus on charges someone who, in his opinion, is to blame for the situation, and not a rational search for a way out of it.
- Bias in thinking - a preference to focus attention on those features that do not contradict his judgments, while at the same time ignoring facts that do not correspond to his desires, views, aspirations.
- Pessimism, the desire to consider the worst case scenario in the current situation. Most often, someone else is accused of deliberate actions to aggravate the situation in order to harm him.
- Pronounced anger in a situation where it is impossible to solve the problem, avoiding one's own responsibility for the circumstances
- Categorical in statements - the words “never”, “always”, “everything”, “nothing” and so on are often used in speech
- Endless conversations in a circle using pattern phrases and expressions.
- Denial of events, causing strong negative emotions, illusion and belief that they did not occur, dissociation from traumatic circumstances.
- The inclination of an adult to strong emotional addiction from another person.
This also includes the dependence of health, well-being, decision-making from another person.
- Pronounced discomfort in situations in which what happened does not fit into his beliefs.
A person with a paranoid personality type tends to show an increased interest in how people around him assess his behavior.
In case views on elementary questions diverge, he can go into isolation, avoid communicating even with relatives and close people.
It is very hard for a paranoid personality to endure a situation where a person from whom she is emotionally dependent prefers someone else to her.
The reaction to bad events, which causes negative emotions, is very painful, down to hysteria. Also in this case, victimization is possible - positioning yourself as a victim of the actions of another person.
Paranoid people very hot-tempered and touchy. An insignificant event can provoke a strong, inadequate negative reaction to the circumstances.
Also, such people are susceptible to panic attacks, in which symptoms such as chills, tremors, frequent breathing and sweating occur.
Paranoid accentuation: recommendations
When communicating with a person with a paranoid character accentuation, the following recommendations should be followed to help do not provoke manifestation of inherent negative traits of character:
- If possible, avoid situations in which you want to criticize it. If this can not be done, it is better previously mention its competence and past achievements, after which to make comments - so the criticism will not be perceived too painfully.
- To ask such a person to communicate with people who cause him a sharply negative reaction.
- Impose issueswhich are not within the scope of his interests and hobbies, as well as the routine, uninteresting work.
It is rather difficult to establish contact with people of a paranoid character accentuation, in which they will see a person in the interlocutor opinion for which will be significant for themIt is quite difficult to gain their authority.
The main positive feature of personalities with a paranoid accentuation of character is their sense of purpose.
When communicating with them, it is very important to keep this in mind - they favor people who respect and share their interests. If irony is expressed about their activities, this will cause an extremely negative reaction on their part.
How to get rid of paranoid thoughts?
If you find yourself prone to paranoid thoughts, you should follow these guidelines:
- Record those thoughts and ideas.which you consider paranoid, in a diary. From time to time, analyze what was written earlier — this way it is easier to detect a perverse understanding of reality, because hypotheses and reflections will pass the test of time, and most likely, most of these assumptions and fears will not be confirmed. You can also find out exactly what events led to the development of paranoid thoughts and ideas.
- Following the analysis of situations leading to the emergence of paranoid thoughts, step will be avoiding situations that can trigger such thinking processes. If this proves impossible, it is worth questioning the rationality of such ideas.
For this, for example, you can choose the tactic of checking time - not to make a decision based on impulsive, emotional impulses and prejudices, but to postpone the final decision or action for some time, so that you can check certain assumptions.
Also during the rise of paranoid ideas worth trying distract from them to avoid looping - one of the paranoid character traits, in which the same conclusions and reflections are produced in a circle.
At the same time, it may seem to you that the problem was given enough time, but in fact you were not able to budge. Change your occupation with obsessive thoughts and suspicions, and only then take a fresh look at the basic data of the situation.
- Do not judge yourself for the appearance of paranoid thoughts and ideas, do not engage in self-blame - because in this way you also focus on the same thing. It is better to listen to the advice of others about a particular situation.
- If you have a tendency to represent the worst case scenario, give yourself free rein in this do not limit yourself. However, at the same time, do not ignore the best outcome of the situation - because it is as real as the pessimistic forecast. The meaning of this attitude is not to be predisposed only to the negative scenario.
- Ask a loved one you trust help to understand this or that situationwhich provokes the development of paranoid ideas. Listen to his advice and the logic of thinking at the same time.
The main method to eliminate paranoid thoughts is to analyze and avoid the causes that cause them, as well as trying to ignore such manifestations.
Psychosis: Symptoms and Treatment
A paranoid farm can be caused by various causes and occurrences - therefore, it can be divided into the following types of paranoid:
- Reactive Paranoid. This disorder occurs against the background of prolonged communication with persons prone to paranoid thoughts. Such an effect is significantly increased if such a person has considerable authority in the eyes of the person, as well as the increased suggestibility of the latter. Similar manifestations occur with appropriate external factors - for example, as a result of psychologically traumatic experiences in a war, in places of detention. This type is characterized by acute leakage. Manifestations usually disappear when you stop communicating with people, causing such a lifestyle, as well as setting up more favorable circumstances.
- Involutionary paranoid (according to ICD-10 code F22.81) - characterized by the manifestation of symptoms when a person reaches the age of 45-60 years.
At the same time, the patient clearly has paranoid delusions - it may seem to him that his family and friends want to poison him, deliberately destroy his personal belongings and in every way seek to ruin his life.
Also somatic manifestations may accompany this delusion. This disorder is treated with therapy, as well as medications.
- Inflammatory paranoid - for this type is characterized by inconsistency, the presence of two "I" in humans, between which there is a conflict. Different "I" at the same time may manifest in the throwing between those or other assumptions. Such a disorder is also eliminated by a specialist with the help of psychotherapy and prescription of drugs.
Treatment effectiveness paranoid disorders largely depends on the severity of these manifestations. With minor and moderate symptoms, treatment usually ends successfully.
Paranoid personality type:
