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Paranoia is a mental illness that can become active in middle-aged people. It is an ailment that affects not only the patient, but also his family and immediate surroundings. What is paranoia exactly? What symptoms may suggest this condition? How is paranoia treated?
According to data in Poland, about 10 million people suffer from mental diseases. Among the most frequently diagnosed mental illnesses paranoia is mentioned, which is also called paranoid psychosis. Paranoia can appear at a young age, as there are cases when it is diagnosed in people in their thirties and younger. What is paranoia? These are, in short, personality disorders and inappropriate perception of reality.
Paranoia – types
What is paranoia about? The main symptoms of this disease include fear of the world, of people, paranoid delusions. The sick person is excessively suspicious not only of strangers, but also of his loved ones. A paranoid or paranoid person thinks that everyone is watching them, everyone is talking about them, judging them. A paranoid person is characterized by a very high ego, he is oversensitive to criticism about himself, he accepts compromises with great difficulty.
In many cases, paranoia is combined with depression, in such a situation it is referred to as paranoid-depressive syndrome, and there is also the name paranoid depression. There are several types of paranoia in psychiatry:
- paranoia induced
- alcohol paranoia
- paranoia of jealousy
- persecutory paranoia
- the paranoia of the foamer
- hypochondriac paranoia
Otherwise induced paranoia manifested in the fact that the patient is so convincing in his delusions and theses that he communicates them to his loved ones. Alcoholic paranoia is a disease of alcoholics, and after drinking a lot of alcohol, the sick person becomes delusional, for example, of persecution, of following him. The sick person may be aggressive and suicidal thoughts appear. Paranoia of jealousy is a relationship disease, a sick person may, of course, unjustifiably accuse his partner of cheating. The paranoia of jealousy manifests itself in the constant desire to control, even follow the other person, thus neglecting everyday duties, for example at work.
Persecutory paranoia is a difficult disease because the sick person thinks that someone wants to threaten their safety, therefore very quickly in this case isolation from the outside world occurs. Very often, people with persecutory paranoia stop leaving the house. What is the foamer paranoia? A sick person tries to prove that he or she has been aggrieved in every situation. His attitude is always demanding, in conflict he is unable to communicate in a calm, balanced way. Hypochondriac paranoia is characterized by the patient’s belief that he or she has developed or has already developed a severe, incurable disease. A paranoid with this kind of paranoia does not trust doctors in their diagnosis, he does not even believe the results of the tests.
Paranoia – treatment
It is very important that at the first disturbing symptoms the person goes to a psychiatric consultation. In most cases, paranoia is treated pharmacologically, of course, the patient must be under the constant care and supervision of a psychiatrist. Therapy is difficult because the patient rarely realizes that his behavior is disturbing and abnormal.