While much has been hypothesized regarding paranoia, it is of the essence to note that it mainly connotes to a condition whereby an individual develops a feeling of suspicion towards others. Precisely, persons suffering from paranoia tend to harbor the thoughts that other people are against them. In fact, paranoid individuals tend to think that other people intend to harm them (Sarkar et al., 2012). As a result, paranoia makes people develop certain behaviors aligned to being highly conscious. A reflection on the lives of every individual depicts the fact that at one time in life, an individual develops paranoia. For this purpose, paranoia is a common human feeling, which is expected to occur. Many at times, paranoia occurs concurrently with various mental disorders. On another note, there are certain physical diseases that provide an ample platform where paranoia can thrive.
Pathophysiology
The pathophysiology of paranoia aligns with the fact that the condition has various three major components including, learned or psychological component, signaling component, and structural component (Sarkar et al., 2012). In most cases, paranoia is triggered by an environmental threat. When an individual experiences an environmental threat emanating from a traumatic event, he or she adopts a maladaptive behavior whereby the individual feels threatened even in cases where there is not an eminent threat. The adoption of such maladaptive behavior results in raised norepinephrine signaling caused by automatic nervous system response. Increased norepinephrine signaling starts a flow of defensive responses within the body and mind (Sarkar et al., 2012). Elevated norepinephrine signaling also causes unusual circuitry within the nervous system, which triggers irrational information processing that renders the paranoia psychotic or delusional. In most cases, individuals with paranoia do not realize that they have the condition. In a nutshell, paranoia causes abnormalities that are evident in the parietal, temporal, and frontal lobes. Paranoia is often indicated by reduced serotonin and monoamine oxidase (MAO).
Manifestation
Paranoia manifests through various symptoms. As previously connoted herein, paranoid individuals have an enduring pattern of persistent suspiciousness and mistrust of others. Many at times, persons suffering from paranoia have an innate belief that other people’s intentions are malevolent and suspect. Because people with paranoia mistrust others, their relationships with other are often filled with an array of problems. This can be accredited to the fact that persons with paranoia are hard to get along with (Sarkar et al., 2012). Another major symptom that manifests amongst persons with paranoia is that they complain a lot and are hostile. However, there is a need to realize that people with paranoia may opt to be quite than complain. Besides, paranoia manifests through the fact that paranoid individuals tend to have a high sense of control over the people they interact with. Similarly, persons with paranoia hold grudges and rarely forgive others. Due to the lack of trust that persons with paranoia have, they are often unwilling to reveal confidential information to others.
Treatment Modalities
There exist two major treatment modalities adopted for patients diagnosed with paranoia. These treatment modalities are cognitive behavioral therapy and medications. Cognitive behavioral therapy treatment mainly entails the building of collaborative and trusting relationships amongst patients. This treatment modality provides a viable platform that reduces the implications of illogical fearful thoughts. In addition, cognitive behavioral therapy enhances the social skills of patients diagnosed with paranoia (Sarkar et al., 2012). The use of cognitive behavioral therapy as a treatment modality for paranoia is clouded by a challenge aligned with the fact that it is difficult to offer therapy for people with paranoia. In most cases, people with paranoia are irritable; hence, initiating behavioral change is relatively difficult.
The second treatment modality for paranoia entails the use of medications that reduce symptoms aligned with the condition. Anti-psychotic medications including haloperidol and thioridazine have been found to be fundamental in managing delusional thoughts often developed by persons with paranoia (Sarkar et al., 2012). In addition, medications that manage anxiety inclusive of diazepam are often used in managing paranoia. While much has been hypothesized regarding the use of medications in managing paranoia, it is of the essence to realize that there are certain medications that are contraindicated for this conditions. For this purpose, the use of medications to manage paranoia should be carried out over a short period.
Etiology
The true cause of paranoia is yet to be established. Nonetheless, various factors have been attributed to the occurrence of the condition. More importantly, genetic and biological factors have been hypothesized as a cause for paranoia. Secondly, social factors such as the manner in which an individual interacts at early developmental stages play a colossal role in determining the occurrence of paranoia. On another note, psychological factors aligned with paranoia include persona and temper that are fashioned by the environment as well as coping strategies adopted to mitigate stress.
Epidemiology
As far as epidemiology goes, paranoia has been established to be within 0.5-2.5% of the general population and has been exhibited by 2-10% of the psychiatric patients. In addition, men, at least 13% have been diagnosed predominantly with this condition. Regardless, 6% of the women have been shown to depict signs of chronic mistrust concerning motivations of others towards them.
Reference
Sarkar, J., Adshead, G., & Royal College of Psychiatrists. (2012). Clinical topics in personality disorder. London: RCPsych Publications.
