paranoia

paranoia

paranoia (prˌənoiˈə), in psychology, a term denoting persistent, unalterable, systematized, logically reasoned delusions, or false beliefs, usually of persecution or grandeur. In the former case the paranoiac creates a complex delusional system that purports to show that people want to hurt him; in the latter, he sees himself as an exalted person with a mission of great importance. Other types of delusions include somatic delusions, as in the case of hypochondria, and jealous delusions. The term paranoia was first used by German psychiatrist Karl L. Kahlbaum in 1863. The condition, often known as delusional disorder, is found among individuals suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder, and any of several paranoid disorders. Minor instances of paranoia are also commonly found among older people. Most individuals who suffer from some form of paranoia tend to be suspicious of the motives of others, leading them to be hypersensitive, tense, and argumentative. Jealousy and vengeful emotions are also common, and can lead to violent confrontation in the most severe cases. In most paranoid delusions, the individual believes that there is a pattern to random events which is somehow connected to him. Individuals with paranoid schizophrenia often suffer from delusions in conjunction with more severe symptoms, such as hallucinations.

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Paranoia

A mode of thought, feeling, and behavior characterized centrally by false persecutory beliefs, more specifically referred to as paranoidness. Commonly associated with these core persecutory beliefs are properties of suspiciousness, fearfulness, hostility, hypersensitivity, rigidity of conviction, and an exaggerated sense of self-reference. These properties are evident with varying degrees of intensity and duration.

The paranoid mode can be triggered at either biological or psychological levels. Common precipitating biological causes are brain trauma or tumor, thyroid disorder, cerebral arteriosclerosis, and intoxication with certain drugs, including alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, other psychostimulants, and hallucinogens such as mescaline or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). They can produce disordered activity of central dopaminergic and noradrenergic pathways. At the psychological level, triggering causes include false arrest, birth of a deformed child, social isolation, deafness, and intensely humiliating experiences. See Noradrenergic system

The paranoid mode is resistant to modification by psychotherapeutic or pharmacological methods. Acute psychotic states of paranoidness accompanied by high levels of anxiety are usually responsive to neuroleptic medication. See Psychopharmacology

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Bioscience. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Paranoia

 

a mental disorder manifested by fixed, systematized delusions without hallucinations—for example, delusions of persecution and grandeur, and also delusional jealousy—that are distinguished by complex content, logical consistency, and outward plausibility. The paranoiac ignores the facts that contradict his delusion and regards anyone who does not share his conviction as an enemy. His affect corresponds to the nature of the delusion, and his struggle for confirmation and realization of the delusion is relentless and aggressive. There are no clear signs of intellectual deterioration, and occupational skills are usually retained for a long time.

The prevalent view in modern psychiatry is that paranoia is a symptom complex that arises in the course of schizophrenia and certain other mental diseases. Paranoia is rarely described as an independent disease. In contrast to paranoia, the paranoid state is accompanied by hallucinations (for example, the sensation of a violent external influence), psychic automatisms, fear, and bewilderment.

B. I. FRANKSHTEIN

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

paranoia

[‚par·ə′nȯi·ə]

(psychology)

A rare form of paranoid psychosis characterized by the slow development of a complex, internally logical system of persecutory or grandiose delusions.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

paranoia

1. a form of schizophrenia characterized by a slowly progressive deterioration of the personality, involving delusions and often hallucinations

2. a mental disorder characterized by any of several types of delusions, in which the personality otherwise remains relatively intact

3. Informal intense fear or suspicion, esp when unfounded

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005