Paranoia

From TinWiki.org

Paranoia is essentially a state of mind wherein a person believes that harm is going to occur to them, usually through the agency of someone who is persecuting them.

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Pure Paranoia

"Pure Paranoia" was originally described by Emil Kraepelin as condition where a delusion was present, but without any apparent deterioration in intellectual abilities and without any of the other features of what came to be known as schizophrenia. The psychiatric usage of the terms has changed over time. For example, Kraepelin's diagnosis is today superseded by the term "delusional disorder", and usually when people speak of paranoia they intend a belief of mysterious persecution. Paranoid Schizophrenia, also, is a form of schizophrenia where delusions are prominent, not necessarily delusions of persecution.

In the context of conspiracy theory, paranoia is perhaps best summed up by the aphorism, 'its not paranoia if they really are out to get you'.

Allied with this is the idea of the Paranoid Style in political thought. This is defined in extension as

"[a] sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy [... that has] more to do with the way in which ideas are believed than with the truth or falsity of their content[...with] a greater affinity for bad causes than good" <ref> Hofstader, R. 1964. The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Harper’s Magazine. November:77-86.</ref>

The Paranoid Style has since become a staple feature of sociological study, and is a prominent component of academic studies of Conspiracy Theory.

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Stress Induced Paranoia

Some scientists believe paranoia may be a reaction to high levels of life stress. Lending support to this opinion is the evidence that paranoia is more prevalent among immigrants, prisoners of war, and others undergoing severe stress. Sometimes, when placed into a new and highly stressful situation, people suffer an acute form -- called "acute paranoia" -- in which delusions develop over a short period of time and last only a few months.

Some studies indicate that paranoia has become more prevalent in the twentieth century. The connection between stress and paranoia does not, of course, rule out other contributing factors. A genetic defect, a brain abnormality, an information-processing disability -- or all three -- could give a person to paranoia; stress may merely act as a trigger.

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