An Examination Of Paranoid Personality Disorder

Phoenix is a 28 year old woman who is currently a full-time student and unemployed. She is in a domestic partnership and she has a son, which is not legally her partner’s. She stays at home most days and waits for her son to come home from school and her partner to come home from her job. Phoenix constantly ponders thoughts of her partner’s fidelity to their partnership.

Valerie believes that the last four years of her marriage are what brought about her development of paranoid schizophrenia. During her last four years of marriage Valerie experienced a great deal of stress and strain to keep her marriage together. Because Valerie did not believe in divorce she turned to her religion and became deeply involved in her church. Her first delusion began during this period when she believed bad people were infiltrating her church and trying to destroy the

Are people who are afflicted with paranoia, aside from lacking trust, any different from normal people? The answer is a resounding “No”. Biologically, their DNA is almost exactly identical to ‘normal’ humans. From solely the physical features, it is impossible to distinguish whether someone suffers from paranoia or not. So why are such people discriminated against and avoided? This discrimination stems from the misconception that the public have about the paranoid disorder that all of them are prone to violence. Unlike common belief, Paranoia occurs in a spectrum, ranging from extreme cases to relatively mild ones. While those with extreme paranoia do tend to act violent and possess a horrid reputation of harming others, those with mild paranoia are not so. In fact, many such cases of mild paranoia remains unnoticed by those around them and many of the most successful people are afflicted with mild paranoia allowing them to be more cautious. Yet, those whose condition is noticed are caught up in the misconception caused by those with extreme paranoia and unjustly discriminated

Personality disorders are included as mental disorders on Axis II of the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association and in the mental and behavioral disorders section of the ICD manual of the World Health Organization Personality disorders are conditions in which an individual differs significantly from an average person, in terms of how they think, perceive, feel or relate to others. Changes in how a person feels and distorted beliefs about other people can lead to odd behavior, which can be distressing and may upset others There are three recognized personality disorder clusters, cluster A odd and eccentric, Paranoid Personality Disorder Schizoid Personality Disorder Schizotypal Personality Disorder dramatic and emotional, Borderline Personality Disorder Histrionic Personality Disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder and anxious and fearful Avoidant Personality Disorder Dependent Personality Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Personality Disorders: Management

Paranoid Personality Disorder is classified by the DSM-IV-TR as a Cluster A personality disorder with onset usually by early adulthood (APA, 2000). The disorder has been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) since its conception in 1952 (Falkum, Pedersen, & Karterud, 2009). PPD is noted by some researchers to be one of the most common, and severe types of personality disorder; consequently, because of the suspicious nature of the individuals presenting with the illness, treatment may be more impervious but of greater concern is the fact that many individuals will go undiagnosed and untreated because of the reluctance to seek treatment at all (Esterberg, Goulding, & Walker, 2010; MacManus & Fahy, 2008).

John steinbeck has done it again. Another great novel for the world to see. Of Mice and Men. This book has many unique characters who all have a different story and something going on but one character in particular named Curley is who we will be talking about. Curley is rude and violent and always assuming someone is with his girl. For these reasons curley has been diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder. “The word personality describes deeply ingrained patterns of behavior and the manner in which individuals perceive, relate to, and think about themselves and their world. Personality disorders are enduring patterns of inner experience and behavior that deviate markedly from the expectations of an individual's culture. They must be rigid, inflexible, and maladaptive and of sufficient severity to cause significant impairment in functioning or internal distress.”

Paranoia is a problem/disorder that affects an estimated 2.5% of people and affects around 10-30% of psychiatric patients. Paranoia causes people to become more violent and cautious of others around them. People who suffer from paranoia believe everyone is out to get them with no evidence to back up their claims. Paranoid individuals are people who tend to lack social cues and are very prone to avoiding social interactions with people they are suspicious of or just in general. Thoughts of paranoia affect everyone but are the most severe in individuals with paranoid personality disorder. While no one is completely sure as to what affects paranoia, it is believed that the biggest contributors are environmental factors. According to John Mirowsky

“Because persons with paranoid personality disorder are hyperalert, they notice any slight and may take offense where none is intended. As a result, they tend to be defensive and antagonistic. When they are at fault, they cannot accept blame, not even mild criticism. Yet they are highly critical of others. Other people may say that these individuals make ‘mountains out of molehills’” (NIMH).

One such disorder is Paranoid Personality disorder (PPD). Treatment, diagnosis, and prognosis can be challenging

A main example of paranoia can be found in Jane Eyre, Mrs. Reed, the spiteful aunt of the protagonist Jane Eyre is hiding a dirty secret. Jane’s uncle, John Eyre, leaves his inheritance to Jane, but the Aunt keeps it from her for two reasons: hatred and revenge. Following paranoia, schizoid personality disorder is seen in the Eliza Reed, the daughter of Ms. Reed. Fueled by jealousy, Eliza gives up on relationships and joins a convent in France because she does not want to be molested by people. Mrs. Reed and her daughter Eliza experience these disorders because of certain situational events, pushing them over the edge.

The mental disorder primarily known for distorting reality is schizophrenia, but there is much more to it. It strongly affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. The several symptoms schizophrenia consists of influences a person's ability to function. In regards to this, the National Institute of Mental Health states the symptoms include delusions, hallucinations or disorganized speech. Some more symptoms that are psychotic behaviors, not generally seen in healthy people are movement disorders and dysfunctional ways of thinking. Additionally, the symptoms associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors include a lack expression of emotions, difficulty performing activities, and reduced speaking. It does not come from just

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history. Typically people diagnosed with schizophrenia have a hard time telling what is real and what is imaginary. Patients who are typically diagnosed with this particular disorder may hear voices that others do not hear. Schizophrenia patients tend to believe people are reading their minds or trying to control their thoughts.

Paranoid personality disorder is defined as a mental health disorder that is characterized by the mistrust and suspicion of others without appropriate justification (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Those with this disorder perceive that others are out to do them harm and feel persecuted. These individuals go through life being alone and extremely isolated, because they do not tend to confide in others or be willing to be open in order to authentically relate to others, in the belief that anything they share may be used against them. Older adults face unique issues that are different than those who are diagnosed with paranoid personality disorders during childhood or young adulthood. Personality disorders represent a critical mental health problem for older adults, and there is a severe need for more research in this area.

Paranoid Schizophrenia is a serious psychotic disorder that impairs a person’s perception of reality, causing the mind to lose contact with the real world. This disorder greatly affects one’s ability to negotiate the activities of everyday life, such as school, work, or social situations. In 1898, Emil Kraepelin was to the first to provide information regarding schizophrenia naming it “dementia praecox”, and defining it as a psychosis with an early onset of intellectual deterioration (Schiffman & Walker, 1998). Ten years later, a Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bluler renamed the disorder using a combination of the Greek words “skhizein” and “phren” meaning split mind (Barlow &

Schizophrenia is a perplexing and incapacitating psychiatric disease with distinctive subtypes. Many professionals have researched the different types of this disease. Each subtype has different similar symptoms. The symptoms are extremely different between the types of schizophrenia. Two of the main subtypes of schizophrenia are non-paranoid and paranoid. The neurological paths in one with paranoid schizophrenia are different than that of a non-paranoid schizophrenia (Citak et al. 2013).