What is Paranoia?

Overhearing silent, unspoken whispers and searching for unwanted followers can lead someone to believe he is paranoid. Dictionary.com defines paranoia as “a disorder; an extreme, irrational distrust of others”. The concept of paranoia was first discussed in France and Germany at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The people looked at it as a disease of the soul. (Origin). Paranoia is more than a disease. It is a strong and contagious presence, but is not fatal unless the victim acts on his severe symptoms.

Paranoia is unseen and virtually weightless. Paranoia is an existence that suffocates anyone’s comfort. The sense of being paranoid is a thick fog that wraps the victim and smothers his surroundings. Pain can be found in paranoia. The letters that spell pain are scrambled in the term, much like the feeling itself. What does this expression do? Paranoia is exactly how it sounds if the reader chooses to ignore the first three letters. The symptoms will annoy ya. It causes a person to feel vulnerable, like he has no control over his thoughts.

Paranoia is similar to fear and its affects. Fear is also unseen, but obvious when someone is experiencing this serious state of mind. Like paranoia, fear spreads through the atmosphere without any trouble. Fear knows its boundaries. There are occasions where paranoia is the more appropriate haze among the crowd. A woman is not frightened when waiting in a checkout line. She may be paranoid by a bagger and his scheming expression upon his face. People learn to face their fears. Paranoia effects the lives of those who have it. It prevents them from living a regular life. Paranoia affects anyone deeply and can roll into any situation. Locking the car and setting its alarm. Glancing back a thousand times to check if it is still there. Disorder or an alert conscience? Does paranoia control you?

Works Cited

Schifferdecker M. Peters, UH. “Origin of Paranoia” NCBI PubMed. June 1995.