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PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER
GENERAL INFORMATION
The main characteristic of this disorder is a pattern of distrust and general suspicion towards others, in such a way that the intentions of others are interpreted as malicious. It usually begins at the beginning of adulthood and in various contexts.
The subjects who suffer from this disorder assume that others are going to take advantage of them, that they will be harmed or deceived by others, even if they do not have any proof to support their expectations. They worry and doubt about the loyalty of their friends, and they scrutinize the acts of others looking for evidence of hostile intentions against them. When a friend is cordial or kind to the person who suffers Paranoid Personality Disorder, the person suffering is so surprised that he or she will not place any trust in that friend. They do not tend to intimate with others, because they fear that information they share may be used against them. In the most innocent of events they tend to "discover" intentions or hidden meanings that are threatening to them.
These people usually tend to hold grudges. When they think they have been offended, they counterattack with anger at who or what has offended them. People with this disorder are also pathologically jealous, suspecting their partner, even without having just cause; for that reason, they try to maintain a total control over the people with whom they have an intimate relationship to avoid being betrayed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When do the first symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder begin to appear?
This disorder can manifest itself for the first time in childhood and adolescence through solitary attitudes, social anxiety, hypersensitivity, low school performance, peculiar thought and language as well as idiosyncratic fantasies.
In which populations does Paranoid Personality Disorder most often occur?
This disorder is usually more diagnosed in men. It is noted that the prevalence of paranoid personality disorder is 10-30% in psychiatric hospitals; 2-10% in outpatient psychiatric patients and 0.5-2.5% in the general population.
With what disorders can Paranoid Personality Disorder be confused?
Due to the characteristics of the disorder, the Delusional Disorder and the Paranoid Schizophrenic Disorder are commonly confused with the Paranoid Personality Disorder, however, these first two disorders have as main characteristic the presence of hallucinations (auditory, visual, olfactory and sensory) and delirium.
What things might I observe to suspect that a person has a Paranoid Personality Disorder?
People with Paranoid Personality Disorder usually present behaviors such as those described below:
- Unjustified feelings
- Lack of confidence in other people
- Hypersensitivity (e.g. cannot take a joke)
- Expectation, without sufficient justification, that they will be exploited and damaged by others
- Tendency to find hidden or degrading meanings in behaviors and actions of others
- Perceive threat or ill will in seemingly harmless acts or comments (e.g. suspect that a neighbor takes out the trash early to bother them)
- Difficulty having close relationships with other people because they constantly expect to be betrayed
What characteristics do people with Paranoid Personality Disorder have?
People with this personality disorder are usually people with whom it is difficult to get along or have a good personal relationship due to the hostility they often show. The suspicious nature of the subject can provoke a hostile response in others, thus confirming the initial expectations of the suffering person. Because individuals with Paranoid Personality Disorder do not trust others, they need to be self-sufficient and autonomous and need to have a high degree of control over those around them. They are also capable of blaming others for their own mistakes; they can often be litigants and involved in numerous legal suits.
OUR TREATMENT MODEL
CADE offers a multidisciplinary treatment according to the characteristics and needs of the patient that is based on the patient´s diagnosis and an individual intervention plan.
A psychological or psychiatric disorder generally has a genetic or biological origin detonated by difficult and early or current traumatic experiences that lead the individual to become ill. Therefore, the clinical intervention in these disorders necessitates the multidisciplinary work of psychiatry, psychology, medicine, nutrition and complementary therapies. The treatment can be outpatient, inpatient or semi-inpatient based.
