![]() ![]() It is also important to realise that definitions of paranoia vary between different cultures. It is a world away from the kinds of complex webs of extreme paranoid belief structures that can drown out other thinking and cause intense suffering in people with schizophrenia. It is important that we have a clear understanding that such thinking is completely sane and that we do not attempt to pathologise it. For instance, if we are short- changed by a shop assistant we may suspect them of having done it deliberately. In addition it is important to acknowledge that we all, from time to time, become suspicious of people around us. Suspecting that we may have been short changed deliberately by a shop assistant is not evidence of mental ill health, it is a normal reaction. For instance: it may well be that a jealous work colleague is interfering with your post in order to make your life difficult if he is keen on getting your job or that your partner is indeed having an illicit and secretive affair with another. ![]() First of all not all paranoid thinking of this kind is entirely without foundation. When discussing paranoid thinking it is important to make a couple of qualifications. Examples of this kind of paranoid thinking are that neighbours are spying on you or harassing you or that your partner is being unfaithful. In the context of mental illness, these thoughts are often extreme or exaggerated and commonly have no or very little foundation in facts. Paranoia can be thought of as thoughts of something bad happening to you and which are likely to be caused by someone or something. The term paranoia is often used loosely in general conversation and it is important to define it and to look at how our common usage of the term differs so greatly from the sort of paranoia experienced by people with schizophrenia. Recent Developments in the Treatment of Schizophrenia. ![]()
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