Today, I was at the train, and a young woman came in texting and giggling at the phone. “ my boyfriend is cheating on me all the time. “That people keep me around just to use me, hurt me or have other motives.” - Kristie Y. It’s very unfair to her that I think that way when it’s obvious she loves me a lot.” - James T. “I’m also always paranoid that my wife is using me and doesn’t love me. And also that people are always lying to me.” - David M. “That people are always talking about me behind my back, and that they don’t think of me in reality the same as they act toward me, that they are different in person than when not around and I’m only getting a fake view of everyone. I think I overburden them with all of me.” - Falon T. And whenever I seem to let my guard down and believe someone is my friend, the friendship usually ends soon after. And I always think everyone just pretends to like me. “I always think everyone is talking about me. me to a state of panic and I had to leave midway through class.” - James T. I had to leave class because I kept ‘hearing’ my classmates talking about me but when I’d look at them, they weren’t even talking.
“Sometimes my paranoia gets so bad that I can hear people talking about me when they actually aren’t.
I work myself into a state convinced that they aren’t coming because they don’t like me and don’t want to see me.” - Hanna T. Whether that be friends, my girlfriend, family, mental health workers, literally anyone. “Because of my huge fear of abandonment, I am always paranoid that I am going to be ‘stood up’ when meeting somebody. We wanted to know what paranoid thoughts people with BPD frequently experience, so we turned to our Mighty BPD community. If you can relate, this piece is for you. For others, it might manifest in fears of being abandoned or cheated on by a partner.įolks living with BPD tend to experience paranoid thoughts after being triggered by stress or anxiety. Sometimes p aranoia can manifest as being afraid that two strangers on the street talking and laughing are actually talking and laughing about you. Paranoid thoughts for someone with BPD typically are categorized as intense beliefs about the malicious intentions of others. Stress-related paranoid ideation is often listed as part of the diagnostic criteria for diagnosing BPD. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62(1), 129-138.If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you may have experienced paranoid thoughts before. In contrast, someone who is paranoid, would believe that the danger was specific to them.įenigstein, A., & Vanable, P. They may even express their worry for others. They would also be able to acknowledge this exists for others. For example, a client with PTSD who is anxious in crowds might notice the potential dangers of someone attacking them while in a crowd. Someone who is anxious might express more generalised beliefs, the danger to themselves and others. Someone with paranoid ideation will express beliefs that others are taking special notice of them or that another’s behaviour is targeted toward them. Paranoid ideation involves misperception of oneself as the target of another’s thoughts or actions. Identifying the Difference Between Paranoia and Anxiety Often, they express an awareness of this behaviour being compelled by fear or anxiety and they may even describe meta beliefs such as, ‘if I don’t have this fear then something bad will happen to me’. Someone who is paranoid will more than likely present as anxious, however someone who is anxious may not be paranoid.įor anxious or paranoid clients, sometimes behaviour might be consistent with the fears they describe. Within the field of mental health, the term paranoia describes an aspect of psychotic disorders or a personality type, characterised by fear, distrust, and suspicion. Risk is considered differently for paranoia. Treatments, for paranoia and anxiety are different. However, when lay people and professionals use the term paranoia there should be a difference. Some clients describe themselves as paranoid, sometimes this term is also used by their family and friends to describe them. They might repeatedly check for perceived dangers, and engage in behaviours which they believe will mitigate these dangers, such as attempting to control the actions of others. They may be wary of their surroundings, alert to potential dangers from others and be ready to respond at the drop of a hat. Many clients who have experienced trauma describe symptoms of hypervigilance. The challenge for clinicians is to clarify whether beliefs and protective behaviours to keep one safe from potential and unknown threats are different from the beliefs and behaviours that are driven by, and driving paranoia. Knowing the difference between anxiety and paranoia is important for best client care.
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