Do You Know Anyone With Paranoid Personality Disorder?

The main characteristic of paranoid personality disorder is a general suspicion and mistrust of others. Other people’s motives are interpreted as malicious. This pattern is usually identified in adulthood, although there may be signs earlier that can be seen in a variety of contexts. People who suffer from this disorder assume that other people are exploiting, harming or deceiving them, even though there is no solid evidence to support these ideas.

People with paranoid personality disorder suspect, without any evidence, that other people are conspiring against them. They may also be led to believe that other people may attack them suddenly for no reason. So they always show a defensive attitude.

The world is a hostile place and I have to protect myself

People who suffer from this often feel that they have been deeply and irreversibly injured by one or more others, even when there is no evidence that the injury has occurred, or that the injury was done intentionally. They have unjustified doubts about the loyalty of their friends or acquaintances. For them, the world is an insecure and very threatening place to live.

People with paranoid personality disorder carefully examine the actions of the people they love, to try to find hostile intentions in them. Any breach of honesty or loyalty that they perceive only supports their hidden assumptions. We all have a certain affirmative bias when it comes to highlighting some aspects of reality versus others, while having a much clearer bias.

These are surprised when a friend shows loyalty to them, and they can not trust or believe that it is true. If they get into trouble, they expect friends and family to attack or ignore them. If they receive help, they will think that the person offering the help has sinister intentions.

Difficult conditions

People with paranoid personality disorder are reluctant to trust or maintain a close relationship with others because they fear that the information they share will be used against them. They may refuse to answer personal questions and say that no one has anything to do with the information. They see hidden meanings that are derogatory and threatening in innocent comments.

For example, a person with this disorder may misinterpret an innocent mistake made by a store worker, as a deliberate attempt at deception. They may also experience a funny comment from an employee as a directed and deliberate attack. In addition, they often misunderstand praise, and may experience an offer of help as criticism of the way they do things. They may also feel that the other person is helping them because they think they are unable to do so.

You should treat me well, otherwise it will be bad for you

People with paranoid personality disorder are long-suffering and are not willing to forgive the insults or contempt they think they have received. Even small rejections can make them very aggressive. In addition to this, the mind and hostility can last a long time.

Since they are always on the lookout for other people’s bad intentions, they often feel that their personality or reputation is being attacked, or that they have been undermined in some way. They are quick to come up with counter-attacks, and to react with anger to the insults they receive. They may be pathologically jealous, and they often suspect that their partner is not faithful to them, without having any evidence at all.

The 7 most important symptoms of paranoid personality disorder

As you can imagine, people with paranoid personality disorder are usually very difficult to deal with and they often have relationship problems. There are many symptoms and consequences associated with this disorder. Here are some of the most important:

• Suspicion, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting or harming them. They also often feel that people are failing them.
• Unfounded doubt about loyalty or trust from friends or colleagues.
• Little willingness to trust others, due to unfounded fear that the information will be used against them.
• Sees threats or derogatory meanings in innocent comments, which are said completely without evil intentions.
• Carries resentment (they do not forget alleged insults, crimes or rejections).
• Perceives it as others attacking their personality or reputation. They tend to react quickly with anger or counterattack.
• Recurring unfounded suspicion of the spouse’s or partner’s faithfulness.

Suspicion and hostility are their hallmarks

The excessive suspicion and hostility of people with paranoid personality disorder means that they often argue about things out in the open. This can take the form of constant complaints, or a distant and seemingly hostile attitude. Because they are too vigilant for potential threats, they can act in a cautious, secretive or malicious way.

They can often seem cold, lack feelings and are devoid of love. Their aggressive and suspicious nature can provoke a hostile response from others, which in turn will help to confirm their original expectations (a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy).

When it is not enough to control everything

Because people with paranoid personality disorder do not trust others, they have an excessive need to be able to fend for themselves. This gives them a strong sense of autonomy. They also need a high degree of control over their environment. They tend to be rigid, unable to cooperate, and are far too critical of others. Nevertheless, they themselves have great difficulty in accepting criticism from others.

Everyone is to blame, except me

People with paranoid personality disorder usually blame others for their own shortcomings. Because of how quickly they go on the offensive, in response to the perceived threats around them, they can quickly become involved in legal disputes. They blame others by giving them malicious motivations. This attitude is in fact a projection of their own fear.

Fantasies about power

People with paranoid personality disorder often have grandiose, but unrealistic, hidden fantasies. These often have to do with power and rank. They often tend to build up negative stereotypes of others, especially of ethnic groups other than their own.

The simple worldview and overview tend to attract them. This means that they are often very careful with ambiguous situations, and almost never put themselves in danger. We can experience them as fanatics. They tend to attach themselves to cultures, or groups, of other people who share their paranoid belief system.

People with paranoid personality disorder feel great mistrust and intense suspicion of other people. They interpret the motives of others as malicious, and blame them for all their own misdeeds. They are careful and monitor their environment continuously, to detect potential attacks or threats.

Life is difficult for these people and they need all the help they can get. Think about how you yourself would have felt if you had spent your whole life believing that those around you are constantly looking to do something to you.

Source list

Grossman, Seth & Millon, Carrie & Meagher, Sarah & Ramnath, Rowena (2001). Personality disorders in modern life . First edition, second edition 2006. Barcelona: Ed. Masson & Elsevier.

American Psychiatry Association (2014). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) , 5th ed. Madrid: Editorial Medica Panamericana.