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 Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:01 am
Many mental-illnesses and neurological diseases include paranoia as a major and debilitating symptom! But how does one deal with paranoia besides medication? When I looked for the answer to this question a couple years ago, I found nearly no information. There were no suggestions for those who suffer from paranoia in the books that I studied, and the only information on the symptoms and causes of paranoia were for caretakers! So, I put together a list of my own tips! Alex's Paranoia Tips Keep your routine as much as possible. Take note of your favorite "hiding places" for objects (people often forget where they have put things and accuse others of taking them) Avoid lighting that casts shadows. Avoid changing your environment too much. Avoid getting drawn into an argument. Allow yourself independence and control of objects and situations. Keep busy with a distracting activity. If possible, talk with somebody you trust about your paranoid theories or suspicions. Go ahead and use humor as a coping mechanism in this case! Do any of you suffer from paranoia, or know someone that does? Do you have any tips for the paranoid?
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:07 pm
how many levels of paranoia are there?
I think i might be paranoid sometimes, but perhaps im not...
When i'm alone i often think i can be followed, and seldom have any real indication of it.
Sometimes i think somebody will come out of the next door and scare me.
I also believe that the gov't is doing nasty stuff, but i think i know they do... I mean, they would be stupid if they didn't use all their power and stuff... But yeah. redface
Anyway, i just wanted to ask that...
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:12 am
Zadkiel how many levels of paranoia are there? Well, there aren't really "levels," but paranoia by itself can be normal if it doesn't consume your life, and prevent you from regular activities, such as leaving your house! Plenty of perfectly normal people are worried about our government! However, if paranoia is such that delusions are disabling, medications or other coping devices may be necessary!
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:38 am
Smart Alex Zadkiel how many levels of paranoia are there? Well, there aren't really "levels," but paranoia by itself can be normal if it doesn't consume your life, and prevent you from regular activities, such as leaving your house! Plenty of perfectly normal people are worried about our government! However, if paranoia is such that delusions are disabling, medications or other coping devices may be necessary! Indeed. Many people are 'paranoid' but don't have paranoia as an actual condition. I occasionally go into funny little states where I insist someone is watching me/ stalking me for a reason I don't know about. But I don't have paranoia, I just create the less likely conclusions first sometimes.
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 4:33 pm
M is for M+Ms Many people are 'paranoid' but don't have paranoia as an actual condition. I occasionally go into funny little states where I insist someone is watching me/ stalking me for a reason I don't know about. But I don't have paranoia, I just create the less likely conclusions first sometimes. Exactly. Some people watch scary movies to get in a paranoid mood on purpose! It happens to everyone once in a while. It's only a condition if it prevents you from eating and sleeping or even leaving your house. For a while, I was paranoid about poisoned foods, and I wouldn't eat anything yellow in color because I thought it was indicative of a lethal level of copper! (I wouldn't touch pennies either.) I also wouldn't go outside because I was afraid I could make airplanes crash if I did. Once, I freaked out and ran back home because I was afraid that a police officer was stalking me to scramble my brains with his laser speed reader. A lot of the time paranoia will make me leave public places like supermarkets because I'll think that other people are trying to kill me or implant thoughts in my head. At those levels of paranoia, it's a disabling condition and needs treatment, mostly because it's a constant thing and not just something that happens when I'm in a spooky mood.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:21 am
Smart Alex Exactly. Some people watch scary movies to get in a paranoid mood on purpose! It happens to everyone once in a while. It's only a condition if it prevents you from eating and sleeping or even leaving your house. For a while, I was paranoid about poisoned foods, and I wouldn't eat anything yellow in color because I thought it was indicative of a lethal level of copper! (I wouldn't touch pennies either.) I also wouldn't go outside because I was afraid I could make airplanes crash if I did. Once, I freaked out and ran back home because I was afraid that a police officer was stalking me to scramble my brains with his laser speed reader. A lot of the time paranoia will make me leave public places like supermarkets because I'll think that other people are trying to kill me or implant thoughts in my head. At those levels of paranoia, it's a disabling condition and needs treatment, mostly because it's a constant thing and not just something that happens when I'm in a spooky mood. Oooh... I feel smart. I've never understood the watching horror films thing. Why would you want to make yourself scared? :S Each to their own, I suppose. The police scrambling your brains... hmmm... the police are scary, I can see a little logic in getting paranoid on that. xp I once dreamt the police were watching me through cameras hidden in my house because they thought I was using illegal drugs and when I woke up I checked my room for cameras because I got scared it was real. gonk Though this is an odd question, did people notice you avoiding yellow food? What did you say if they did?
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:39 am
M is for M+Ms I've never understood the watching horror films thing. I like watching horror movies, but the don't scare me. They usually make me laugh! The worse the quality of the horror movie, the more I like it! M is for M+Ms Though this is an odd question, did people notice you avoiding yellow food? What did you say if they did? Most people didn't notice, but those who are close to me did, especially my Fiance since he cooks for me. I talked with him about it, and for a while we used food coloring on yellow foods to help me be able to eat them. It doesn't make any sense, but it helped me at the time. I had a lot of green Mac & Cheese for a while! smile People noticed more that I wouldn't touch pennies. I had a special coin-purse that I would hold out for cashiers when I was at the grocery store, but I'd freak out if they tried to put the pennies in my hand instead.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:22 pm
Smart Alex I like watching horror movies, but the don't scare me. They usually make me laugh! The worse the quality of the horror movie, the more I like it! I know a few others like that. lol Quote: Most people didn't notice, but those who are close to me did, especially my Fiance since he cooks for me. I talked with him about it, and for a while we used food coloring on yellow foods to help me be able to eat them. It doesn't make any sense, but it helped me at the time. I had a lot of green Mac & Cheese for a while! smile People noticed more that I wouldn't touch pennies. I had a special coin-purse that I would hold out for cashiers when I was at the grocery store, but I'd freak out if they tried to put the pennies in my hand instead. Green mac & cheese... that sounds oddly fun. xp That reminds me of a book I read where the main character wouldn't eat brown food so he dyed it red. Your fiance is very kind to cook special food for you like that. smile sad Eek! It must have been worth freaking out about touching pennies if you thought they would poison you. I have a thing about people putting coins into my hand if their hand touches mine. I mean, you don't know when these people last washed their hands! gonk
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Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:19 pm
M is for M+Ms It must have been worth freaking out about touching pennies if you thought they would poison you. I have a thing about people putting coins into my hand if their hand touches mine. I mean, you don't know when these people last washed their hands! Good point! But that's probably a paranoia worth having around some people!
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Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 5:23 pm
Quote: For a while, I was paranoid about poisoned foods, and I wouldn't eat anything yellow in color because I thought it was indicative of a lethal level of copper! (I wouldn't touch pennies either.) I also wouldn't go outside because I was afraid I could make airplanes crash if I did. You seem to be aware of the irrationality of these beliefs now, but I am curious, were you aware of your belief's irrationality at the time? Do you still have paranoid beliefs now, even though you are aware of your paranoia? Quote: I have a thing about people putting coins into my hand if their hand touches mine. I mean, you don't know when these people last washed their hands! I'd be more worried about the money itself, if I were you. It is probably some of the dirtiest, most germ-ridden stuff you will come across on a daily basis (excepting possibly a public bathroom).
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:58 pm
Civet Moon You seem to be aware of the irrationality of these beliefs now, but I am curious, were you aware of your belief's irrationality at the time? Not at first. And even after having the beliefs "explained away," it still remains in some form and flares up when I'm under stress. It's hard to explain. Like, if a giant silly cartoon appeared in front of you and started stabbing you with a knife, you would know that isn't possible, but you would still scream and run, I promise you. There's just no arguing with what you see and "know" is real. After all, the logic that tells me pennies won't hurt me is coming from the same brain that tells me they will harm me. There's really no difference between the thoughts, and I'm sure as hell not going to sit and mull it over if I think my life is in danger. Civet Moon Do you still have paranoid beliefs now, even though you are aware of your paranoia? YES. Many. Some of them I am more aware are part of my illness than others, of course. Every day it seems like I find out something I know is wrong.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:51 am
Smart Alex YES. Many. Some of them I am more aware are part of my illness than others, of course. Every day it seems like I find out something I know is wrong. In a strange way, it's good, because you find out. If you didn't frequently find out things you 'knew' were wrong, but still had schizophrenia, your mind would be all clogged up with delusions. Does that make any sense?
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:08 pm
M is for M+Ms Smart Alex Some of them I am more aware are part of my illness than others, of course. Every day it seems like I find out something I know is wrong. In a strange way, it's good, because you find out. If you didn't frequently find out things you 'knew' were wrong, but still had schizophrenia, your mind would be all clogged up with delusions. Does that make any sense? Yeah, that's kinda' true, but the stuff I find out about is only the tip of the iceberg. And even then I usually can't convince myself enough to work around it. I "know" it's wrong but I still act as if its true because I "know" it's true too! Besides which, there's a lot of stuff that I will probably never even suspect is just a delusion. I just hope it doesn't get me in trouble! smile
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:35 pm
Smart Alex M is for M+Ms Smart Alex Some of them I am more aware are part of my illness than others, of course. Every day it seems like I find out something I know is wrong. In a strange way, it's good, because you find out. If you didn't frequently find out things you 'knew' were wrong, but still had schizophrenia, your mind would be all clogged up with delusions. Does that make any sense? Yeah, that's kinda' true, but the stuff I find out about is only the tip of the iceberg. And even then I usually can't convince myself enough to work around it. I "know" it's wrong but I still act as if its true because I "know" it's true too! Besides which, there's a lot of stuff that I will probably never even suspect is just a delusion. I just hope it doesn't get me in trouble! smile So do I! Has it ever got you into trouble before? I sort of know what you mean with the knowing something isn't possible but acting like it is. I once recieved a PM on here titled 'Disorted Noise', after posting truthfully in a thread that distorted noise was very frightening to me. When I saw it, I turned the sound down before clicking on it, even though I knew the person couldn't have put sound in it. sweatdrop
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:47 pm
M is for M+Ms Has it ever got you into trouble before? Yeah, let's just say that I'm getting fired this month from my fourth job this year. razz I don't function too terribly well because of my brain problems. It prevents me from doing a lot of things, and I get in trouble for behaving badly a lot.
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