How to Identify Paranoia

Paranoia is a type of mental illness that leaves a person feeling that something terrible is going to happen to them and that others are against them. These feelings are not fleeting--they are constant and excessive. There are key symptoms of paranoia that make it easier for mental health professionals to identify.

Instructions

• 1

  Note whether you are continuously suspicious of the motives of people around you and feel that you have to keep your guard up because certain people are "out to get you."

• 2

  Be alert to strange claims, such as: having extraordinary powers; having a famous lover; being on a top-secret mission; believing your mind is being controlled, that you have been poisoned, or that you're being unjustly sought by the police.

• 3

  Beware of the belief that you are constantly being harmed or are going to be harmed.

• 4

  Monitor signs of self-centeredness, emotional distance, delusions of grandeur and being overly defensive.