Psychology & Psychiatry

Another byproduct of the pandemic: paranoia

The COVID-19 pandemic increased our feelings of paranoia, particularly in states where wearing masks was mandated, a new Yale study has shown. That heightened paranoia was particularly acute in states where adherence to mask ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Posture: how to feel more powerful and confident

Holding wide, expansive postures—known as power poses—were once thought to boost confidence by producing hormonal changes and making us feel psychologically more powerful. Attempts to replicate the hormonal findings have ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Unexpected uncertainty can breed paranoia, researchers find

In times of unexpected uncertainty, such as the sudden appearance of a global pandemic, people may be more prone to paranoia, Yale University researchers suggest in a new study published in the journal eLife.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Research exposes pitfalls of opening up on social media

Opening up about your feelings on social media has an association with lower self-esteem, mood, paranoia and opinions about the self in comparison to others according to a new study.

Health

London cyclists feel paranoid road users are out to get them

A recent study published by researchers from Royal Holloway University of London and King's College London, has found that cyclists in the Capital feel paranoid that other drivers are out to get them when they are on the ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Study finds virtual reality can help treat severe paranoia

Virtual reality can help treat severe paranoia by allowing people to face situations that they fear, an Oxford University study with patients from the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has found. The virtual reality simulations ...

Medications

Aristada approved for schizophrenia

(HealthDay)—Aristada (aripiprazole lauroxil) extended release injection has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the disabling brain disorder schizophrenia, the agency said Tuesday in a news release.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Curtailing worry reduces key schizophrenia symptom

Delusions of persecution in psychiatric patients can be reduced with just six sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a new clinical trial has found. Using CBT in this way could potentially help to prevent mental ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

How cannabis causes paranoia

(Medical Xpress)—The largest study of the effects of the main ingredient of cannabis has shown definitively that it can cause short-term paranoia. The Oxford-led research also, for the first time, identifies psychological ...

page 1 from 2

Paranoia

Paranoia [ˌpar.rəˈnoɪ.ə] (adjective: paranoid [ˈpar.rə.noɪd]) is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. False accusations and the distrust of others also frequently accompany paranoia.

Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state. In modern colloquial use, the term "paranoia" is sometimes misused to describe a phobia. The general lack of blame in phobia disorders sharply differentiates the two. In other words, fearing that something bad or harmful might happen does not in itself imply paranoia. Rather, there is an irrational fear of malice by others (excepting rare cases of schizophrenia).

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA