Paranoid Personality Disorder Explained
Understanding the Psychological Disorder Known as PPD
Aug 12, 2009
Paranoid Personality Disorder can make living life very difficult. The individual will lead a very distant and suspicious life, limiting their social life to a minimum in some cases.
The PPD sufferer will believe that everybody they contact has hidden intentions against them, usually without motive or reason to justify those suspicions. This suspicion can cause the individual to appear cold and withdrawn.
They will usually avoid getting into any close relationships with any one person in fear of being betrayed or hurt. Trusting anyone will be a huge issue, as they will always be doubting the trust is mutual. Paranoid Personality Disorder sufferers will always believe they are right in every situation and in some cases will carry on believing they are not in the wrong even when they have been proved to be so.
The PPD sufferer will constantly challenge the loyalty of friends and loved ones and may "test" them on a regular basis; this can lead to serious relationship breakdowns. They will rarely be forgiving and the constant suspicions can lead to angry and aggressive outbursts towards those loved ones.
They may appear to be secretive and closed in and will very scarcely seek help when needed in fear of being judged or undermined. To other people they can appear jealous and scheming constantly setting up tests to reassure them that there is no secret intentions of those loved ones trying to bring them down or hurt them.
Sufferers of PPD will be very anxious about going out and mixing with people and may stay at home a lot planning in their head how to react to an attack that they believe someone is plotting against them.
The main symptoms of PPD are...
- Poor sense of humour
- Suspicion
- Belief of hidden motives
- Isolation
- Lack of confidence
- Hostility towards other
- Lack of trust
- Expects to be hurt by others
It is unknown whether there is a direct cause of Paranoid Personality Disorder. However research has shown that it is more common in people with other mental health illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. Research has also shown it to be more common in those who have had a negative childhood, suffered abuse, and lives through a negative atmosphere.
Medication and psychotherapy is the best treatment for this disorder although neither are guaranteed to completely cure the disorder but has proven very effective in helping the sufferer find coping methods and ways of controlling their thinking patterns. Psychotherapy can take a long time to be effective as the sufferer may have extreme conditions of the doctor and refuse to open up. Regular sessions and constant reassurance can help the sufferer feel calm and start to trust the doctor. Sufferers of PPD tend to have deep underlying issues that require attention as left unnoticed it can become chronic.
If you know someone with this disorder and are unsure of how to help them the best thing you can do is make sure you understand the disorder to the full. You need to understand that no matter how hostile or cold the sufferer may be towards you they do not mean to cause you any pain it is more for their own reassurance and they have fixed ideas and thinking patterns that can be extremely difficult for them to control. Sit down and talk to the sufferer and regularly let them know that you understand and are there whenever they need to talk.
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