Going Deeper...PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER
PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER
After his wife died, Seymour moved to a retirement community in Florida.
Healthy and attractive, he immediately joined a folk dancing group, a current
events discussion group, and a ceramics class. Within six weeks, however, he had
dropped out of all the programs, complaining to his children that other residents
were talking about him behind his back, that he was unable to find a dancing
partner, ignored in the current events group, and given improper instruction in
ceramics.
Before his retirement, Seymour had been a physicist. He had always been
closed-mouthed about his work. His home study had always been locked. He had
not permitted anyone to clean it, and he had become angry if anyone entered it
without his permission. His son reported that his parents had been extremely
close and affectionate, but that his father had had few other friends. He had been
wary of new faces and concerned about the motives of strangers.
A hard worker throughout his life, he was now gripped by fear. He spent much
of his time overseeing his investments, fearful that his broker would give him poor
advice, or neglect to tell him when to buy and when to sell.
The prominent characteristics of the paranoid personality disorder are a
pervasive and long-standing distrust and suspiciousness of others; hypersensitivity
to slight; and a tendency to scan the environment for, and to perceive
selectively, cues that validate prejudicial ideas and attitudes. Those who suffer
from the paranoid personality disorder are often argumentative, tense,
and humorless. They seem ready to attack. They tend to exaggerate, to
make mountains out of molehills, and to find hidden motives and special
meanings in the innocuous behavior of others. They tend to blame others
for whatever difficulties they experience, and they cannot themselves accept
any blame or responsibility for failure.
Because such people tend to externalize blame and guilt, they are rarely
seen in clinics or psychiatric hospitals. Thus, it is difficult to estimate how
prevalent this problem is. Generally, however, it is felt to be a problem that
tends to afflict men more than women (Kass, Spitzer, and Williams, 1983).
As might be expected from their tendency to externalize, the prognosis for
this disorder is guarded indeed.
After his wife died, Seymour moved to a retirement community in Florida.
Healthy and attractive, he immediately joined a folk dancing group, a current
events discussion group, and a ceramics class. Within six weeks, however, he had
dropped out of all the programs, complaining to his children that other residents
were talking about him behind his back, that he was unable to find a dancing
partner, ignored in the current events group, and given improper instruction in
ceramics.
Before his retirement, Seymour had been a physicist. He had always been
closed-mouthed about his work. His home study had always been locked. He had
not permitted anyone to clean it, and he had become angry if anyone entered it
without his permission. His son reported that his parents had been extremely
close and affectionate, but that his father had had few other friends. He had been
wary of new faces and concerned about the motives of strangers.
A hard worker throughout his life, he was now gripped by fear. He spent much
of his time overseeing his investments, fearful that his broker would give him poor
advice, or neglect to tell him when to buy and when to sell.
The prominent characteristics of the paranoid personality disorder are a
pervasive and long-standing distrust and suspiciousness of others; hypersensitivity
to slight; and a tendency to scan the environment for, and to perceive
selectively, cues that validate prejudicial ideas and attitudes. Those who suffer
from the paranoid personality disorder are often argumentative, tense,
and humorless. They seem ready to attack. They tend to exaggerate, to
make mountains out of molehills, and to find hidden motives and special
meanings in the innocuous behavior of others. They tend to blame others
for whatever difficulties they experience, and they cannot themselves accept
any blame or responsibility for failure.
Because such people tend to externalize blame and guilt, they are rarely
seen in clinics or psychiatric hospitals. Thus, it is difficult to estimate how
prevalent this problem is. Generally, however, it is felt to be a problem that
tends to afflict men more than women (Kass, Spitzer, and Williams, 1983).
As might be expected from their tendency to externalize, the prognosis for
this disorder is guarded indeed.