Paranoid personality

This series of articles aims to identify nine psychotypes with the aim of improving communication.

With a paranoid personality, it's best to use humor - as long as it's not hurtful and not directed at the person. Laugh together about something you both find absurd, such as geopolitics or other topics, but avoid criticism. If we were talking about a paranoid disorder, this would be one of the most difficult groups of people to treat because they lack trust in others.

A trained psychologist can use lighthearted language to expose the ridiculousness of the paranoid type's fears, for example: "So, because of your magical powers, millions of other women can't sleep now?" Be careful with this, because a paranoid person may immediately shut down and perceive you as a threat after such a remark.

This psychotype is often characterized by projections and megalomaniacal thoughts (delusions of grandeur or the attribution of special qualities to oneself, such as: "Electricity doesn't work through me, because I possess certain powers"). People with a healthy paranoid psychotype often work in politics. This stems from their desire to oppose forces they consider devilish.

They have difficulty controlling anger, harbor resentments and feelings of revenge, and suffer from an intense fear of evil in others. This type of person can be prone to addictions. Envy, rage, and jealousy hang like dark clouds over their lives. They project these feelings directly onto others: "They're jealous of me, and because they're jealous, they want to do something to me."

Projection and denial dominate the psyche of a paranoid personality. The personality can evolve to borderline, psychotic, or neurotic levels, but this is not the case with most paranoid people.

Freud believed paranoia stemmed from a same-sex desire, but in practice, paranoid people fear any kind of desire.

Childhood trauma of the paranoid type: As a child, they experienced serious insults that undermined their sense of self-efficacy. They felt constantly overpowered and humiliated, which later resulted in resistance to authority. Parents of a paranoid type were very critical, difficult to please, and used erratic punishment. They were suspicious and judgmental, yet the child had to trust them. Paranoia can also arise when a child was the scapegoat in the family, was raised with teasing and sarcasm, or had an anxious mother who was unable to comfort the child.

In the childhood of a paranoid type, shame and fear were programmed because the parents were unable to be understanding. The child was constantly insulted. An explosive and violent father can also be the cause. The program of a paranoid type is: "I'll hit you before you hit me." The lack of people who could help and growing up with a fearful parent(s) can form the basis for paranoia.

Some characteristics resemble those of psychopaths, with the difference that a paranoid type has feelings and is capable of love. A paranoid type can form attachments and is capable of loyalty. This fact makes therapy possible, despite their hyperreactivity, hostility, and terror.

There is a duality in self-image (humiliated, despised, powerless versus omnipotent, justified, triumphant). This polarity is observable in the degree of anxiety in which paranoid types live. They constantly scan their environment for danger. They relate everything that happens to themselves (subjective thinking).

This is visible in psychotic forms of paranoia. For example, a paranoid person might say that they are being targeted by secret services or that a TV commercial is aimed at them.

Megalomania creates a sense of guilt: everything in the world is happening because of me. Paranoid people derive their self-esteem from attacking authority figures. Justice gives them a sense of empowerment.

This stems from the unconscious desire to challenge and defeat the persecuting parent. A paranoid person is observation-oriented and scrutinizes every facial expression of their conversation partner.

I may expand on this article sometime, but this isn't all.