Paranoia, Good or Bad???

Well, if this question is thaught to be serious - since paranoia is generally reserved for all rare, extreme cases of chronic, fixed, and highly systematized delusions - I doubt that it really has some good sites. (Althought some say, every illness has its good sites.)

Paranoia is actually a variety of schizophrenia. My first wife suffered since her teenage years from that - including three very serious suicide attempts. (During our [relatively] short marriage she stayed longer in hospitals than was at home.)

As I remember, Freud said that if you are worried about a cobra crawling out from under your bed in Vienna, you are paranoid. On the other hand if you worry about a cobra crawling out from under your bed in New Delhi, you are probably prudent.

There is a difference between being aware of possible trouble and being absolutely sure and certain that trouble will be crashing through the door.

Just because your paranoid does not mean the bastards are not out to get you. As Noddy points out, it is contextual.

Why was the cup flying?

Fear is a survival mechanism. It's also is hard on the human mind.

Balance in all things. I'm off to don my tin foil hat....

Hmmmmmm- the evolutionary psychologists DO posit that the anxious, pessimistic proto-human was often the proto-human who lived to reproduce (quicker when there WAS a danger) - but frank paranoia? I doubt it. It is horrible.

I suspect you are not using paranoia in a clinical sense, though?

As for the "goodness" of whatever level of paranoia you DO have - I guess you need to balance up the bad effects it has on your life, vs the odd cup duck! LOL!

As a matter of interest, in a recent study of the judgment of optimistic, versus pessimistic, people - the pessimists made more realistic judgments. The optimists were, of course, happier. So it goes...

Since you are unlikely to change such a basic thing about yourself, I would try to relax and enjoy it - (who on EARTH threw the cup?) - when life gives you tea cups, make tea.....heehee

She didn't say anyone threw the cup, she said it was flying. I thought perhaps it had wings.

A touch of paranoia can be adaptive...........so long as it does not dominate your life.

Hmmmm - now THERE is a thing that did not occur.

Is she, perhaps, training at Hogwarts?

In which case her paranoia is fully understanable

Hmmmmm..........(uttered wisely)

I just remember the flying saucers when I was on alcohol ... and afterwards the hurting flying cups (thrown, without wings) .........

First off Im a he, and the cup was thrown. I have this fear that when I am at a red light, the car next to me has a gun, and they will shoot at me. Therefore I also sneakily look over at the other car and sink down in the drivers seat. I saw them raring back, and I was like "WHAT THE?!?!" and I quickly dodged the cup, and they quickly drove off!

As with most phobias, it depends on the level.

Hmm - so, the paranoia led to the cup!

That does sound like a specific phobia. If you wanna beat it - you need to desensitise. You can do that by not looking at all, cold turkey, and putting up with the anxiety - or gradually increasing the time for which you don't look - while speaking rational thoughts about how unlikely the gun is and such.

You can also desensitise in your imagination - ie imagine the situation, and imagine yourself not looking, while breathing slowly and deeply.

Doesn't sound like too much of a problem, though! Normally. Thing is, if I understand you correctly, the person in the other car was also paranoid and felt their space invaded - and had very little impulse control - both common in anti-social personality disordered people! It can take very little to get such people enraged - my car was attacked recently by a guy who was crossing the road, and looked so wild and unpredictable that I worried he might run in front of me - this meant I kept an indirect eye on him as I drove up, behind my sunglasses, cos I guessed he would be paranoid and hair trigger - but just that was enough to trigger him, and he leapt at the car!!!!!! I managed to miss him - but hey. Still, those types are reasonably rare, and most people glance at people in cars pulled up next to them, with no ill-effect.

Hmm, at least the gun is very unlikely HERE!

CL, your avatar suggested otherwise, sorry.

Depending on where you are in this country (US) that may not be an unreasonably concern, and in the case of the cup, it was in at least partly confirmed. I think dlown as the correct response but people do some strange things while driving. About a month ago in line at a red light, the car in front of me, tired apparently of waiting, intentionally bump the car in front pushing it into traffic and the speed around the car and off into the night. Fortunately a tragedy was averted. Life can be unpredictable.

Met a girl called Lola and I took her back to my place
feelin' guilty, feelin' scared, hidden cameras everywhere
Stop! hold on. stay in control

Girl, I want, you here with me
but i'm really not as cool as i'd like to be
'cause there's a red, under my bed
and there's a little yellow man in my head
and there's a true, blue, inside of me
that keeps stoppin' me, touchin' ya, watchin' ya, lovin' ya

Paranoia, need destroyer. Paranoia, they destroy ya'

Well I fell asleep, then I woke feelin' kinda' queer
Lola looked at me and said ooh you look so weird
she said man, there's really something wrong with you
one day you're gonna' self-destruct
you're up, get down, i'll come work you out
you get a good thing goin' then you blow yourself out

Silly boy ya' self-destroyer. Silly boy ya' self-destroyer

Silly boy you got so much to live for
so much to aim for, so much to try for
you blow it all with, paranoia
you're so insecure you, self-destroyer

(and it goes like this, here it goes) paranoia, they destroy ya
(here it goes again) paranoia, they destroy ya

Dr. Dr. help her please I know you'll understand
there's a time device inside of me i'm a self-destructin' man
there's a red, under my bed
and there's a little green man in my head
and said you're not goin' crazy, you're just a bit sad
'cause there's a man in ya, knawin' ya, tearin' ya, in to to

Silly boy ya' self-destroyer. paranoia, they destroy ya'

Self-destroyer, wreck your health
destroy friends, destroy yourself
the time device of, self-destruction
lies, confusion, start eruption

(yea, it goes like this, here it goes) paranoia, they destroy ya
(here's to paranoia) paranoia, they destroy ya
(hey hey, here it goes) paranoia, they destroy ya
(and it goes like this)

paranoia, they destroy ya (and it goes like this)


Davies

I made that my avatar because she is hot. But all these stories of red light rage is only making me more paranoid!

I'm paranoid that the universe likes to mess with our heads, from time to time, for its own amusement.

Happens to me - it listens to what you want, sometimes gives it to you; sometimes gives you the complete opposite; sometimes gives you something so bizarre as to defy explanation. But rest assured, if you're taking life too seriously, it -the universe- is laughing.

As for fear (and I think paranoia is supposedly 'irrational' fear), I think of it as an alarm clock; it wakes you up to the possibility of danger. Once you have been alerted, fear serves no other 'good' purpose. Unless there is real danger, and fight or flight reactions pump adrenelin around you to help you deal with the situation.

If you were paranoid about the person in the next car having a gun 100 times, and one of those times the person in the next car threw a cup at you, was it worth being paranoid those other 99 times just so that you could avoid being hit by the cup that one time. If the answer is yes, then, for you, paranoia does have a positive side.