The world is perceived by the paranoid person as a dangerous place where a "dog-eat-dog" mentality prevails. As such you must be constantly on your guard and hypervigilant lest someone sneak behind your back and stab you there. Even if it is dog-eat-dog out there, for some reason their dogs gets eaten more.引自 Inside The Mind of Paranoia
It is important to note that research has indicated that delusions are not distinctly different from "normal" thought but reflect degrees of abnormal thinking.
Most of us figure out along the way that when our beliefs are contrary to the majority's opinion, we keep it to ourselves. This internal monitoring and sense of restraint in expressing our views is typically lost in most delusional individuals.引自 Kinds of Paranoia
There are two non-exclusionary explanations for paranoia in patients with delirium. The first is that critical brain regions where paranoia is thought to "live" are directly affected by whatever caused the delirium in the first place, turning it on like a light switch. The second is that the paranoia is derivative of the overall mental state. In other words, as the person's ability to reason, perceive, and otherwise make sense of the world diminishes, the brain engages a primitive circuit that essentially decides "If I can't make sense of this situation it is best to be suspicious and not trust anyone, as they might pose a danger." If there was no real danger then no harm has occurred, with the exception of a bruised ego on the part of those accused. If there was a real danger, then the delirious person was in a position to protect himself by not trusting his fate to someone, thereby increasing his chances for survival.引自 Where Else Do We Find Paranoia?
It will be argued here that like many human characteristics, both normal and abnormal, the origins of suspiciousness--paranoia"s sister--are to be found in the distant past of human evolution.
Seems we are the collective descendants of a bunch of cowards!引自 Where Else Do We Find Paranoia?
Given the sheer complexity of the brain, it is a wonder that any of us develop normal brains at all. Throw on top of that the unique nature of our individual experiences--each of which helps shape the brain--the stress of modern life, and it is not much of a stretch to see how abnormalities in normal brain functioning can arise and result in pathological conditions such as paranoia. 引自 The Engine of Paranoia
