We were visiting with some friends over the weekend and someone said that one of the people we had mentioned in the conversation was paranoid. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but later I got to thinking about that word. I guess I’ve heard it at least hundreds of times over the years, but I realize that I seem to be hearing it more lately. And it’s a little disturbing that the term appears in the news — often involving government officials.
If a person is paranoid, they usually have a suspiciousness and general mistrust of others. They are usually hypersensitive, easily insulted — they think they are in danger and look for signs that people are out to get them.
Pronoia is the positive counterpart of paranoia… it is the delusion that others think well of you. Actions and products of one’s efforts are thought to be well received and praised by others, mere acquaintances are thought to be close friends, politeness and the exchange of pleasantries are taken as expressions of deep attachment and the promise of future support.
Now, here’s my question — can a person have both paranoia and pronoia characteristics simultaneously? It appears that they can. Not to pick on the current President again, but he seems to exhibit both traits — very often in the same speech or tweet. Maybe this is a mechanism that someone uses for not living in, or accepting the real world. Or, maybe someone is so self-centered as to believe everything — good or bad — is about them. This is just where my mind wandered off to today….
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