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\u2019t think much about it at the time, but later I got to thinking about that word. I guess I\u2019ve heard it at least hundreds of times over the years, but I realize that I seem to be hearing it more lately. And it\u2019s a little disturbing that the term appears\u00a0 in the news \u2014 often involving government officials.<\/p>\n
If a person is paranoid, they usually have a suspiciousness and general mistrust of others. They are usually hypersensitive, easily insulted \u2014 they think they are in danger and look for signs that people are out to get them.<\/p>\n
Pronoia is the positive counterpart of paranoia\u2026 it is the delusion that others think well of you. Actions and products of one\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Now, here\u2019s my question \u2014 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 good or<\/em> bad \u2014 is about them. This is just where my mind wandered off to today\u2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2019t think much about it at the time, but later I got to thinking … Continue reading
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n