The general definition of paranoid is being excessively suspicious or mistrustful. So you can have a moment of paranoia where are you preoccupied with suspicions about someone or something. But the difference here is that your suspicions are isolated to a certain situation and it’s not how you feel about everything.

Paranoid personality is more that being paranoid. It’s defined as a constant distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent. This begins in early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
There’s a pneumonic for this to make it easier to remember. The pneumonic is SUSPECT
S stands for Suspicious of others
U - unforgiving
S - Suspects partner is unfaithful
P - perceives attacks
E - enemy or friend?
C - no Confiding in others
T - Threats always perceived

Under stress people with paranoid personality disorder can have brief psychotic episodes that last minutes to hours. It's like a pop of irrational thinking where their basic mistrust and suspiciousness goes to a different level that’s not realistic. But that level of delusional thinking doesn’t last. It goes away and that’s what distinguishes this from an illness that leads to persistent psychotic symptoms like delusional disorder, schizophrenia or even psychotic depression.

Paranoid personality can come along with other disorders, so it doesn’t have to stand alone. And as with all of the other personality disorders, people can have features of multiple personalities together such that they have a mixed personality disorder.

VIDEO REFERENCED
Understanding Schizoid Personality Disorder    • Understanding Schizoid Personality vs...  


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