Do You Have a Paranoid Personality in Your Life? Here Are the Top Tips for Dealing with It

We deal with a variety of personality types every day, and a paranoid personality is one of the most difficult. This character may appear to us in a relationship, friendship, or at work, which makes us confused about how to deal with it. From here, we decided to give you tips on how to deal with this character in the coming lines.

What Is a Paranoid Personality?

The paranoid personality is seen as a personality disorder, in which its owner thinks in an extreme, illogical, paranoid way all the time, questioning the intentions and goals of those around them, and does not think well of them at all. Also, it may reach a dangerous stage of pathological suspicion where a person suspects the closest people to them, and here the suspicion falls as a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

paranoid Personality Traits

There are a set of characteristics and traits that distinguish a person with a paranoid personality from others, and they are:

• Constant suspicion, as it is a condition in which a person with a paranoid personality constantly doubts everyone around them, even though there is no concrete evidence to support this suspicion. This person also believes that everyone is lying to them, exploiting them, or planning to harm them in some way.
• The paranoid person may develop a state of doubt to reach the family and relatives circle, as they question their loyalty and reliability.
• The paranoid person interprets other people's deeds and words by their presumptions and suspicions.
• The paranoid personality exchanges feelings of hatred and resentment for others based on their doubts and negative thoughts toward them.
• A person with a paranoid personality suffers from excessive sensitivity towards any remark or criticism directed at them, even if it is constructive criticism, as they view it as a personal insult.
• One of the characteristics of a person with a paranoid personality is self-love, which may reach the point of narcissism, as they always see themselves as right, and others are wrong.
• They always point out accusations and blame others, which makes paranoid personality face problems and difficulties in their relationships with others because of the psychological pressure it causes them.
• The paranoid personality is characterized by stubbornness and adherence to their viewpoint, as they are not convinced of the other’s viewpoints, question them, and try to find out the reasons behind them.
• People with paranoid personalities constantly fear harm from those around them, so they work to create barriers between themselves and others to prevent them from feeling comfortable with them.
• A paranoid person always feels injustice and the willingness of others to betray them.
• A paranoid person seeks to control, possess, and alienate their loved one from others.
• The person with a paranoid personality assumes the role of the investigator with the others, interrogating and accusing them and expecting them to defend themselves.
• A paranoid personality is characterized by hostility and a constant willingness to attack and create problems out of nothing.
• The person with a paranoid personality does not feel that their behavior is abnormal, as they see their doubts as reasonable and verifiable in reality.
• The paranoid personality hunts down the mistakes of others and exaggerates them, does not transcend them, and always returns to them as evidence of their doubts.
• Due to their mistrust of other people, paranoid personalities are ambiguous and live solitary lives.
• A person with a paranoid personality constantly doubts the loyalty of others to them, so we find them testing and experimenting on these people all the time.

Paranoid Personality Causes

There are a group of reasons suggested by psychologists to form a paranoid personality, including the following:

1. Genetic Factors

Psychologists believe that the medical family history - concerning mental disorders, especially schizophrenia - has a major role in the transmission of genes and the emergence of paranoid personality disorder.

2. Family Environment

The most significant influence on a person's personality comes from their family environment. Being constantly suspicious of others, questioning their motives, and instilling paranoia in a child causes them to develop a subliminally paranoid personality as an adult.

3. Bad Life Experience

A person might have had a bad life experience where they trusted someone and then, overnight, that person gave them a strong slap of betrayal and treachery. This caused them to lose trust in other people and to constantly doubt their motives and sincerity.

4. Lack of Self-Confidence

Lack of self-confidence can result in a paranoid personality because the person does not see themselves as a complete being deserving of love, friendship, and respect. As a result, they are paranoid about everyone they interact with and believe that they are just complimenting them, and they will leave and find someone else.

How Do You Deal with a Paranoid Personality?

Dealing with a paranoid personality is not easy at all, as it requires special treatment and observance of the following rules:

1. Trust Building

The most important step to work on with a paranoid personality is to build trust with them, which means gaining their trust and making them gradually abandon their doubts about you. You can achieve this by doing everything that reassures them and avoiding what raises their doubts and always remember that building trust takes time, so be patient and wise with them.

2. Honesty

Since they experience a crisis of trust in others, honesty is seen as a cure-all for paranoid people. Therefore, if you always tell the truth to them, they will believe you and gradually pull you out of the shadow of doubt.

3. Containment

As we previously stated, the paranoid person cannot control their behavior, so you should be aware of this, try to contain and absorb them, calm them down, and refrain from provoking them.

4. Respect

One of the most crucial guidelines for interacting with paranoid individuals is to respect them and never undervalue them because they are extremely sensitive and do not accept criticism.

5. Avoiding Arguing

Avoiding lengthy debates with the paranoid person is preferable. This is because all of your attempts to defend and justify yourself will fall on deaf ears when they are angry and only listen to their presumptions. Even your defense and argument could be interpreted as evidence of your guilt.

6. Avoiding Lying

Under no circumstances should you lie to someone who has a paranoid personality. Because when they uncover any lie, no matter how simple, then volcanoes of doubt will explode inside him, and he will become more certain that his suspicions are correct.

7. Answering Questions

It is known that the paranoid person deals with the other in the way of the investigator, and does not stop asking questions about everything. Therefore, make sure to reassure them, and banish their doubts by answering their questions with flexibility and openness, without evasion or complacency.

8. Love and Psychological Support

A paranoid person needs to always make them feel loved, safe, and supported, and that you are by their side supporting them. Therefore, always tell them words of love that make them feel how valuable they are to you, that they are your favorite, and you are not ready to lose or let them down.

9. Providing Evidence

Always strive to back up your claims with proof and evidence to remove any doubts or concerns they might have.

10. Listing Details

Try to list details as much as you can with the paranoid person, such as outlining where you went, who you met, and what you did, as this will reassure them and allay their doubts.

11. Praising and Refraining from Criticism

Be sure to praise the paranoid person in front of others, even if they acted in a way that embarrassed you, and avoid confronting or criticizing them in front of anyone, as this makes them angry and offended.

12. Avoiding Over-Apologize

The paranoid personality is provoked by excessive apologies because they interpret them as signs of guilt and a sense of wrongdoing on your part. Therefore, instead of overcompensating when you apologize, just say sorry once in a calm, logical way without begging or groveling.

13. Seeking Psychologist Help

When the state of doubt exceeds the normal limit, and its owner does not show any improvement, it is necessary to seek the help of a psychologist, who diagnoses the condition, treats the causes, and trains the patient on how to get rid of this disorder. Also, they can help the person to rebuild their trust in others, and exclude their wrong thoughts and doubts.

In advanced cases of paranoid personality disorder, the doctor may resort to the use of pharmacological treatment, such as anti-anxiety and antipsychotics.

Paranoid Personality and Love

In love and marital relationships, the paranoid personality's challenges are very apparent. The paranoid partner, whether a woman or a man, drains their partner and puts psychological strains and burdens on them, which may cause them to decide to end the relationship. As a result, their relationship takes on the role of an investigator and an accused, where the second party constantly sees themselves as the target of accusations and betrayal and is required to provide justifications and evidence for their innocence. Moreover, they suffer from suffocating exaggerated jealousy, where the paranoid partner never stops prying into their partner's personal belongings like their phone and clothes, as well as interfering with their relationships with friends and coworkers.

Dealing with a Paranoid Partner

1. Dealing with a paranoid partner necessitates a lot of patience and wisdom to absorb all of their fears and doubts. The most crucial thing you must work on in your relationship with a paranoid partner is trying to make them trust you and exclude you from the state of suspicion and mistrust. Always keep in mind that their behavior is out of their control and that they need your assistance when you are dealing with them. Therefore, make an effort to comprehend them, to accept their inquiries and observations, to reassure them, and to share all of your details with them. Also, tell them everything, even things that might make them angry, and introduce them to all of your friends while also boosting their self-confidence. That's how you earn their trust.
2. In case you notice disturbing behavior in them, such as spying on you or checking your phone, accept it at first until you earn their trust because they will continue to act in this way until you reassure them, at which point they will stop. However, if you refuse to show them your phone, for example, you raise their suspicions that you are trying to hide something from them. As a result, your relationship with them will deteriorate.
3. Try to avoid things that raise their doubts. For example, if they are bothered by a friend's many calls to you, try to reduce it. If going out with friends alone is what bothers them, then address the issue and allay their concerns by including them in these gatherings.
4. Avoid stubbornness and confrontation with the paranoid partner, and respond provocatively with phrases such as: “You have nothing to do with my private affairs”, “You are a paranoid person”, “I am not guilty to justify you”, and other responses that anger the paranoid person and make them lose their temper.

In Conclusion

"If doubt enters the door, happiness escapes from the window," says the proverb. Doubt undermines relationships and causes them to lose their stability, whether they are ones of love, friendship, or the workplace. Our final piece of advice is to support this paranoid personality in your life if you care about them, establish trust and safety with them, be the stronger and more knowledgeable party, take their hand, and don't give up. Instead, try every method and solution that is at your disposal, and the outcome will be a healthy person who has reestablished their faith in others.