Paranoid feelings
Paranoia
Paranoia is not a diagnosed condition on its own but it is probably one of the most widespread kinds of anxiety, and seems to strike particularly strongly for when worrying about the course of politics, the government, and other things to do with events on a large scale. Paranoia can also be quite socially focused towards individuals in daily life, worrying about 'glances' or 'tones of voice' people are using, maybe excessively, or when these aren't real but are just the perception that is overall growing negative or stressed.
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Initial Thoughts/Ideas: Please add your own to comments section below!
Paranoia tends to mean when a person draws from everything they have seen or read or the people they have met some wider sweeping patterns or conclusions which are over-negative. It is a type of wariness
about the world which has origins in our history as life was dangerous, and all the horizons had to be scanned. So the human mind has to imagine
on a wide scale what might happen
and in many ways.
And in social terms too, we learn not everyone
is trustworthy all the time
or says exactly what they mean
and it might be quite complicated to figure out exactly what is real and what is not. If feeling confident on the inside most likely will not take to brooding in this way, but, if something is building or there in the background anyway, or the media you read or the people you meet are tending to be too negative, then, paranoia may grow over time.
In some cases it can become like conspiracy theories. That's how some social media news feeds work. They deliver a constant rolling anxiety feeling
all the time
so every day
it feels like something significant
is going to happen - usually bad. Check the time scales though - they make it feel like things are imminent
or urgent
(or else some kind of catastrophe will happen) - is that actually
true though? If you look into things, there are usually only very slow
processes over years, decades or even longer.
So, whatever you believe, a longer term and slower time scale with more considered feelings and views is the only real way to make use of conclusions. It will never happen if staring at a screen in a state of permenant worrying! There will always be straightforward options available that will amount to more - if patient -such as joining a party
or creating your own blog
or talking to others to swap viewpoints
or writing a story. That is much better than letting some kind of fear
sweep across the imagination.
Paranoia might lead to becoming more socially isolated, which in turn, can cause more paranoia. The answer could be more hobbies and more social to get the perspective that "things aren't really so bad yet".
Other people might see a pattern you have missed
- such as that you are always imagining people are more unfriendly than they really were. It's difficult
to keep perspective while having a mind ranging over all the possible horizons to try to understand things. World stories on a kind of grand scale -like with political or religious beliefs - will probably always increase this feeling of reality becoming more dramatic. But, that can sometimes be the reason for paranoia forming.
Rule of thumb that seems to work; out of all the extremer viewpoints, something close to the middle is likely to be about right.
With paranoia it's really really important to get some trusted people around you
Family
Friends
Support Workers
I wrote more on this condition as that is what i suffered from!
Music style ideas for Paranoia
Use fiction to keep imagination busy
The mind is an imaginative place. And paranoia including conspiracy theories forming means the imagination is very active.
Perhaps what was really needed was just more fictional stories to keep the imagination busy -rather than making the dramatic kinds of feelings be about the real world, it could maybe work to lose yourself in more novels or films.
Slow the mind down
Calm the mind. Consider everything more slowly and get some space and talk to people.