Antisocial Personality Disorder	Avoidant Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder	Dependent Personality Disorder
Narcissistic Personality Disorder	Obsessive-Compulsive Personality
Paranoid Personality Disorder	Schizoid Personality Disorder
Schizotypal Personality Disorder	Personality Disorders Home
Histrionic Personality Disorder

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The defining characteristic of paranoid personality disorder is pervasive suspiciousness - the tendency to interpret the behavior of others as deliberately demeaning or threatening. Individuals with this disorder are excessively mistrustful of other people, and experience great difficulty maintaining relationships and employment because of their mistrust. They tend to be overly sensitive to criticism, real or imagined, and generally take offense at the smallest slight. They are easily angered and tend to hold grudges against those whom they believe have mistreated them.

They often have few close friends, and are very unlikely to confide in others as they believe that personal information may be used against them in the future. They doubt the sincerity of friends and loved ones, and are often perceived as cold, aloof, devious, scheming, and without a sense of humor. Those with paranoid personality disorder are hypersensitive and always on guard, and tend to read threatening meaning into benign remarks or even a smile.

Although individuals with this disorder are extremely suspicious and paranoid, there is an absence of outright delusions that characterize the thought patterns of individuals with paranoid schizophrenia. Between 0.5 and 2.5 percent of the general population is believed to suffer from this disorder, and it is diagnosed more commonly in men than in women.

Diagnostic Criteria for Paranoid Personality:

A. A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

(1) suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her

(2) is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates

(3) is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her

(4) reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events

(5) persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights

(6) perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack

(7) has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner

B. Does not occur exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia, a Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features, or another Psychotic Disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.

Note: If criteria are met prior to the onset of Schizophrenia, add "Premorbid," e.g., "Paranoid Personality Disorder (Premorbid)."

Treatment of Paranoid Personality:

Individuals with paranoid personality disorder are unlikely to seek treatment as they see themselves as blameless and believe other people are responsible for their faults and failures. Developing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship can be nearly impossible due to lack of trust and suspiciousness.

Medications, such as antipsychotics, should only be prescribed when the individual is clearly psychotic or is a danger to himself or to others. Hospitalization is sometimes necessary during times of stress or transient psychosis.

Personal Stories of Paranoid Personality:

"Hello Phoenix call me Carrie and my father suffers from PPD and DPD for nearly 20 years now. I discovered your website during a PPD search and I'm glad to see that my family is not the only one. I want to tell my story becuase now we are in dire straits b/c of him (emotionally and financially) and have nowhere to turn. I know now he will never get well or reintergrate into society as he once had.

In 1990 after I turned 10 and my brother 4, my father became injured and lost his job this triggered the first outward stages of his bizarre behavior. When we went on our first family vacation he was constantly looking over his shoulder, making comments that he saw people pusuing him or "making signals to one another". He constantly nitpicked about money (especially in the cab rides to Disneyland), we realize now he was quite miserly with our family's spending habits but for years we convinced ourselves that we were just "frugal". Niether of my parents drive, therefore do not own a car, when my father enrolled in a local driving school after my parents moved into the apartment in my grandmother's house he quit immediately saying that the driving instructor "had it in for him". He picked on the instructor's tardiness and unsavory attitude making out that the person was instructed to act that way. My father is Hispanic and my mother a 1st American generation Italian, we live in an Irish/Italian Brooklyn residence and let me tell you, the KKK would feel right at home here! When the real estate notary refused to put my father's name in his books as a potential home owner and a neighbor of ours who was selling their house at the time slammed the door in his face he saw these actions of as superpowers raging against him, or people at his job lashing out at him rather than plain everyday racism..."

To read the rest of this story, or to read other personal stories of living with this disorder, please visit this page.

If you would like to share your story of living with this disorder, or if you are a loved one of paranoid individual and would like to tell your tale - please email me and I will include it on this page.