paranoia

Also known as paranoid

Paranoia, in psychiatry, is the belief that everything is about the person who is experiencing the paranoia. Paranoid thinking concerns how the paranoid person thinks. For example, a paranoid person may believe people are concerned with everything they are doing (for example, "Everyone is watching me", or "Talking about me"). These beliefs can also be persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself (e.g., "Everyone is out to get me"). Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear,

AI overview

Paranoia is a mental health condition where a person becomes convinced that others are focused on them or pose a threat—believing things like "everyone is watching me" or "people are out to get me"—even without evidence to support these fears. It matters because paranoid thinking, which is driven by anxiety and suspicion, can significantly affect how someone interprets their surroundings and interacts with others.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition (new).name: Paranoia
Medical condition (new).synonyms: Paranoid (adjective)
Medical condition (new).field: Psychiatry, clinical psychology
Medical condition (new).symptoms: Distrust, false accusations, anxiety, suspicion

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

10,358 papers

[Paranoia].ReviewUgeskrift for laeger · 2007Birkeland SF
Pseudosocial cognition and paranoia.ReviewTrends in cognitive sciences · 2025Corlett P, Rossi-Goldthorpe R, Suthaharan P et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2025.05.019
A systematic review of self-report measures of paranoia.Psychological assessment · 2019Statham V, Emerson LM, Rowse GDOI: 10.1037/pas0000645
[Alcoholic paranoia].ReviewRyoikibetsu shokogun shirizu · 2003Hiramura H, Shimoji A
[Hypochondrical paranoia].Ugeskrift for laeger · 2018Mariager TP, Hilker R, Rosenberg R
The association between cannabis use and paranoia: Meta-analysis of experimental and observational studies.ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Belvederi Murri M, Catania S, Centra S et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106269
Paranoia and Suicidality: A Cross-Sectional Study in the General Population.Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research · 2022Carrillo de Albornoz CM, Gutiérrez B, Ibanez-Casas I et al.DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2021.1950589
Paranoia and Armageddon.Biological psychiatry · 1986Wortis JDOI: 10.1016/0006-3223(86)90278-7

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Wikidata facts

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Paranoia
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0011999
NCI Thesaurus ID: C94546

Sources (4)

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~20 min read

Article

19 sections

Contents

Signs and symptoms
Causes
Social and environmental
Psychological
Physical
Diagnosis
Treatment
History
Relations to violence
Paranoid social cognition
Situational antecedents
Dysphoric self-consciousness
Hypervigilance and rumination
Judgmental and cognitive biases
See also
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

Making false accusations and carrying a general distrust of other people also frequently accompany paranoia. For example, a paranoid person might believe an incident was intentional when most people would view it as an accident or coincidence. Paranoia is a central symptom of psychosis.