Sound advice, as a rule.
Paranoia, however, is more than a psychiatric term. It is better to call
it an emotionally constrained style of thinking. Many normal, healthy
individuals turn to paranoid thinking at times when dealing with
uncontrollable and inexplicable anxieties. Entire societies adapt by
paranoia -- e.g., those that believe all their illnesses are caused by
neighbors who are witches. Paranoia is frequently a driving force in
politics, spawning parties that believe, e.g., all economic crises and
wars are caused by Jews. That includes neighborhood politics. So it's
not a term that can or should be banned from public discussion.
Actual diagnosis (in clinical situations) is quite different. Paranoia
can be a symptom of many different disorders, and a professional in
particular will not attempt that over the internet on an individual.
It is too useful a concept to avoid, because it has great predictive
power. For instance, a true paranoid never acknowledges an error or
mistake in any claim based on his delusional system, even when he's
boxed in logically. He can never say simply, "Oops! I guess I was wrong
on that point, sorry." What you get instead are either elaborate, hazy
circumlocutions, or a dead-silent, deadpan lack of reaction.
Another safe prediction is paranoids are usually wrong. Even when
they're right, it's usually for the wrong reasons. So it's wise to be
wary of paranoid arguments (although not necessarily their political
goals; in fact, since paranoids are politically diverse as anybody,
we've probably all got some paranoid allies).
For that reason, Liz: if I start claiming our neighborhood is being
menaced by a far-flung, powerful, malevolent, secret conspiracy, who
aren't really Us because they're Them instead; if I build long arguments
out of disconnected snippets of facts, pasted together with passionate
but unsupported conjectures; if I shrug off any alternative explanations
for a fact that contradicts my theory and dismiss all nonsupportive
testimony from first-hand experts on the grounds they are all In On It
... then call me a paranoid. Please. I may need to hear that.
-- Tony West
I think psychiatric analysis is best left to professionals.
Liz
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