Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Paranoiiiia D;
Turns out that a lot of people go through paranoia~
Before, paranoia, which was thought to only happen to schizophrenics, is a bit more common than previously thought...
Paranoia can be explained as the exaggerated or unfounded fear that other people are trying to hurt you.
Here are some statistics:
- 1/4 Londoners regularly have paranoid thoughts
- "A British survey of more than 8,500 adults found that 21 percent of people thought there had been times when others were acting against them."
- "Another survey of about 1,000 adults in New York found that nearly 11 percent thought other people were following or spying on them."
- "Dennis Combs, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Tyler, has been studying paranoia for about a decade. When he first started conducting paranoia studies, mostly in college students, he found that about 5 percent of them had paranoid thoughts. In recent years, that has tripled to about 15 percent, he said."
- "In a small experiment in London, Freeman concluded that a quarter of people riding the subway in the capital probably have regular thoughts that qualify as paranoia. In the study, 200 randomly selected people (those with a history of mental problems were excluded) took a virtual reality train ride. They recorded their reactions to computerized passengers programmed to be neutral. More than 40 percent of study participants had at least some paranoid thoughts. Some felt intimidated by the computer passengers, claiming they were aggressive, had made obscene gestures, or tried to start a fight." (Cheng, 2008)
Before, paranoia, which was thought to only happen to schizophrenics, is a bit more common than previously thought...
Paranoia can be explained as the exaggerated or unfounded fear that other people are trying to hurt you.
Here are some statistics:
- 1/4 Londoners regularly have paranoid thoughts
- "A British survey of more than 8,500 adults found that 21 percent of people thought there had been times when others were acting against them."
- "Another survey of about 1,000 adults in New York found that nearly 11 percent thought other people were following or spying on them."
- "Dennis Combs, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Tyler, has been studying paranoia for about a decade. When he first started conducting paranoia studies, mostly in college students, he found that about 5 percent of them had paranoid thoughts. In recent years, that has tripled to about 15 percent, he said."
- "In a small experiment in London, Freeman concluded that a quarter of people riding the subway in the capital probably have regular thoughts that qualify as paranoia. In the study, 200 randomly selected people (those with a history of mental problems were excluded) took a virtual reality train ride. They recorded their reactions to computerized passengers programmed to be neutral. More than 40 percent of study participants had at least some paranoid thoughts. Some felt intimidated by the computer passengers, claiming they were aggressive, had made obscene gestures, or tried to start a fight." (Cheng, 2008)
Paranoia is most common in big cities, where there are many people and ambiguous events that can lead to paranoid thoughts. Also, ever since 9-11, people of the West have been told to be on the look out for anything unusual, which also contributes to the rising levels of paranoia.
While some experts say that a little paranoia can help at times, it can also result in social isolation, hostility, crime, stress, and fear.
Cheng, M (2008, November, 12). Experts: Paranoia may be more common than
thought. Yahoo! News, Retrieved November 13, 2008, from
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081112/ap_on_re_eu/eu_med_paranoia_surge;_ylt=Ai.sZhBuLTdYX3GilHG.9jEazJV4
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