This is another main reason why I believe paranoia is on the increase. — Paranoia

"There is no sort of them and us, it is not that most people dont have paranoid thoughts and a few people have many, it seems that they are evenly distributed across the population, or many of us have them, much more than was previously thought. And actually there is also evidence that societies that are perhaps more unequal, have less social cohesion, are all societies where there is a bit more suspicion in the general population. So paranoia certainly can be a problem for the individual, and I work in hospitals and see people who have severe experiences, but also its perhaps the mark of the health of a society, the levels of mistrust within it."

"Paranoia is infectious. It’s also an incredibly useful tool. If you can make people afraid enough, uncertain enough, they will simply stop moving."

"In a world full of threat, it may be kind of beneficial for people to be on guard. Its good to be looking around and see whos following you and whats happening. Not everybody is trying to get you, but some people may be."

"Paranoia all too often leads to isolation, unhappiness, and profound distress. But the exceptionally positive immediate results for the patients in this study show a new route forward in treatment. In just a thirty minute session, those who used the right psychological techniques showed major reductions in paranoia."

"I think in the paranoid spectrum its quite clear that youre more likely to have paranoid thoughts if youre younger and if you live in cities or were raised in cities, for example. It also links to taking illicit substances such as cannabis. But as a psychologist what Im particularly interested in is that people who tend to worry more, people who arent sleeping so well, people who feel more miserable about themselves, are also more vulnerable to paranoid thoughts."

"Only the severe end was even considered. There was no sense of spectrum. Paranoia was very much seen as inexplicable, un-understandable, if anything some kind of biological system that had gone wrong. I remember thinking that seemed very reductionalist, that there must be some kind of psychology to it. Once I started looking at it as a spectrum, once you make the connection to things such as depression and anxiety, it really opens it up. People with depression have higher levels of paranoia because of a sense of vulnerability and low self-esteem. Anxiety is linked too. But whereas anxiety may lead to fearing harm from a spider, or of being humiliated in a social situation, it doesnt lead to a belief that the spider or others intend to humiliate or hurt us. Its the attribution of intent that distinguishes paranoia."