Distinguishing paranoia from hypervigilance

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I noticed there are more and more books on the autism spectrum out there, and as I was leafing thru one in my local bookstore earlier this year (I can't recall the title but was written by an autistic female), it said the author was criticized by peers for often being "paranoid" in her teens, yet she realized in hindsight that this was not paranoia as she genuinely WAS being beset upon, tormented, undermined etc. by her peers. It was not a hallucination!!

After reading THAT, I felt truly vindicated based on my own experiences!!

When I was 14-15, I was often mocked or criticized for being "paranoid", but I realized years later and thru therapy post-ASD diagnosis (later in my 20s) that this was in fact hyper-vigilance, or C-PTSD, due to a series of unexplained yet traumatic experiences in the public school system (and at home) where I just didn't know what set people off or made them act the way they did towards me. So OF COURSE I was frikkin' gonna be "paranoid"! !

Having read the anecdotal evidence of many other people on the spectrum, it's true that there's a 100% bullying rate among them, so why wouldn't they feel like there's a perennial target on their back , and fall into despair and learned helplessness, thinking that peril lurks around every corner...definitely not a schizophrenic thing.

What was totally absurd was that several of the cretins who called me "paranoid" were the ones who were actually tormenting me, so that would render their criticism null and void on the spot (to any sensible person, at any rate). And for those who weren't actively making me suffer for their enjoyment, like my stepmom who I turned to for advice, they'd gaslight me and say that this fear was in my head, most people are too busy living their lives or whatever... in hindsight I think they were just saying this to avoid the taboo topic of male victimhood or my actual disorder.

Well, it fell very real to me... the threats to my safety from how I was treated at times... I can remember at 15 working at some fast food joint doing cleaning tasks, late at night this group of yahoos in a car from my high school would drive up, throw garbage at me, make insults, etc.... and I remember one time the "leader" revved his wheels and reversed, window rolled down and said "did you just tell me to f*** off?!?!" - which I didn't... he just made it up... sociopath...so I insisted I didn't and got inside, telling the manager who thankfully said if they follow me in he'll call the police. They didn't, but since that night, and on subsequent late shifts, I walked home looking over my shoulder

I'm a very vigilant person. I'm very careful who I trust.

Paranoia affects your internal beliefs.
Hypervigilance affects your external perception.

Both are intrusive, can keep someone wake up at night, and can be very exhausting.


One can be paranoid without hypervigilance; that all of it is in your head and not acting upon it.

Hypervigilance without paranoia is basically just not skipping every detail. But hypervigilance can grow into paranoia when charged more negatively.



Hypervigilance is a bit harder to me due to my working memory and processing space issues.
It can compensate a bit if I'm trying to learn while I'm hypervigilant state.
But at least I never experienced the involuntary states on a daily basis.

Paranoia is easier for me because of my emotional reactivity.



In any other case, I'm prone to overreaction and a very skeptical person.
Everyone can see I'm particularly cynical even when I'm young.

I think the difference is how one expresses the fear.

Instead of relying on communication and outward expressions because I found that to be unreliable.
I rely on discretion and hyperindependence. My lack of faith in anyone is clear.

I grew up with everyone seeing that I'm very distrustful towards everyone and understand enough 'why'.

My social environment isn't all-NTs-are-bullies. And I refuse to feel helpless with or without support, back up or whatever.

I think the only reason why I have enough space and power to fight back is that I don't feel loneliness or too hung up over social needs because I don't exactly have that.

I attained that mentality at 8, outgrew that mentality at teenage years when people finally listened that I want to be left alone.

Distrust can still exists even without the anxiety that came with paranoia or the hypervigilance of the mind.

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can relate to the OP in this thread....? After enough events ....Found it a rule not to share most things with anyone nowadays ...No More complete Trust for "anyone" . As Lao Tsu wrote: Have for your friends , the very best of friends .
Want to see things with my own eyes....first hand ,, no heresay. Safe then Sorry , phrase did come out of Nowhere.
I very rarely even share my happiness with anyone .. Made it a point to be my own best friend.
My life would have turned out much much worse if I had not developed hypervigilance long ago ..But just everyso often
Have found in my own time , to be able to let my guard down... It is a very different time ,we live in then 20 yrs ago or more or less...

Seems the word paranoid is primarily usedin GasLighting schemes

I have found paranoia to often have a focus on exaggerated oppressors such as FBI, Nazis, KKK, etc. This tends to elevate the struggle and importance to the person. Hyper-vigilance might better been seen as fear based. This can be useful when there are probabilistic reasons for apprehension. However, it can also result in unnecessary isolation if not reasonable.

I relate to having been bullied.

It cost me at least one potential friendship once.

A guy who went to the same Jr. High school school bus stop i went to ... wanted to say something to me one time. Called my name. But I was so convinced that he was like everyone else in Jr. High...out to publicly humiliate in some way...that I just snubbed him...just kept walking in icey silence the blocks to home.

If I turned around and said "what?"...nothing bad woulda happened. We mightve become good friends even. Like I was punishing an innocent person for the crimes against me by others.

I guess you could say that it was ... a kinda "paranoia" on my part.

I was just thinking about something along the lines of this. I recall in my 20s, an EX of mine got really annoyed with me and I felt was being dismissive of my feelings, when I had stated a couple of times that people were likely talking about me behind my back at work.

Growing up, especially in JR high I was tormented horribly. Like I knew it was coming or I knew it was going to happen every day. In the workplace as an adult, I am very vigilant about things and think ahead leaving nothing to chance, making sure I am ready if something goes sideways with a person I am dealing with.

IMO; people are vigilant about what they feed their bodies but they are not what they feed their mind. I feel it is important to lay off the violence; it can feed paranoia. I feel being vigilant of your surroundings is good.

Hypervigilance is what happens when you experience trauma or severe anxiety. The past three decades for me was one state of hypervigilance after another:

1990s: Y2K anxiety, climate change, ebola, flesh eating bacteria, SARS, group homes, undiagnosed ASD.

2000s: 9/11, terrorism, anthrax, climate change, ebola, SARS, food recalls, avian flu, swine flu, anti-vaxxers, orange man US election

2020s: Orange man for US president, covid, covid, covid, covid COVID, war, climate change, antivaxxers, anti autistic people, TikTok and other forms of brain rot, politics, politicians, and the fact that humans haven't learned anything since the middle ages and will wipe out everything.

Hypervigilance is when you think an intruder is the house, or a ghost is in the house. You hear every creak in the floor boards and every bump.

Paranoia is when you think that there are conspiracies against you.

Not the same thing. But I suppose that they could overlap.

Being abused by schoolmates growing up could cause you to be suspicious of others. And have some traits of both things I suppose.

TL;DR: DBT skills for paranoia focus on challenging irrational thoughts, building trust, and managing emotions. For hypervigilance, skills aim at reducing physiological arousal, promoting relaxation, and distinguishing real from perceived threats.

Paranoia

1. Mindfulness:
- Observing: Noticing thoughts of suspicion without immediately reacting to them.
- Describing: Labeling these thoughts as "just thoughts" can help create distance from them.
- Non-judgmental Stance: Accepting thoughts without labeling them as good or bad can reduce the intensity of paranoia.

2. Emotion Regulation:
- Check the Facts: Examining the evidence for and against paranoid thoughts can help differentiate between realistic concerns and irrational fears.
- Opposite Action: Engaging in behaviors opposite to the urge to isolate or confront others can reduce the influence of paranoid thoughts.
- Accumulate Positive Emotions: Building a life with positive experiences can help reduce the baseline level of mistrust and suspicion.

3. Interpersonal Effectiveness:
- DEAR MAN: (Describe, Express, Assert, Reinforce, Mindful, Appear confident, Negotiate) This skill can help communicate concerns effectively without escalating paranoia.
- GIVE: (Gentle, Interested, Validate, Easy manner) Approaching interactions with a gentle and validating manner can help build trust and reduce paranoid thoughts.

4. Distress Tolerance:
- TIPP: (Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Progressive relaxation) Using these strategies can help manage the physiological arousal associated with paranoid thoughts.
- Self-Soothing: Engaging in activities that use the five senses to soothe and calm oneself.

Hypervigilance

1. Mindfulness:
- Observing: Paying attention to the present moment without becoming hyper-focused on potential threats.
- Describing: Labeling thoughts and sensations related to hypervigilance without judgment.
- Participate: Fully engaging in the current activity can help reduce the focus on potential threats.

2. Emotion Regulation:
- Check the Facts: Assessing whether perceived threats are real can help reduce unnecessary hypervigilance.
- Opposite Action: If the urge is to scan for threats, engaging in activities that promote relaxation and safety can be beneficial.
- PLEASE: (Physical health, Lessen drugs, Eat healthy, Avoid mood-altering substances, Sleep, Exercise) Maintaining physical well-being can reduce overall stress and hypervigilance.

3. Distress Tolerance:
- TIPP: Using these techniques to quickly reduce physiological arousal during moments of intense hypervigilance.
- Distraction: Engaging in activities that take attention away from scanning for threats.
- Radical Acceptance: Accepting the presence of hypervigilance without judgment can reduce its intensity over time.

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness:
- DEAR MAN: Using assertive communication can help express needs and concerns without escalating anxiety.
- FAST: (Fair, Apologies, Stick to values, Truthful) Being fair to oneself and others, and maintaining integrity can reduce stress in relationships.

Summary

While both paranoia and hypervigilance can benefit from DBT skills, the focus may differ slightly:
- Paranoia: Emphasize skills that help challenge and reframe irrational thoughts, build trust, and manage emotional responses.
- Hypervigilance: Focus on skills that promote relaxation, reduce physiological arousal, and help differentiate between real and perceived threats.

Integrating these DBT skills into daily life can help individuals manage their symptoms more effectively, improving their overall quality of life.

So we have hypervigilance vs Paranoia....but , what if your pattern recognition is triggered repeatedly by directly related repeated coincidences ...on issues of extremely serious matters . By many mutually relate connected experiences / people. And does this breed conspirascies . But what about the resulting facts concerning the issues by several directly related persons .. creating possible related conspirascies? If indeed a potential for a actual conspirascy for alternate conclusions actually could exist. Without other potentials in the circumstances for results of the facts

[Image a small family of career criminals , using there 5 ft tall female child , whose hand is too small to even hold a full
sized Large magnum pistol,And the Father , shoots a relative using this gun,he does not care for ,carrying thousands of dollars in cash. which the Father is aware of.....then Murders the relative,for profit. And Convinces the child to claim to have done the shooting, or be outcast from their family. And the Sheriff and the court is too busy to investigate. And allows for the child to go unpunished] ( Conspirascy. or not? ) those were the facts of the case.
Just the type of Paranoia .that seemed to ocurr around my experiences.