Many believe those who espouse an opposing view are attacking them. This fear, called “reality” by the “attacked”, is a disorder that disables levelheaded communication while granting the anxiety prone person a substantive argument to continue their paranoid thinking. It is a circuitous syndrome playing on its own fears. Anxiety, as viewed by the psychological practitioner, is the core of mental health or ill health. How one deals, or doesn’t deal, with doom-laden fears and apprehensions will manifest itself in delusional thinking and continued anxiety then take root in paranoid extremism. Though one can relieve one’s self of mild anxiety, if not addressed, it can lead to repetitive circles of anxious fears feeding on themselves. Anxiety can grow and often does as it mixes with delusional and paranoid thinking.
The political scene amply illustrates the various states of paranoia. Neither side is immune to the insidious nature of the disorder. And, because the person is paranoid, it is always someone or something else that is the cause of their frustrations and outbursts, not themselves. There are fewer disorders more difficult to understand than this one. It is the source of much frustration between people, especially when discussing delicate but important distinctions in politics and religion.
There are no simple cures for this disorder. Understanding or avoiding “hot” topics that bring the disorder to the fore are about all the average person can do. The unfortunate result of this approach leaves the person with little of importance to discuss while adding to their perception that they are alone in their reality.
Thoughts on Thoughts 