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Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by paranoia characterized by a pervasive and long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others. (DSM-IV) For a person's personality to be considered a personality disorder, an enduring pattern of characteristic maladaptive behaviors, thinking and personality traits must be present from the onset of adolescence or early adulthood. Additionally, these behaviors, traits and thinking must be present to the extent that they cause significant difficulties in relationships, employment and other facets of functioning. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). ... // F00-F99 - Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F09) Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders (F00) Dementia in Alzheimers disease (F01) Vascular dementia (F011) Multi-infarct dementia (F02) Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere (F020) Dementia in Picks disease (F021) Dementia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (F022) Dementia in Huntingtons... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... MedlinePlus (medlineplus. ... Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. ... An MRI scan of a human brain and head. ... For other senses of this word, see paranoia (disambiguation). ... Wikinews has related news: Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy Personality disorder, formerly referred to as a Character Disorder is a class of mental disorders characterized by rigid and on-going patterns of thought and action (Cognitive modules). ...

Those with paranoid personality disorder are hypersensitive, are easily slighted, and habitually relate to the world by vigilant scanning of the environment for clues or suggestions to validate their prejudicial ideas or biases. They tend to be guarded and suspicious and have quite constricted emotional lives. Their incapacity for meaningful emotional involvement and the general pattern of isolated withdrawal often lend a quality of schizoid isolation to their life experience. - Meissner & Kuper, 2008.

Differential diagnosis:

• Because of the surface similarities of the paranoia involved, it is important that the Paranoid Personality Disorder not be confused with paranoid schizophrenia, another totally different type of mental disorder where the patient has constant feelings of being watched, followed or persecuted.

Chart that illustrates the overall quality of life for the schizophrenic patient. There is a chart that illustrates the overlapping personality traits found in both Schizophrenia and the cluster of personality disorders - paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal. http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-ps01.html Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a persistent, often chronic, mental illness variously affecting behavior, thinking, and emotion. ...

Descriptive diagnosis per American DSM-IV-TR

Paranoid personality disorder is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as 301.00 Paranoid Personality Disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States and other countries. ...

According to the DSM-IV-TR, this disorder is characterized by a pervasive distrust and suspicion of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

• Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
• Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
• Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
• Reads benign remarks or events as threatening or demeaning.
• Persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights
• Perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
• Has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner.

The traits, behaviors and characteristics

• Do not occur exclusively during the course of a mood disorder accompanied by psychotic features nor other psychotic disorders.
• Are not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.

A mood disorder is a condition whereby the prevailing emotional mood is distorted or inappropriate to the circumstances. ...

European description per ICD-10

The ICD-10 lists paranoid personality disorder as F60.0 Paranoid Personality Disorder. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ...

This personality disorder is characterized by at least 3 of the following: (a) excessive sensitiveness to setbacks and rebuffs; (b) tendency to bear grudges persistently, i.e. refusal to forgive insults and injuries or slights; (c) suspiciousness and a pervasive tendency to distort experience by misconstruing the neutral or friendly actions of others as hostile or contemptuous; (d) a combative and tenacious sense of personal rights out of keeping with the actual situation; (e) recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding sexual fidelity of spouse or sexual partner; (f) tendency to experience excessive self-importance, manifest in a persistent self-referential attitude; (g) preoccupation with unsubstantiated "conspiratorial" explanations of events both immediate to the patient and in the world at large.

Includes:

• expansive paranoid, fanatic, querulant and sensitive paranoid personality (disorder)

Excludes:

• delusional disorder
• schizophrenia

Personality Disorders

A personality disorder is a severe disturbance in the characterological constitution and behavioral tendencies of the individual, usually involving several areas of the personality, and nearly always associated with considerable personal and social disruption. Personality disorder tends to appear in late childhood or adolescence and continues to be manifest into adulthood. It is therefore unlikely that the diagnosis of personality disorder will be appropriate before the age of 16 or 17 years. General diagnostic guidelines applying to all personality disorders are presented below; supplementary descriptions are provided with each of the subtypes. Diagnostic Guidelines

Conditions not directly attributable to gross brain damage or disease, or to another psychiatric disorder, meeting the following criteria:

(a) markedly dysharmonious attitudes and behavior, involving usually several areas of functioning, e.g. affectivity, arousal, impulse control, ways of perceiving and thinking, and style of relating to others; (b) the abnormal behavior pattern is enduring, of long standing, and not limited to episodes of mental illness; (c) the abnormal behavior pattern is pervasive and clearly maladaptive to a broad range of personal and social situations; (d) the above manifestations always appear during childhood or adolescence and continue into adulthood; (e) the disorder leads to considerable personal distress but this may only become apparent late in its course; (f) the disorder is usually, but not invariably, associated with significant problems in occupational and social performance.

ICD-10 copyright © 1992 by World Health Organization.

Cultural Sensitivities

The WHO, in the ICD-10, points out for different cultures it may be necessary to develop specific sets of criteria with regard to social norms, rules and obligations.

Epidemiology

Paranoid personality disorder has a variously detected prevalence of 0.5-2.5% of the general population.^[1]

A large long-term Norwegian twin study found paranoid personality disorder to be modestly heritable and to share a portion of its genetic and environmental risk factors with schizoid and schizotypal personality disorder.^[2] Twin studies are one of a family of designs in behavior genetics which aid the study of individual differences by highlighting the role of environmental and genetic causes on behavior. ... Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, and emotional coldness. ... Schizotypal personality disorder, or simply schizotypal disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a need for social isolation, odd behaviour and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs such as being convinced of having extra sensory abilities. ...

Treatment

Because of reduced levels of trust, there can be challenges in treating paranoid personality disorder. However, psychotherapy, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications can play a role when an an individual is receptive to intervention.^[3] Psychotherapy is an interpersonal, relational intervention used by trained psychotherapists to aid clients in problems of living. ... Prozac, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, Venlafaxine An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication or other substance (nutrient or herb) used for alleviating depression or dysthymia (milder depression). ... Anxiety is a complex combination of the feeling of fear, apprehension and worry often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. ...

References

DSM-IV-TR ICDM-10. World Health Organization. 1996. Meissner, W.W., SJ, MD and Kuper, Brenda A., MD. Paranoid Personality Disorder • December 22, 2007 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Paranoid personality disorder resources
• National Personality Disorder website for England
• Articles about Personality Disorders in Web4health web site