Let's all get paranoid

I don't get paranoid. I do wash hands, wipe cart handle in stores. Disenfect (sp) geesh, I use to spell terrific....ahh what the hell I blame it on brain fog ;D

Sarita - you started a very interesting post and replies are of variety, much variety.

 

Hey Titus ;D so this is the drink that helps not worry LMAO!!

 

Right on Prima Donna. I can relate to just about everything your wrote Carole

 

Where do you guys get your fukitol (tm)? I would like to try some as my Placebex2000 doesn't seem to be doing a darned thing!

 

Hank, what you are describing seems a lot like what is these days diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia. Probably in generations past hysteria, demonic possesion etc.

But as for what is a rational response to an irrational situation - remember Catch 22?

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

Sarita and June, I'm with you guys - no point worrying about things out of your sphere of influence and/or very unlikely to happen. Most of us are probably too young to remember the panic around Orson Wells' War of the Worlds broadcast but might remember Skylab and the world wide fear that debris would rain down far and wide. For years my wacky Dad used to send us off to school with a wave and a chuckle saying "watch out for bits of falling Skylab!".

 

One of my favorite all-time books.

 

INS, You make a good point, your first! Congrats and keep 'em coming! OK, so then, say, what if it really is a demon telling the paranoid schizophrenic 'they' are out to get him? Which if it were, would mean that he would be relying on a lie. Would the doctors who diagnosed PS not have misdiagnosed the condition? Would they be putting him on drugs needlessly? Sending him to a mental institution needlessly? Rather than PS, would he not really have DOb, DOp or even DP (demon obsession, demon oppression, or demon possession? I said, what if?

 

Do you think that is impossible to happen? How would you know?

 

Henry, do you have friends that sit and listen to what you have to say.....on certain subjects or things in general? I'm trying to picture in my paranoid mind what that might look and sound like.

 

Hank,

Your subjective view of my point is appreciated but does not make it objectively "good". But moving on from the philosophising and into the psychologising...

There is a whole social, political, religious and historical context to madness. Yesterday's witch is today's psychic, one man's shaman is another man's nutcase and one patriachal society's shrewish madwoman is today's Strong Independent Woman. Sarah Palin for example.

Anyways, back briefly to the demons - which is really quite tangental to this thread. How can we know if demons are real? If the doctor puts a person on medication which silences the demons then either the demons were not real after all or they respond well to the medication.

But as I say, this thread was clearly not intended to be about paranoia in the psychotic or schizophrenic sense, but rather about a way of living one's life. I think what Intrepid was getting at was spending time looking for conspiracies which aren't there or worrying about things which probably won't happen at the expense of just getting on with one's life.

 

Having been a social worker and dealt with people who have this tragic affliction, I can tell you, one can know. But until you see it the first time it is hard to imagine. Often family members get caught blindsided. But I am being very literal here speaking of a medical condition and the original post was using it in the colloquial meaning of being too much of a worrier. So I will let this go lest I make people paranoid that they are paranoid.

 

I suppose this isn't the proper place to introduce new things to be paranoid about, but does anyone have concerns about cell phone usage?

I know it didn't cause either of my problems because I didn't use a cell phone prior to them - heck they barely existed. But my little pea brain just thinks those waves going as far as they do as often as they do originating right next to a person's head .... there will be some effect. I am aware that the current research is either negative or equivocal regarding negative effects. But I look at those 14 year olds glued to the cell phone and worry.

 

Do the sell it by the six pack? I have got to get me some.

 

I just plain gotta get me some...............whatever it is

 

Yes, the one I'm using is the timed release, extra strength........sweet dreams

 

I just read over some of the concerned replies on the thread and I certainly can see their validity. Mental illness (disease of the brain) is not something to take lightly.

Many people walking around with mild to moderate mental illness do not know that they are mentally ill and suffer because of it. I went through a period of time suffering from anxiety and depression. This took a toll on my physical health and, eventually, caused me to be hospitalized with a dx of bi-polar disorder. I had no idea even though I had done graduate work in psychology and had a family history of suicide and two aunts spending a considerable amount of time in mental institutions.

My mother also suffered from bi-polar disorder and she had periods of paranoid behavior. Her doctor told her she was depressed because she got married instead of going to Hollywood to become a movie star She never received counseling or meds because we lived in a tiny village with one doctor. Later in life, after she moved to Florida, she improved.

I know most of us have medical conditions here and probably quite a few suffer from anxiety, depression, or another mental illness which is made worse ore even caused by our illness. However, we can't sensor every post to protect every imaginable situation and we can't add disclaimers to every sentence that might be taken in the wrong way. There are too many people coming and going to do this.

I know there are quite a few of us here who have sent personal messages to those we think might need counseling or intervention, asking them to see their doctor.

The negativity and criticism on this board has reached the highest point I've seen since I came in 2002. Have you ever signed in and just read the topic titles? Not in the living room but in the other rooms? Very interesting.

 

My dad used to work with a lot of radioactivity so much so that the TSA pulled him over on a bussiness trip to "explain" what he does for a living. Cell phones don't produce enough to cause cancer according to him. He's like the radioactive expert.

 

Sarita,

Your posts were 100% clear to me and I agree with what you are saying in your latest post. I was just replying to some other posts that did question, maybe indirectly, maybe directly, mental illness.

Yes, this thread has taken on a life of its own.....as do most of the threads.

I think my disappointment comes from the amount of negativity and the lack of positive, supportive statements toward one another.

The religion and spiritual room is filled with a bunch of bullshit, fighting, and negativity. I miss the Wellness Thread and other threads.....but maybe they served their purpose. I'd be reluctant to start a Wellness thread or even a bible study thread today. Sad situation....for me.

 

Wow, things must have really changed around here!!

Rick

 

yessir