Ep 31: Paranoia, Paranoid Personality, or Schizophrenia? | Which Is It?

In this episode of The Personality Couch Podcast, we (licensed clinical psychologists Doc Bok and Doc Fish) unpack how paranoia, paranoid personalities, and psychotic disorders overlap. We explore the line between personality disorders and psychosis; misuse of the term schizophrenia; and introduce the concept of paraphrenia as it relates to psychosis in the paranoid personality. We also explore the historical context of paranoia, the nuances between paranoia and delusions, and how the terms became so intertwined in history. We end with our own unfiltered thoughts about limitations to DSM diagnostic categories and how paranoia became so confusing!

Are you a clinician stuck on a case? To schedule a consultation, please visit the practice website, which will guide you to the email address to use. https://www.questpsych.org/

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Paranoia and Psychosis
• 02:14 Defining Paranoia
• 03:15 Sociocultural Paranoia: The Salem Witch Trials
• 04:22 How Paranoia Leads to Psychosis: A Train Metaphor
• 06:51 Defining Delusions
  • 08:21 Persecutory Delusions
  • 08:55 Delusions of Grandeur
  • 09:32 Jealous Delusions
  • 10:01 Erotomanic Delusions
• 12:01 When Paranoia Becomes a Diagnosis
• 13:14 Paranoia in Personality Disorders
• 14:34 Wait- Paranoid Schizophrenia is NOT a Diagnosis?!
• 16:03 Defining Paraphrenia
• 16:43 Defining Schizophrenia
• 17:54 How is Paranoid Personality Disorder Different from Schizophrenia?
• 22:50 The Difference Between Schizophrenia and Paraphrenia
• 23:11 Confusion in Definitions and DSM Limitations
• 27:24 Closing