(CNN) -
It's as if I asked you to give up your Social Security number and that of your firstborn.
What do you need it for?
What are you going to do with it? ”My colleague on Zoom asked me, his eyes wide with fear.
Wow, I wanted to say.
There was no need to worry.
She had simply asked a co-worker for simple information that, in normal times, would have evoked little more than an "OK, no problem" response.
But of course, these are not normal times.
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It wasn't just my co-worker.
I realized that many people in my life - friends, family members, even myself, to be honest - had taken a pill of paranoia.
Everyone seemed more nervous, scared, even when it came to issues that had little to do with the deadly contagion knocking on doors around us.
I spoke with an immunosuppressed ICU nurse, a school teacher, the wife of a transit worker.
They all agreed that they had been more paranoid since COVID-19 entered everyday life.
"Especially having a son with a medical history," said Stefani Seeley, a stay-at-home mom who lives in Texas.
“We examine every little thing we do now.
Add to that the anxiety I have that our children will not get over the trauma of the experience, ”he said.
Paranoia, it seemed, was as widespread as the coronavirus, perhaps more so.
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"The pandemic has caused great uncertainty and stress," said Dr. Bandy X. Lee, a forensic psychiatrist and violence expert who works in New York City.
Lee has a long list of accomplishments, including having taught at Yale School of Medicine and Law School and served as a fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health and a consultant to the World Health Organization.
Currently, President of the World Mental Health Coalition.
The Johns Hopkins University Guide to Psychiatry defines paranoia as "a response to perceived threats that is strongly influenced by anxiety and fear, existing along a continuum from normal reality-based experiences to delusional beliefs." .
Symptoms of paranoia can range from very subtle to completely overwhelming and can exist with or without other mental conditions, according to Lee and the major medical associations.
People do not need to have diagnosable mental health disorders to have paranoid thoughts or feelings.
"Given the stress, uncertainty and misinformation provided by the media and different sources, it is difficult for people to feel a sense of calm, which increases people's anxiety, which can lead to paranoid thoughts," he said. Adam Borland, a Cleveland Fellow Clinical Psychologist who has seen an increase in patients experiencing paranoid thoughts and feelings since COVID-19 became widespread.
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The trifecta of the pandemic, the required physical isolation, and social unrest has led many of us to more extreme behaviors and concerns, including paranoia.
The pandemic has also led to an uncertain economic environment, in which people worry that they are on the verge of losing their livelihood (and rightly so, as many have lost their jobs).
The environment of active disinformation about the pandemic and other problems perpetuated by historically trustworthy institutions, such as the United States Government and the president's own office, has also caused people to distrust the information they are receiving and the people who disseminate it. .
“Exceptionally long lockdowns due to ineffective management and the ensuing social disruption and economic misery - worse in many ways than the Great Depression, with tremendous inequalities, hunger, homelessness, unemployment and despair - are already causing addiction to drugs. drugs, depression, suicides and homicides, ”said Lee.
“Meanwhile, we now have a large segment of the population that has been encouraged and conditioned to avoid reality.
When living in deception, detached from reality, one naturally becomes paranoid because facts and evidence constantly 'attack' these cherished and false beliefs, "she said.
Learning to identify paranoia
Paranoia is not new to me.
I grew up in a home with a father who had severe paranoia.
I constantly wondered if the information they were giving me was real or fantastic.
I have always been very aware of how paranoid thinking can take over your reality and I have fought so hard not to become that person who can no longer draw the line between reality and fiction.
That said, I have inherited the tendency to take any situation and imagine its outcome in the extreme worst case.
For many, that may seem like a terrible place to be mentally.
For me, it has been a justification of why I am always prepared, why I am at the forefront of what comes next.
This is why I stocked up on toilet paper and N95 masks when my wife was still telling me not to be ridiculous that covid-19 would not reach America's shores.
However, when I feel anxiety taking over, I have learned to recognize it.
Then I work on imagining myself swallowing it like a giant rock that no longer sits in my throat but just passes.
Learning to identify your paranoia is the first step to mitigating it, Borland said.
Intervention can range from self-application to seeking professional medical help, depending on the severity of the symptoms and how much they interfere with your ability to function in your daily life.
“This will really come down to communication between the individual and, hopefully, whatever source of support they have in their life.
It is very easy for a thought to be planted like a seed.
And it's easy to water that, give it some sunshine, even if the facts or information contradicts that thinking, ”Borland said.
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The good news is that it is possible to fight paranoia on your own, at least that which is not medically diagnosable or not related to other mental health problems.
"Human beings are resilient and capable of handling great adversities, if we are in them together and have constant guidance, as well as psychological and social support," said Lee.
You can start by acknowledging paranoid thoughts and then work to create healthy daily routines, according to Borland.
Set small, achievable goals, like walking a mile every day or spending an hour connecting with your feelings or with someone else.
Sleep, diet, and social interaction are important factors that fuel good mental health.
“We underestimate the effects of boredom.
And given the media and social media and having so much information at our fingertips, it's easy to fall into that rabbit hole, ”Borland said.
If you see a loved one experiencing paranoid thoughts, be careful how you approach them, Borland said.
Try to avoid the finger-pointing approach and instead use "self statements" to let them know what you are noticing so that they are less defensive and more receptive to your help.
Still, it can be difficult to reject paranoid thoughts in ourselves or others.
"In a paranoid state, you will not be willing to accept logic or evidence," Lee said.
The best option is to work to change the circumstances that put that person in a paranoid state to begin with.
Of course, you can't make Covid-19 magically disappear, but we can work to create a distance between influences that seem to exacerbate paranoia.
In the long term, we can work to "fix the socioeconomic conditions that led to psychological vulnerability in the first place, which may include economic, racial and gender inequalities," Lee said by email.
If your paranoia reaches the level where you feel that you or a loved one may be a danger to yourself or others, seek professional help immediately.
Is paranoia good at some point?
Too good could be bad, but what about a little bit of a bad thing?
Is there healthy paranoia?
"Healthy paranoia or healthy anxiety can keep us aware and alert as a defense mechanism and protect us from potential threats," Borland said.
(Glad I stocked up on masks and toilet paper.)
Researchers at the University of Cambridge, for example, have found that concern about climate change has led to behavioral changes that may actually drive solutions to the problem.
However, we must be aware that paranoia can lead us to a place where those feelings can become problematic.
Where we draw the line is not always clear.
- Allison Hope is a writer and native of New York who prefers humor to sadness, trips to television and coffee to sleep.
Covid-19 Pandemic Paranoia