Do I have Paranoia? ?

Question

okay, so i have a problem. like, if i am at the mall, and i see people laughing, i always think they are laughing at me. also, in gym class if people are laughing and then look at me i automatically think i have something on my clothes or something. sometimes i am even afraid to go to the public pool because i am afraid i will embarrass myself or something. i also recently went on a cruise and i was afraid that if i went outside my room i will bump into someone and i wouldn't know what to do. do i have paranoia?

Answer 1

You have symptoms  of "Social Anxiety Disorder" .

Criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder:

• The individual experiences excessive and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations.

• The individual experiences feelings of anxiety, fear, or panic immediately upon encountering the feared social situation.

• The person recognizes that the fear is excessive, unreasonable, or out of proportion to the actual risk in the situation.

• The individual tends to avoid the feared social situation, or if he or she doesn’t avoid, the situation is endured with intense anxiety or discomfort.

• The individual’s fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes significant distress (i.e., it bothers the person that he or she has the fear) or significant interference in the person’s day to day life. For example, the fear may make it difficult for the person to perform important tasks at work, meet new friends, attend classes, or interact with others.

• In children younger than 18 years of age, the problem must be present for at least six months before a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder would be considered appropriate.

• it must be established that the anxiety symptoms are not being caused by a medical condition (e.g., thyroid condition, diabetes, heart condition) or by a drug or substance (e.g., cocaine use, caffeine, withdrawal from alcohol). In addition, if the individual has a medical condition with visible symptoms (e.g., stuttering, shaking from Parkinson’s disease), the fear must not be only of others noticing these medical symptoms.

• If the person fears most social situations, his or her social anxiety disorder is described as generalized. A person, however, can be extremely anxious and fearful of only one social situation and still be diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, as long as the problem causes significant interference or distress.

Generally, people with social anxiety disorder fear and avoid social situations that fall into two broad categories, performance situations (e.g., situations that involve performing in front of others or being observed by other people) and social interaction situations (e.g., situations that involve engaging or interacting with one or more people). Most people with social anxiety disorder fear situations from both of these categories.

Examples of Feared Performance Situations in Social Anxiety Disorder:

• Public speaking

• Talking in meetings or classes

• Participating in sports or working out in front of others

• Performing music or acting on stage

• Writing in front of others

• Eating or drinking in front of others

• Using public restrooms when other people are nearby

• Making mistakes in front of others

• Being in public areas such as a shopping mall or a bus

Examples of Feared Social Interaction Situations in Social Anxiety Disorder:

• Going to a party

• Initiating or maintaining conversation

• Talking to strangers

• Inviting friends over for dinner

• Talking on the phone

• Expressing personal opinions

• Being assertive (e.g., refusing to give in to unreasonable requests, asking others to change their behavior)

• Being in intimate situations

• Talking to people in authority (e.g., employer, professor, doctor)

• Returning items to a store or sending food back in a restaurant

When I was a toddler my Mom use to call me her shadow because I would never leave her side and would always cling to her leg whenever a stranger was present.In school I had problems speaking up in class and making friends. I didn't exactly know what my problem was but I knew I was different from the other kids and that made me feel ashamed and an outcast.Wheb  I see people laughing, I always think they are laughing at me too.

If you can relate to what I've written, I want you to know that you are not alone and that there is hope.

Take care

Answer 2

Get over it girlfriend... let go of the luggage and the insecure and insignificant thoughts... everyone is someone...go out there and mingle and enjoy...so what? If you have a stain, or your pants are unzipped, you correct the error and move on.

Answer 3

maybe just low self esteem.

Answer 4

Please. That's not paranoia. You're safely self aware of your paranoia to not be dangerous. There's a lot of movies where the star of the movie goes through the same thing, at the pool and gym.

You're obviously in high school, so yeah, I'd guess you have typical low self esteem caused by adolescence.

A great way to improve how you feel about yourself and care less about what people think, is to improve your confidence in yourself. Go get good at something. Join some classes outside of school, take an acting class, or a dance class, or an art class. Sports are great self esteem builders.

Good luck.

Answer 5

No I don't think so.  that laughing thing gets to me too though, so maybe I'm not a good one to answer.  lol.  Probably just  a lower self esteem. I know it's hard, but just force yourself to believe they aren't talking about you (because they probably aren't)  and the cruise thing, if you do bump into someone, it doesn't really matter cause you're never gonna see them again.  or else it would be a great way to be introduced.

Answer 6

Yes, a bit.  Or what sounds more like agoraphobia.  Shouldn't be that serious - it doesn't sound like the insane sort of paranoia people get who think their neighbours are all plotting to kill them or something.