Paranoia: The 21st Century Fear

by Daniel Freeman, Jason Freeman

Terrorists, child abductors, muggers, delinquent teenagers, malicious colleagues . . . Who wouldnt be worried? The world can be a dangerous place, for sure. But have we lost the knack of judging risk? Are we letting paranoia get the better of us? In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, based on the most up-to-date scientific research, Daniel and Jason Freeman highlight just how prominent paranoia is today. One in four of us have regular paranoid thoughts. The authors analyse the causes of paranoia, identifying the social and cultural factors that seem to be skewing the way we think and feel about the world around us. And they explain why paranoia may be on the rise and, crucially, what we can do to tackle it. Witty, clear, and compelling, Paranoia takes us beyond the tabloid headlines to pinpoint the real menace at the heart of twenty-first century culture.

Genres: Psychology

189 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Daniel Freeman is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Medical Research Council (MRC) Senior Clinical Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University. One of the United Kingdom's leading clinical psychologists, he is a Fellow of University College, Oxford and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Reviews

[Peter Geyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is over a decade old, its topic and contents have current relevance. Interestingly, the authors state that there has been little research on this topic. It's written in clear prose with a number of interesting examples, from research to cultural examples; there's even a questionnaire so you can check yourself out.

"Paranoia" seems to me to be a pejorative word bandied around in general discourse, without recourse to serious definition. This can particularly be the case in uncertain environments, business say, where people can be duplicitous or be unlikely to follow through on agreements. I was labelled pejoratively in this way a couple of decades ago, yet my suspicions were correct. Maybe this relates to trust.

So, if my grandmother is in a bank thinking that everyone is looking at her and nobody is (a tale from my mother, was she just socially anxious or actually paranoid? I would argue the former, but this event occurred when I was quite young.

The authors take a rational perspective, which has its merits in that looking objectively at facts etc is a useful strategy and really it can be construed as getting people to learn how to think. They recommend cognitive-behavioural-therapy (CBT) and Aaron Beck, the author of the method writes a couple of lines on the back cover, along with a paragraph by Richard Bentall, whose work I've enjoyed reading.

CBT has its limits, as with any method or model of course and some of the examples appear to be of a linear rational kind that presumes this is the way to think or that everyone should think that way. By that I mean that at times it doesn't to be my way of thinking. I think Jung has a more nuanced view of thinking, to my mind.

For instance, one of the examples is a well-used one about people being more worried about being on a plane than in a car, even though the likelihood of death is greater on the roads. Along with questioning the general presumption that people in general weigh up things in this way and look for and accept the statistical reality presented, I think this is a false equivalence, as the link appears to be travel, rather than issues of familiarity, space, or even notions of control. I have no problems with either road or air and feel most unsafe in a bus, because here they lurch around corners and the like in such a way that hurts my back, so I avoid them. This seems logical to me and I suspect to the authors None of this needs to be related to paranoia, although naturally it can be.

That quibble aside, this was an interesting and helpful book.

[Madalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nimic nou sub soare.

Pentru oamenii care nu stiu prea multe despre paranoia si vor sa afle cateva lucruri, in mare, poate este utila. Totusi, daca deja stiti anumite lucruri despre subiect sau va pasioneaza psihologia, cartea asta nu o sa va ofere informatii noi si revelatoare.

Cred ca incercarea autorilor a fost sa ofere o abordare completa a acestei probleme. Ofera cateva date istorice despre paranoia, vorbesc de experimente sociale si disting intre paranoia "comuna" (legata de ganduri irationale pe care orice persoana le poate avea la un moment dat) si patologie. Totusi, toate acestea sunt prezentate pe scurt, astfel ca nu ajung sa dezvolte suficient niciuna dintre ideile mentionate.