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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Paranoid Personality Disorder?
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Paranoid Personality Disorder?
by DwnthHatch, Aug 03, 2004 12:00AM
I am a 42 years old and have been dating my boyfriend 48 for 4 years. We have lived together just over a year. He is a wonderful person most of the time, but has episodes of bizarre behavior periodically. It appears to me he has paranoid personality disorder probably coupled with some other maladies, but I am not sure.
He is very intelligent, owns a successful construction company, is the hardest worker I have ever seen . Hyperactive. And has a definite need to be self sufficient. He is well respected and is viewed by other men as “A man’s man”
He feels as though his father never felt he was good enough….. the black sheep. He feels other people feel the same way about him. In some aspects it is as if he has molded his life around this concept and makes things happen to assure himself that that is what he is. He drives the oldest rattiest truck in his fleet, we could live in a beautiful house. We live in one that is falling apart. If I buy him something new he figures out how to destroy it…by accident, but I think it is on purpose.
Full moons effect him. He will dance around and sing in rhymes and gets somewhat incoherent. Ask him a question and he will answer in a rhyme, if he answers. That only lasts a short time however, but always occurs at a full moon.
My biggest problem is his running away and staying away for weeks over minor or perceived criticism. I can see these episodes coming. He gets fidgety and won’t look me in the eye. I can see him just waiting for me to say something to make him run. If I don’t say anything to make him do it, he will take my words and switch them around to make them critical and off he goes. It lasts a minimum of two weeks. He usually goes in the woods and stays in the old motor home that has holes in the floor. The first week I am lucky if I can find him. If I try and talk to him, he dances in circles, won’t look at me repeats the thing that made him run over and over again until he has worked himself into a frenzy and runs off. If I can get a word in edgewise to rationalize with him, he doesn’t hear it or ignores it. I have to watch for his eyes to calm down, that usually happens in week two. Then I can talk to him and he hears it and will finally calm down and return to normal. Then he tells me that I am the one who left him ! This has happened about 7 times since we have been together. He was married twice before and did this to both ex wives. He kicked his last wife out of the house 17 times in 10 years. I refuse to move in and out, so he goes.
Jealousy really isn’t too much of an issue with him. He will accuse me every so often, but I can tell he really doesn’t believe I am cheating. Doesn’t snoop. Doesn’t think people are after him…. So I am not sure it is paranoid personality disorder…..but it’s something.
I really would like someone to tell me what is going on so I can figure out how to best deal with it.
He is very intelligent, owns a successful construction company, is the hardest worker I have ever seen . Hyperactive. And has a definite need to be self sufficient. He is well respected and is viewed by other men as “A man’s man”
He feels as though his father never felt he was good enough….. the black sheep. He feels other people feel the same way about him. In some aspects it is as if he has molded his life around this concept and makes things happen to assure himself that that is what he is. He drives the oldest rattiest truck in his fleet, we could live in a beautiful house. We live in one that is falling apart. If I buy him something new he figures out how to destroy it…by accident, but I think it is on purpose.
Full moons effect him. He will dance around and sing in rhymes and gets somewhat incoherent. Ask him a question and he will answer in a rhyme, if he answers. That only lasts a short time however, but always occurs at a full moon.
My biggest problem is his running away and staying away for weeks over minor or perceived criticism. I can see these episodes coming. He gets fidgety and won’t look me in the eye. I can see him just waiting for me to say something to make him run. If I don’t say anything to make him do it, he will take my words and switch them around to make them critical and off he goes. It lasts a minimum of two weeks. He usually goes in the woods and stays in the old motor home that has holes in the floor. The first week I am lucky if I can find him. If I try and talk to him, he dances in circles, won’t look at me repeats the thing that made him run over and over again until he has worked himself into a frenzy and runs off. If I can get a word in edgewise to rationalize with him, he doesn’t hear it or ignores it. I have to watch for his eyes to calm down, that usually happens in week two. Then I can talk to him and he hears it and will finally calm down and return to normal. Then he tells me that I am the one who left him ! This has happened about 7 times since we have been together. He was married twice before and did this to both ex wives. He kicked his last wife out of the house 17 times in 10 years. I refuse to move in and out, so he goes.
Jealousy really isn’t too much of an issue with him. He will accuse me every so often, but I can tell he really doesn’t believe I am cheating. Doesn’t snoop. Doesn’t think people are after him…. So I am not sure it is paranoid personality disorder…..but it’s something.
I really would like someone to tell me what is going on so I can figure out how to best deal with it.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Aug 04, 2004 12:00AM
, Aug 04, 2004 12:00AM
Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
Extreme irritability
Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
Distractibility, can't concentrate well
Little sleep needed
Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
Poor judgment
Spending sprees
A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
Increased sexual drive
Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
Denial that anything is wrong
There is medicine that can help, but some won't take it thinking that nothing is wrong with them. Bipolar Disorder usually gets worse as the person ages, especially without medication. You are going to have a very hard time if you stay with him.