Paranoia is a mental disorder in which a person has doubts about the loyalty and goodwill of people around him and is convinced that they have intentions to harm him. Speaking of chronic paranoia, we are talking about psychosis, which is accompanied by numerous delusional thoughts, ideas of persecution, auditory hallucinations and a general change in personality.
1. History of paranoia
Paranoia is considered one of the oldest known human mental pathologies. According to some sources, the first mention of this mental illness was recorded at the turn of the 4th century BC. e. in the works of the ancient Roman historian Titus Livy. These records speak of hostile relations between the leaders of Sparta and the neighboring city of Argos. It was believed that the Spartans wanted to attack the Argives and seize their territories. As a result of the opposition on the part of the citizens on this issue, one of the Argive legislators, Polybus, put forward the theory that his neighbors wanted to kill him. For this reason, immediately after the murder of Polybus, his fellow citizens expressed skepticism.