Paranoia vs Hypervigilance

Paranoia

paranoia tends to endure and to not get better of its own accord

the paranoiac will not admit to feeling paranoid, as they cannot see their paranoia

sometimes responds to drug treatment

the paranoiac often has delusions of grandeur; the delusional aspects of paranoia feature in other forms of paranoia is a form of mental illness; the cause is thought to be internal, eg - a minor variation in the balance of brain chemistry

mental illness, such as schizophrenia

the paranoiac is convinced of their self-importance

paranoia is often seen in conjunction with other symptoms of mental illness, but not in conjunction with symptoms of PTSD

the paranoiac is convinced of their plausibility

the paranoiac feels persecuted by a person or persons unknown (eg "they're out to get me"), sense of persecution

the sense of persecution felt by the paranoiac is a delusion, for usually no-one is out to get them

the paranoiac is on constant alert because they know someone is out to get them

the paranoiac is certain of their belief and their behaviour and expects others to share that certainty


Hypervigilance

is a response to an external event (violence, accident, disaster, violation, intrusion, bullying, etc) and therefore an injury

wears off (gets better), albeit slowly, when the person is out of and away from the situation which was the cause

the hypervigilant person is acutely aware of their hypervigilance, and will easily articulate their fear, albeit using the incorrect but popularised word "paranoia"

drugs are not viewed favourably by hypervigilant people, except in extreme circumstances, and then only briefly; often drugs have no effect, or can make things worse, sometimes interfering with the body's own healing process

the hypervigilant person often has a diminished sense of self-worth, sometimes dramatically so

the hypervigilant person is often convinced of their worthlessness and will often deny their value to others

hypervigilance is seen in conjunction with other symptoms of PTSD, but not in conjunction with symptoms of mental illness

the hypervigilant person is aware of how implausible their experience sounds and often doesn't want to believe it themselves (disbelief and denial)

the hypervigilant person is hypersensitized but is often aware of the inappropriateness of their heightened sensitivity, and can identify the person responsible for their psychiatric injury

heightened sense of vulnerability to victimisation

the hypervigilant person's sense of threat is well-founded, the hypervigilant person often cannot (and refuses to) see that the pathological is doing everything possible to get rid of them

the hypervigilant person is on alert in case there is danger

the hypervigilant person cannot bring themselves to believe that the pathological bully cannot and will not see the effect their behaviour is having; they cling naively to the mistaken belief that the pathological will recognise their wrongdoing and apologise