“Persecution mania” is one of the incorrect everyday names for the disorder, which is correctly called delusion of persecution (just as “delusions of grandeur” is also a delusion). This disorder is also called persecutory delusion. This thinking disorder is one of the fundamental signs of mental insanity, as well as one of the components of schizophrenia.
What is persecution mania?
Persecution mania
- this is the patient’s obsessive conviction that someone is stalking him, tormenting him, wanting to harm, kill, etc. The pursuers can be employees, colleagues, neighbors, secret organizations, aliens, fictional creatures, etc. Persecution mania was first described in 1852.
The disease is dangerous because it leads to rapid fatigue of the body, its wear and tear. After all, the patient can remain in this state constantly, his thoughts can be completely absorbed by the subject of persecution. He is constantly in tension, looking for ways to hide from his “pursuers.”
Often the disease is accompanied by the effects of anxiety and fear. Persecution mania causes the patient to be suspicious, distrustful, withdrawn, and aggressive. He can change from one public transport to another, jump out of it at full speed, run out of the cabin a second before the doors close, and this can be dangerous both for him and for those around him. Patients with persecution mania are not able to perceive themselves critically.
People suffering from persecution delusions engage in queralism - constantly writing complaints to various authorities.
Also, due to their distrust, patients are reluctant to talk about their experiences to others, including psychiatrists.
Factors provoking the occurrence of the disease
Mania of persecution manifests itself in various paranoid diseases: paranoid schizophrenia, other psychoses with paranoid syndrome, alcohol poisoning (there is the so-called “alcoholic paranoid” - a severe and dangerous form of alcohol poisoning), drug poisoning, brain damage, delusional disorder.
Indeed, many chronic alcoholics are convinced that they are being watched by “aliens”; they can “inflate” readings on electricity, gas, and water meters - this is how patients try to explain or justify their reluctance (or inability) to pay for utilities. Alcoholics often launch into lengthy discussions about how “aliens” are watching all of humanity, that they “gave” people all the achievements of science and technology, that they control political processes. TV channels like REN-TV help them “stir up” their sick imagination, passion for which in itself can lead to the appearance of persecution mania (and other mental disorders).
There are factors that provoke the occurrence of persecution mania. This is a person’s increased sensitivity, a tendency to “sacrifice” behavior, an external locus of control (that is, a person’s tendency to explain the results of his actions exclusively by external factors). Religious people are also susceptible to the formation of persecution mania, believing that their whole life and the whole world is controlled by someone “from above” who “sees everything and knows everything”; people who believe in fate, who are interested in astrology and magic. People with “learned helplessness” constantly complain about their powerlessness, while they also tend to see the reason for their failures in external circumstances. People who take a defensive psychological position are also susceptible to developing mania of persecution; They are distinguished by a constant readiness for self-defense and a quick temper at the slightest threat to their own personality: even a minor offense causes a surge of emotions in them. Such people can be “offended” by everything around them, which can develop into a persecution mania.
Some researchers believe that the formation of persecution mania is influenced by a certain type of structure of the central nervous system. Parental upbringing and psychological trauma suffered in childhood also have a certain influence.
There is also a hypothesis that persecution mania is a type of brain dysfunction. This was first pointed out by Pavlov, who suggested that in the patient’s brain there is a pathological focus of excitation that disrupts the activity of the system of conditioned reflexes, which leads to the onset of the disease.
How can I tell if I'm being followed?
Surveillance can be divided into two types: visible and hidden. You don't even have to recognize visible surveillance. People who follow you will put open psychological pressure on you. For example, they will wait for you at the door of your apartment or will not hesitate to watch your windows, as was the case with journalist Arkady Babchenko.
Covert surveillance is more difficult, but it can be recognized by several signs. If you are being followed, then on your way to home or work you will most likely notice the same face of the person following you, or even several, more than twice.
“To understand and see who is behind you, you can look at your phone, bend down and tie your shoelace, and light a cigarette. All this is needed to see the people and the environment around,” explains Shalina.
Another way to check if there is a “tail” behind you is to go into a cafe or store, into a closed space in which you will have the opportunity to observe suspicious people. It is advisable to spend some long time there, for example half an hour or an hour. Most likely, your pursuers will enter the room with you or will wait outside for you all this time.
How does a person develop persecution mania?
Any of us perceives reality not directly, but after “passing” it through our own consciousness. When any pathology occurs, the reflection of reality by consciousness is disrupted, which is why certain mental disorders arise. Persecutory mania is one such disorder that communicates obsessive thoughts to the brain.
Under the influence of delusional thoughts, a person suffering from persecution mania may, for example, refuse food, believing that it has been poisoned by someone. Such people think that dangers await them around every corner, so they are afraid to cross the road (after all, they may be run over), generally walk down the street alone (they may be killed, maimed, kidnapped, etc.), they may be afraid to stay alone in the room.
The patient may show signs of jealousy, mistrust, aggression, and anxiety.
Delusional thoughts can be clearly structured. For example, the patient may remember the exact date of the beginning of the “persecution”, the results of the harmful activities of the “enemies”. He may only be afraid of certain aspects of life, and from time to time they may change (for example, at first he was only afraid to go outside, but behaved normally at home, and then vice versa - he feels safe only on the street, among people).
In the future, a person's personality may change. He may become taciturn and reluctant to answer questions about his behavior. He becomes tense, wary, and shows more and more aggression. The patient may begin to do things that were previously unusual for him.
Reasons for the feeling of presence
But what about those times when you are alone at home and feel the “evil eye” looking at you from across the room?
Psychologically, the sensation of an unknown presence is an illusory perception of one's own body with clearly defined characteristics that is associated with sensorimotor damage and is caused by lesions in three specific areas of the brain: the temporodorsal, insular, and especially the frontofacial cortex.
If you were a sultan, what kind of concubine would be suitable? How virtuous are you
A disappearing lake with azure water will appear again after a heavy rainfall
“Childhood passed under a fan!”: how people lived without the usual air conditioning
In other words, the feeling of someone looking at you or being near you when you are alone is an incorrect psychological perception and a reflection of the actions of your own body. The human body is usually capable of distinguishing itself from other people, but sometimes it can make mistakes. In a sense, you are the very ghost whose presence you feel.
How to behave correctly with a patient
You need to understand that the patient is insane during the course of his illness. You should not convince him otherwise, this can only cause another wave of aggression. The patient can list as his enemies anyone who tries to convince him. The only correct decision in this situation is to seek help from a psychiatrist.
You can try to play along with the patient and create conditions for him where he will feel safe. After this, you can proceed to treatment.
As is the case with other mental illnesses, with persecutory delusions the patient may try to harm both himself and others - especially others whom he considers enemies and persecutors. Therefore, it is recommended to remove all piercing, cutting and heavy objects from the patient’s field of vision.
The home page looks different than usual
Another warning sign is your browser's home page. Nowadays, for many users this is no longer an indicator: for them, the Internet begins with a built-in page with links.
But if you're still using the same home page that you set up the old-fashioned way, it's worth stressing out if it's different from what you're used to seeing. This may mean that your computer is infected and is redirecting you to sites that you do not want to see.
Treatment of pathology in a hospital
In order to begin to treat persecutory mania, it is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis.
The fact that a doctor can make a mistake here is evidenced by the biography of Ernest Hemingway, the famous American writer. Towards the end of his life, he began to show signs of persecution mania: he claimed that CIA agents were watching him, and was very worried about this. He was admitted to a closed hospital and treated like crazy. In the end, he managed to get a gun and shoot himself. After some time, CIA officers admitted that they had indeed been spying on Hemingway, and he was admitted to a mental hospital on their orders.
Treatment of persecution mania occurs in a hospital setting. For this, tranquilizers, psychotropic drugs, and sedatives are used. Psychotherapy is also used - cognitive-behavioral, family; All family members participate in family therapy.
In especially severe cases, electric shock is used. In this case, the patient may pose a danger - both to himself and to others. Therefore, he is kept in special conditions. The disease is prone to relapse.
For successful treatment of persecutory mania, it is also important to teach the patient to distinguish the real world from the imaginary one. You shouldn’t immediately convince the patient, but you can try some kind of educational move first: tell him about the structure of the human brain, about the processes of thinking, about how information from reality is transformed into thinking. Then you can gradually lead the patient to the idea that there are no objective grounds for his fears, since there are no signs of persecution in the surrounding reality.
Persecution mania is a disease that was also characteristic of outstanding personalities. One of the most famous “owners” of this disease was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the famous philosopher and writer. He had been suffering from paranoia, which expressed itself in persecution mania, for a long time. After his scandalous book “Emil, or on education” was published in the 1760s, which caused a conflict with the state and church, the symptoms of his illness only intensified. He saw secret conspiracies against himself everywhere, so he began to live the life of a wanderer, never stopping anywhere for long. He believed that all his friends and acquaintances were against him. One day, in a castle where he was staying, a servant died, and Rousseau demanded that he be opened - he believed that those around him wanted to accuse him of poisoning the servant. It is curious that the mentioned book contains real revolutionary ideas in terms of raising a child: Rousseau proposed replacing constant punishment with affection and encouragement. In this he was far ahead of his time, because no one understood his ideas in those years.
Edgar Allan Poe also suffered from persecution mania. In general, the life of this writer was full of all sorts of oddities. Edgar Allan Poe was afraid of loneliness and darkness. It constantly seemed to him that some mysterious forces were pursuing him in the darkness. Edgar Poe was very afraid of dying alone. Actually, this is what happened - the writer died completely alone.
Sergei Yesenin also believed that behind his back everyone was only whispering about him and plotting something against him. Apparently, some of his famous antics were intended to scare off the “persecutors.” So, he could insult the public for good measure and without any particular reason.
In general, mental disorders of great people are a special topic. Some researchers believe that all outstanding personalities were “not entirely normal”; this is where the secret of their genius supposedly lies. This statement is very controversial (usually people do not take into account those outstanding individuals who did not suffer from anything like this). However, delusions of persecution, of course, were an indispensable companion of many insane dictatorial regimes - along with delusions of grandeur. One of the pillars of any totalitarian dictatorship is the conviction of society that there are a lot of “enemies” around who are trying to undermine the country’s economy, political sovereignty and generally wipe out the country’s population (or conquer it). “Enemies” must necessarily be present within the country; the government declares them to be oppositionists, gays, some nationalities, and people of intellectual work. An atmosphere of general tension, mistrust and aggression is building up in the country. The mania of persecution is gripping millions of ordinary people. Here it goes hand in hand with delusions of grandeur: the people are urged to be proud of their origins, their country, their rulers, etc. It is characteristic that in the event of the fall of a dictatorial regime, it is quite difficult to dispel the myth of “enemies” - the confused people cannot realize that no one wants to conquer it, that you can live in peace, and the only enemy of the country was the government. This can be taken advantage of by new political groups that are quite capable of adapting mass insanity to satisfy personal ambitions.
Something is wrong in the browser history
Sometimes it's worth checking your browser history and seeing if all the sites on this list are familiar to you. Most likely you won't find anything special.
But if there are pages in the story that you definitely haven't visited, that might be a sign that you need to pay attention. Suspicious browser activity could mean that someone was trying to access your data.
