Welcome to BrainStuff, a production of I-Heart Radio.

Hey Brain Stuff, Lauren Vocalbaum here.

Paranoid.

It's a word that's perhaps made more headlines in 2020 than any other year.

From the NBC News headline, How to Tell if the COVID-19 pandemic made you paranoid or just appropriately cautious.

To Yale News's,es unexpected uncertainty can breed

paranoia researchers find.

Paranoia is having a moment. But what is paranoia and in a world currently consumed by a global pandemic and political

pandemonium, what's the difference between appropriate skepticism or suspicion and irrational

delusions? We spoke with clinical psychologist Tamara McClintock Greenberg.

She said,

paranoia is an interesting concept,

both in terms of how it's made its way into the lexicon of current language and the meaning clinically, and the meaning has changed a lot over time.

The paranoia is generally defined as a thought process characterized by irrational, suspicion, or mistrust of others.

There's a wide range of ways paranoia can show up, but people who experience it may feel like

others are out to get them, or they may perceive that they're in danger even though there's no clear threat.

There are a lot of reasons why people can experience paranoia.

It's a common symptom of mental disorders like dementia and drug misuse.

But not every case of paranoia is clinical or even cause for alarm.

Many people experience mild paranoia at some point in their lives.

Greenberg said,

Freud initially thought of paranoia as a defense

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