Ronald is a midlevel manager at a private firm. Though very competent at his job, his colleagues and subordinates find him very reserved. He communicates very little with them and shares little information about himself. He often accuses them of trying to scuttle his promotion possibilities. He feels they are jealous of him. When anyone at office points out any failure on his part, he holds them responsible for those same failures and makes counteraccusations. He maintains a kind of closed, defensive and mistrustful position with them, as well as with those above him in the chain of command. This happens all the more if he perceives that they are a threat to his independence. Moreover, his tactlessness and attitudes of superiority, arrogance, and grandiosity antagonize people around him.
He is suspicious of his neighbours. He frequently keeps a watch on them secretly and maintains a distance from them. He suspects his wife of infidelity and accuses her of not loving him but other men. He does not like her socializing with anyone. When he returns home from any trip outside, he sniffs the air to pick up any trace of men’s perfumes and scrutinizes the room for telltale signs of the presence of men in the house….
Ronald’s brief profile shows him as suffering from paranoid personality disorder.
DYNAMICS AND CHARACTERISTICS
- Suspicion
Inordinate suspicion is the distinctive feature of the paranoid personality disorder. Those who suffer from it are unwarrantedly skeptical and mistrusting of the motives of others. They look for hidden meanings and motives in others’ behaviour. They tend to interpret even innocuous incidents as signifying hidden or conspiratorial intent. This they do especially with those who do not appreciate them or criticise them
FR JOSE PARAPPULLY SDB
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