Are you paranoid about exploring what it means to feel paranoid? What is feeling paranoid all about, and what do you suppose this emotion is trying to tell us?

I understand sometimes paranoia can become chronically debilitating for some. When that happens, it’s always good to reach out for help when it disrupts your life and how you want to live. There are other times, though, paranoia creeps in and giving it some air-time can help to understand more about what’s going on. It’s those little fears that come knocking on our door and sometimes they like to take root and cause abundant chaos in our lives.

So when paranoia comes to visit, I like to explore how valid (or invalid, as is often the case) my fear is. Is it raising a caution flag for my safety and well being? Or is it stealing my grounded, mindful, intentional endeavors to pursue what I know is right in my heart? When it’s signaling attention to my safety, I like to listen to it so I can get myself to safety. When paranoia is being a thief, I prefer to acknowledge where it’s coming from and give it other things to do. This thief frequently uses my insecurities to divert my grounded focus. “Thank you, paranoia, for stopping by. I see you! If you’re looking for something to do, go to all our parks and safely dispose of all the unsafe items people leave behind. Thank you for your service!”

These emotions of ours all have one purpose or another. The puzzle, for us as human beings, is learning when these emotions are helping us and when they are hurting us. When we can see what’s really going on, we learn more about ourselves and how we relate to others. This context is powerful, isn’t it? Our brains can help us understand when it’s important to pay attention to and when it’s okay to acknowledge and step away. Thank you, paranoia! We see you!

Explore more feelings in the Stayin’ in Touch – Negative Emotions book. You can play with them when or wherever you like.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay