This might just be me and the Venus Neptune effect but I wonder what happens to you when you have to deal with a person who tends to be paranoid. You know. They always think a person is up to something.
I realize I catch their paranoia in a way. First, if they are constantly doing this to others, I figure my turn is coming... which is paranoid in my book! I mean, if I deal with someone who does not have paranoid tendencies, I never think anything like this. But also, I second guess myself where they are concerned.
For example, I might have an impulse to say something or make some kind of gesture. I won't do it because I figure the odds my action will be taken to be driven my some suspicious motive is too high to bother...
You see what I mean. Paranoid people make me paranoid! Because people like this can also be vicious. Next thing you know, you're in heaps of trouble, even though your innocent.
Is this familiar to you or do you have different experience?
Yes, various forms of it. I’m not sure if any of these cover this topic accurately.
Suspicious about someone different in the neighborhood. Clearly the person is just walking through, not skulking about. I won’t dismiss it 100% but I don’t freak out. It’s kind of annoying. Edit: my husband is often highly suspicious of anything different like this. I understand that this is Cancer protective mode, of his property, neighborhood, and family, but still, I’m often…really?
When I am the subject of the paranoia, well, produce the evidence or fuck off. Or just fuck off if you’ve known me for a while.
My mother has become quite paranoid about some things and thankfully she is not terrorized. She just tells us about it and issues empty threats and it seems more like a pastime (not the best one, I know, but she’s not causing problems or calling the police). We just listen, maybe ask questions, but we have to acknowledge that she truly believes this and I feel we can’t dismiss her because…well, she really believes it.
Are these the things you mean? My Mercury Capricorn can be so damned dry sometimes.
I understand paranoia in terms of safety. You can never be sure and I tend to encourage following your gut. However, when people are paranoid about things such as what someone else is thinking about them or what someone's motives for an action are, after a while they tend to lose credibility with me and I start dismissing it totally and try to distance myself. Really depends on the subject and the person's tendencies.