Personality Quizzes

I've always found paranoia to be a perfectly defensible position. -- Pat Conroy

Personality disorders can be very distressful to the individuals who suffer from the disorders. Nonetheless, family and friends are usually the ones complaining. Please understand, people do not choose to have a personality disorder, though the reality is-- their behavior and attitudes can be painfully difficult to understand and accept. This can be especially true with Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD). I would be surprised if many of individuals with PPD seek counseling. It is highly improbable, unless someone in their environment is persistently and persuasively pushing them to "talk to someone." Individuals with PPD are not likely to trust a therapist or the person pushing him or her to see a therapist.

According to the DSM IV, "Their excessive suspiciousness and hostility may be expressed in overt argumentativeness, in recurrent complaining, or by quiet, apparently hostile aloofness" (DSM IV, 1996, p.635). They may appear cold, lacking in emotions, secretive and guarded.

Individuals with PPD make up approximately 0.5% of 2.5% of the general population. Consequently, if after you read this, you start seeing them under every shrub and behind every door, it is just the "New Therapist Syndrome" - or you are living in a bizarre neighborhood. Or, perhaps reading about the personality disorders has made you paranoid. The New Therapist Syndrome strikes after we read too much about psychopathology. While working on my Master's at the Citadel in Charleston, I took an Abnormal Psychology class. By the end of the semester, I was convinced that I had several serious and ineffably fatal disorders AND my friends were more psychotic than I. Don't worry, this passes with time. Though to tell you the truth (our secret—quiet—people are listening), I still have suspicions about a few of my friends, especially the cop and the minister.

The personality and belief patterns listed below are those likely to be noticed in a person with Paranoid Personality Disorder. They must have had these symptoms since early adulthood, and the symptoms must be present in a variety of contents.

• January 22, 2009, 10:00 am - Dot Andrew My husband left me after 38 years of marriage giving me no reason. He had always been suspicious of my behaviour/faithfulness and often took offence at things I said. All of this was related to me. Other people find him good company. He scored 7 on the PPD test. I guess we'll never get back together as he has more recently said he feels I have messed up his life in every possible way. It sucks!
• January 28, 2009, 10:00 pm - M.K. I have a coworker who scored a 5. She saw some of us laughing and one with an upset look on her face and she went around to everybody asking if we were mad or laughing at her. She even went so far as to go and tell the boss. Everyone told her the same thing, IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. We were just told about an extra workload we had to start doing and one person was very upset and I tried to laugh and say that it was going to be ok. The not so funny thing is, she told everyone she was getting divorced because her husband was cheating her. Maybe he really was, but now after reading this, maybe he wasn't and she was just paranoid!
• January 29, 2009, 3:58 pm - Dr. Dorothy Paranoia is a distressing disorder for the person who suffers from it and for his or her friends and family. Naturally, only an experienced clinician can diagnose this condition. However, even a few of the symptoms can certainly complicate one's life. After awhile a paranoid individual may not trust anyone. Because of this, paranoia can lead to loneliness--that is very sad.
• February 6, 2009, 4:44 pm - Patricia I can not tell you how painful and frusting it is to be the child of a parent with PPD. As an only child, I have no sibling support and my father has dealt with for over 55 years of marriage. The disorder seems to get worse with age and I wonder how much worse it will become. My mother also has panic attacks and rarely leaves the home. She has several siblings that she will not speak to and often will not speak with me either due to her paranoia. I offer my love and support but it is not always accepted. Very difficult situation.
• March 14, 2009, 2:40 pm - BonnieK In response to Patricia:
  I, too, have a parent like this (62 yrs old). As she grows older, her PPD renders her holed up in her house and wary of communicating with family or friends. The sad thing is, I cannot help or intervene on her behalf until something really bad happens and a court determines her mentally incapacitated. At that point (so I've been told), it's even possible that adult children could be blamed and held liable for not stepping in sooner. Damned if we do, damned if we don't, I guess? I am truly sorry for your (and your parent's) pain and suffering. In this day and age, emotional problems are starting to seem like the rule rather than the exception. Best of luck, and know that you are not alone in these tribulations.
• March 23, 2009, 1:17 pm - mary my father has this kind of personality, he's 67 now. you grow up always with the fear of saying something that might make him defensive or angry. he thinks you're always against him, no matter what you say. you grow up with anxiety, it's nerve-wracking.
• March 24, 2009, 4:00 pm - Dr. Dorothy A parent who has a "you better walk on egg shells" attitude is a challenge. Children are at a power disadvantage. Naturally, in these situations many children grow up reluctant to express their views and concerns. This can be a issue if it follows them into adult life. However, it does not have to be.
• March 31, 2009, 10:01 pm - Quinn This sounds exactly like my brother. He can't hold down a job, has few friends, hasn't had a long term romantic relationship in the past ten years and gets into arguments and altercations frequently, even with strangers. Everywhere he goes he believes others are making fun of him. I've tried repeatedly to get him to talk to a therapist, but he refuses and then we fight. He's in his thirties now and has been like this since he was about eighteen. His life is in complete chaos, but cannot see that he is the cause of his own problems and I don't know what to do.
• April 1, 2009, 2:27 pm - kg I have been dating off and on a guy who scored a ten. I am not the type of female to put up with a lot of bs, so when he starts in with his negativity and weirdness, I tell him he's got to go. Sometimes I won't even talk to him on the phone if he starts in with his blaming everyone for his lack of success. He knows now (because I am honest) that he is not the only guy I am with...and that reason is because I cannot trust his irrational behavior. Often times in a restaurant he will get angry for no reason and leave. Usually, I am with friends so I don't care, or I will call other friends to meet me. This irritates him that I can so easily socialize and don't need him, but it has also forced him to at least behave a lot better, especially in public, than he used to. I might hang out with him sometimes, but I will never have a serious relationship with him. The weird thing is he can be so sweet sometimes and he is very good when it comes to sex. That's the main reason I hang around at all.
• April 2, 2009, 1:33 pm - Dr. Dorothy Quinn, If--and that is a big "if" we have a family member who is overly suspicious--it can be quite frustrating. Arguing, pleading, and suggesting don't seem to work well--most of the time.
  It is up to the person to decide what he or she will do with his or her life. No matter how much we love someone, we only have as much power to persuade as they give to us. Sometimes we cannot help, no matter how much we want to--other than just being there--and that is quite valuable in itself.
  
• April 14, 2009, 9:21 am - SJG I am just discovering paranoid personality disorder. Unfortunately, it is something that my significant other has suffered from for at least the sixteen years we have been together. He scored a seven out of seven. He has finally succeeded in driving me away, as his distrust and the almost constant accusations of being with other men has ruined the relationship. I am at the end of my very short leash. Calling every day at the same time to make sure he knows where I am has become burdensome. I'm just saying ENOUGH!
• July 29, 2009, 10:35 am - Sienna I found this site looking to see if my husband needs help. 6 out of 7 questions related to him. He's not particulalry jealous but everything else could have been taylored for him. We have been married for 3.5 years and I love him so much. I am very worried because his anger and distrust for everyone and for many "institutions" is hurting our marriage. I want to help him, but live my life on eggshells because I never know what will set him off. I'm afraid to talk to him about everyday, mundane things like going somewhere with my parents because I just don't which side of his personality will manifest. When he gets angry with me, nothing I say is good enough and he will hold a grudge for days on end, not speaking to me unless necessary, etc. We have a 2 year-old-daughter he cares for while I work but I worry of the effect of his mental state on her. She is senstive and KNOWS when something isn't right at home. I don't know what to do. I fear confronting him with my idea that he needs help, because he'll just think I am (yet again) out to get him.
• August 22, 2009, 7:56 pm - AB What is the solution? How can you get help for a parent that does not realize that they have a problem?
• August 25, 2009, 12:09 pm - Dr. Dorothy You cannot. You can talk to your parent and hope that he or she will listen. Your changes of succeeding are not particularly. However, if you don't try your changes are nil. People don't make changes unless they see a very good reason to do so. In the mean time, remember you have a life to live -- live it well.
• November 21, 2009, 12:14 am - Robyn My mother is 81 and was physically and verbally abusive to me and my sisters as a child. I don't know that she has PPD, but most of the symptoms seem to fit. What are the chances that she will be physically abusive (she is still verbally abusive) as she gets older? She threatens me and I interrupted her from hitting my grandson. How much danger does someone with this condition present?
• November 21, 2009, 12:52 pm - Dr. Dorothy From what you have told me, your mother has been abusive for many years and that has not changed as she moved into her senior years. Some individuals mellow as they mature others simply intensify lifelong aggressive behaviors. If possible, accompany your mother when she visits her physician. Perhaps her physician can make some suggestions. In the meantime, be very cautious --especially when children are present.
  I wish you well. You have had a long, difficult journey --and it continues. Hugs to you and your family as you struggle to help your mother.
• May 22, 2010, 9:44 am - Someone i scored a 6 im really scared :/
• June 9, 2010, 9:56 am - kw I was wondering what the dangers would be, if a young mum who has a 1 yr old and another on the way, was suffering from the disorder. are there risks to the young child or the unborn child?
• June 9, 2010, 10:00 am - k.m.r Dr Dorothy, please can you tell me if any harm could come to a 1 year old and an unborn child if their mum had this condition.
• November 4, 2010, 12:09 am - Nicole I don't know if I am paranoid all the time or not.I always get the feeling someone is following me at night but if I turn around no one is there. Then while I am in bed I get the feeling somone is watching me but i'm the only person in the room. In a big group of friends I always feel like I am the person left out like they don't even see i'm there. Sometimes I do get mad at some small things and it's for no reason. I don't know what to do....
• December 11, 2010, 5:54 pm - Jess I scored a 6 on this test. I am only 17. I worry for my mental health due to my depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. My mom says its all in my head. What should i do?
• December 17, 2010, 6:21 pm - Nate My sister is convinced she is being stalked. The stalker doesn't want to hurt her just "play mind games" with her. She sees certain graffiti all over town, every where she has lived and thinks they are all signs to her by the stalker. My sister is 34 has never had a boyfriend, ran away from home at 16, hates my dad, feels abandoned by my parents and is also ultra sensitive. Every time I try to con vice her the stalker isn't real we argue and fight. She is planning on moving away to cut all ties with everyone she knows so the stalker can't follow her. I'm getting worried. She also gets depressed. Need advice.
• December 22, 2010, 2:14 pm - kev duke 4 months ago I walked out on my wife of 18 years because of arguments. I have always been very suspicious and jelous, through out the relationship, we have recently got back together and as a result my thoughts on what she is doin behind my back have got miles worse, she says she loves me, but can't cope with all the accusations and questions, I know in my own mind it is going to push her away and I dont want that but I have no way of stopping the thoughts. I hate been this way if anyone has any ideas or can help plz feel free to contact me, I cant cope and don't want to mess up my life again.
• January 23, 2011, 1:01 am - David After taking this quiz and reading what you all have said I have decided to get some help. I am in a marriage where I am constantly taking things the wrong way and constantly untrusting of my wife who has never done anything to deserve it. I read into every single word and how that word is said. This extends to work as well. If someone does not smile at me I wonder why or if I have done something to offend them. I have even thought threatening divorce if my wife did not admit to something she never did. So thanks and maybe everyone can read this from the other side.
• January 25, 2011, 1:34 am - Dr. Dorothy Good for you! Acknowledging our challenges is very difficult for mere humans. I am very proud of you as I am certain your Wife is also. Continue to challenge you negative interpretations and seek facts on which to base your beliefs. Good luck!
  Be well
• February 9, 2011, 6:06 pm - agi I moved out from my boyfriend because i couldnt cope anymore. i lost many of my friends because of his suspicious mind and was scared walking back home what i have done wrong this time and what mood he will be in.my social life disappeared completly but that wasnt good enough as well.once he even told me to pretend in front of his newly engage friends that i am happy and smily (after big argument).he refuse to meet my closest friends because they think he treat me bad (in his mind). i love him to pieces and we had some great times but his jelousy and anger just killed that all. he blamed me for everything and i just start feeling not good enough and lack of confidence.everything i ever said was used against me. he could manipulate my feelings to make me feel guilty every time when i wanted to talk about them and our issues.i suggested few times therapy and talk with some specialists but that was not good as well as any of my ideas. now i am free and need to have some councelling myself to get back to this happy and confident person i was before. wish him all the best and really really love him but you cant make someone happy if this person dont want to...
• April 21, 2011, 10:47 am - Coen Spouse shows these symptoms for 8 years now. Does not want to go for consultation. blames everything on me. Always claims i am psychic. I can't bear it anymore. Every time it happens, I am being sworn at, humiliated sometimes physically attacked, always claiming that I have relationships with other women. She's got no respect of the children. Always believe other people who does not know her or the situation's advice and comments, trying to enforce it on me as the truth.
• June 19, 2011, 9:27 pm - Paul My mother has PPD, which was diagnosed by a health professional. Several years ago, that same individual advised my sister to organize a family intervention and get my mother some help. My sister didn't go forward with the intervention because it was too much trouble. For years, my mother's had OCD (which is a component of PPD, I'm sure) and PPD. She's is highly suspicious of everybody, including her children, and so paranoid that we don't tell her we are in contact by telephone and email. If I "slip" and tell her I spoke to my sister, she gets paranoid and aggressive. Obviously, we talk about her because she's mentally ill and making our lives miserable. As a teenager, I noticed my mother was "odd," extremely anti-social, fearful, paranoid and depressed. Later, in my 20s, after I was in therapy (because of my mother), I repeatedly asked my sisters to help me get our mother into therapy. They were in denial for years. However, about 5 years ago they realized that there is something very wrong with our mother and I was estranged from her for ten years. She's now 84 and worse than ever. My siblings and I limit our interaction with her and my brother is permanently estranged from her. At one time, my mother was forced to see a shrink, but soon quit therapy because the therapist was "mean." She's afraid to take medication, although she's frequently at the doctor's office for some imagined illness. She gets meds, but won't take them. She's a pathological liar, causes arguments, holds grudges, likes to litigate, cries all the time, argues with neighbors and strangers, and takes every little look or innocent remark as an insult. It's embarrassing to go anywhere with her because she might go off on a stranger for the slightest (imagined) reason. Now that she's elderly and lives alone, is there some way we can get a social worker to help us get her into a facility or force her to see a therapist? I know this condition is difficult to treat, but she's driving her kids away and will need caregiving at some point. What can we do?
• June 26, 2011, 12:06 am - Mel My husband and I have been married for 12 years and have 4 sons. He scored a 7 and has been emotionally and mentally abusive for the last 10 years. He never believed anything i told him and always on the defense. on November 18, 2009 he was diagnosed for the second time with stage 4 non hodgkins lymphoma. We spent 8 months at MD Anderson cancer center in houston and I never left his side. We returned home April 12, 2010 completely cured. In october 2010 he told me he did not love me anymore and wanted a new life. Because I fell apart because I had just been given my husband back from cancer, he stayed until April 15, 2011. He devastated my life and my children cannot understand why. On May 28, 2011, I discovered him at a womans house who he became friends with on facebook while in the hospital. It was at this time he tells me he has not loved me for the past 9 years and he can"t explain why.I have begged for him to get help in saving our marriage because i love him dearly. i also believe he is narcissistic. He gets gradification hurting people emotionally and mentally.I can't let go because I feel these issues are due to him being abused as a child by his father and his mother not protecting him. i also see these symptoms in both of his parents. i dont want my children to turn out this way. I also don't want to end my marriage. I love my husband. I am at the end of my rope. My world has been distroyed and I never saw it coming. Please Help
• August 11, 2011, 3:22 am - e.c. I am going out with someone for 8 months. I am really in love and have strong and deep feelings for him. However, I noticed his strange behaviour, full of suspicions and mistrust and showed him this text. He accepted the whole thing and even seem relieved that his symptoms are somehow justified. When not in the "suspicious" mode, he can discuss logically about it and is willing to get treatment. However, when "it gets" him he is very offensive, insults me and constantly implies I am a liar, a manipulator, possibly cheat on him and have had a very unhealthy, rich and "open" sexual life in thew past. As I recently had HPV, all his assumtions were "justified" and he insists I knew it and I am trying to "cover" the whole thing with the help of my doctor. This is so unfair, since as soon as I noticed, I informed him and went straight to the doctor. I too am confused, since I had no other sexual partners but him in the past 8 months. I am beeing really honest and open and as return I get accusations. Yesterday i lost control, got hysteric and punched him. I am so ashamed. I cannot handle this. Despite all I read and suffer I want to be with this guy, I feel he is the one for me. Please help, what can i do? Doesnt anyone else lose their temper?
• August 11, 2011, 10:58 am - Dr. Dorothy Hello,
  So you have been going out with him for 8 months and you love him--however, having a relationship is difficult and frustrating and it is taking a toll on your emotional health? Is that what you are saying? I think you know what to do and I also think if a person, a good friend, came to you with this situation you would know what to advise. The pain of separation is real and it dims with time. The pain of a destructive relationship can go on forever--at least, it seems like forever. What do you think is best for you as a healthy human being?
  This is relationship painful for you and for that I am sincerely sorry.
  Dr. D
  P.S. Should you decide to leave the relationship pay close attention to safety issues. Talk to someone you know and trust about your safety.
• September 12, 2011, 12:43 pm - Charlotte Airean I'm only thirteen, and my friends at school are always saying that I am constantly paranoid and a nervous wreck. They say I'm always wringing my hands, glazing off in thought with a worried expression, and I never realise any of this. So i thought I would find out if I really did have PPD (in the act of paranoia). I got the 'possibility' result, so i suppose I can sort of see where they are coming from now :/ (to those of you who are wondering, I but no on the partner spouse thing)
• September 20, 2011, 6:25 pm - Paul My wife suffers from this. She has had therapy but no longer goes. Her therapist has not told her but had asked me to help in her treatment. The issue centers around our children and my siblings and father. My wife feels our children are in danger and so has barred our children from seeing my family. I go to all family parties alone. My family understands that she is not well but it kills me that my daughters don't know their grandfather aunt and uncles. It has killed our marriage. Virtually nothing left. We stay together because neither one of us wants to disrupt our family life. I could probably live with seeing my children half the time but I feel certain that prospect would push her over the edge. She has accused me of infidelity and even child abuse and am certain such accusations would be brought up in a custody hearing. Do I demand an MMPI to impeach her accusations? I love my wife and I would rather help her than destroy our marriage and family life. What will happen to her? Will she be destroyed? I feel I am dying from the inside out and I need to get away from or fix the hostile environment our home has become. Our children can see that we are not getting along. My 5 year old tells whispers about a confrontation between my wife and brother from over a year ago. I have read that treatment is usually futile because the therapist becomes part of the problem. No doubt why her therapist has not told her the truth. I am 49, she is 41 and our children are 5 and 10.