When my clients tell me that someone is after them, I think about paranoia. Paranoia is an extreme case of fear whether it is real or not. In Chinese medicine, it suggests an imbalance in the water element. The water element prevails in the winter season as winter is a time to go deep within, especially when snow covers the ground outside.
How would someone develop a fear that appears to come out of nowhere? The Freudians claim that three main defense mechanisms are used with paranoia: denial, reaction formation and projection. If, for example, you have feelings for someone that you want to hide, such as, “I hate him”, denial would claim, “I do not hate him”; reaction formation would twist it to, “I love him”, and projection would say, “It’s not me who hates him; he hates me.”
Applying the Natural Success principles, whatever emotion you experience indicates something about you — the Natural Success principle of “I Am”. One technique I use is to “de-symbolize” the paranoia. Whatever you are paranoid about has a special message that goes deeper than the literal surface meaning. Each individual needs to tune into the meaning that best fits his or her situation. Once you get the translation, then you can choose to express the real meaning directly rather than continue the charade of paranoia. For example, I have a client who is afraid she might do something indiscreet with young boys and denies consciously wanting to. Her paranoia is that everyone knows she has those thoughts because they read her mind. Her de-symbolization turns out to be that she indeed has sexual thoughts. She chooses young boys as her sexual object because in her mind, they are more acceptable than adult men, and she wants to inhibit her sexual desires. The issue, then, is how to deal with her sexual desires.
The difference between fear and paranoia is that fear is appropriate when you have a bear chasing after you; paranoia occurs when you think the bear is there but have no convincing evidence supports that idea. In this instance, the Natural Success principle of Truth recommends the good old reality check. If you think that everybody is against you, why don’t you ask the people that are around? Paranoid people have their minds set and even if someone said “I like you” to their face, the paranoid individual would not believe it. It is valuable, yet sometimes difficult, for people to know the difference between what is in one’s head and what can be verified in the outside world.
Considering the Natural Success principle of Balance, reducing animal food intake seems to be the best recommendation for paranoid individuals. Vegetarians say that when an animal is slaughtered, they know when they are going to be killed and go through fright. Their adrenaline reaction is then eaten by the animal food consumer and transfers its effects. Those who consume large quantities of animal foods tend to be fixed in their approach to life. They have regular routines, they won’t try new things, and are set in their ways. More vegetables would soften this hardened lifestyle.
When you think the boogie-man is after you, remember it’s only a state of mind. Use the Natural Success principles, and make sure you scare the boogie-man away!