Paranoid Personality Disorder or Paranoid Schizophrenia?

A spouse with Paranoid Personality Disorder may accuse you of flirting on the basis of seeing you talking to a member of the opposite sex in a church. However, a spouse with paranoid schizophrenia will be convinced that they heard or saw you do something sexually inappropriate during the conversation even though it never happened.

The common hallmarks of schizophrenia are auditory, visual, and tactile delusions; these delusions convince people with schizophrenia that their paranoia is real.

A person with Paranoid Personality Disorder may also link unrelated occurrences to support their beliefs. For example, taking the above example of the conversation in church, the paranoid spouse may then recall that the member of the opposite sex who you were speaking with was absent from church last week when you had stayed home from church because of a headache. These two facts are then put together to confirm their suspicion that both of you stayed away from church so that you could have a secret rendezvous.

Michelle’s Story:

“I too had a husband with paranoid schizophrenia and disorganized thoughts.I believed in our marriage vows, in sickness and in health, and stuck with it for almost 35 years.After dealing with his illness and all what comes with it for over 20 years, I could no longer cope…He was paranoid of everything and everybody, including his doctor and even myself on some occasions. I couldn’t even go to a drugstore to get some stuff and he would breathe over my shoulder, let alone having some girlfriends. I couldn’t even go to a schizophrenic support group without him having his suspicions. Never did I give him any reasons to feel that way. Yes it was his illness, I am aware of it. The 20+ years were hell, numerous admissions to hospitals, running away from them, suicide attempts, heavy drinking etc..etc.. I had to survive and thus separated from him in 1999.” (quoted from Schizophenia.com)