I continue the topic about adaptation mechanisms of people with different personality types. A person with a paranoid personality type (epileptoid) is characterized by increased vulnerability, suspicion, hot temper, vindictiveness, a heightened sense of justice, love of order. You can relate to this psychotype attributed to I.V. Stalin. A few of his quotes. “The unemployed are necessary for capital. Not a single capitalist will ever agree to the elimination of unemployment. To the destruction of the reserve army of the unemployed, the purpose of which is to put pressure on the labor market, to provide cheap paid labor.” “It’s hard for me to imagine , what kind of “personal freedom” can an unemployed person have who goes hungry and finds no use for his work? The paranoid demands from others a fair, honest attitude towards himself, but he himself does not always follow his principles. A characteristic feature of the paranoid is to deny the presence of unworthy motives, projecting them onto those around him, suspecting others of malicious intentions: it is not I who are cheating on you, but you who are cheating on me, It’s not I who thinks badly of you, but you who think badly of me, etc. A paranoid person tends to be offended for a long time, hide his true feelings, and then suddenly explode with anger. There is a lot of stubbornness and oppositionality in the behavior of a paranoid person, and therefore, in the team doesn’t particularly like him. Despite his character flaws, the paranoid is nevertheless distinguished by his desire for leadership, persistence in achieving goals, and thriftiness. If a paranoid is imbued with some idea, he can rally people around him and lead him. Defense mechanisms - projection, rationalization, reacting outwardly in an externally blaming manner, individualism, reactive education help the paranoid in maintaining positive self-esteem and mitigating frustration from unsatisfied needs. When expressed, these same defenses disrupt the adaptation process. Projection is, to a moderate extent, the basis of empathy. Projection has a destructive influence when it makes it difficult to objectively assess what is happening. For example: a person distorts information, attributes many events to his own account, attributes non-existent thoughts and feelings to others and intentions - assessing reality is difficult. Rationalization is a completely mature defense. With moderate action, it helps a person find a logical justification for failures and his own decisions. When expressed, rationalization looks like an excuse. For example, passive behavior can be rationalized by caution, aggressive behavior by self-defense, and indifferent behavior by the desire to make others more independent, etc. Reacting externally is interconnected with projection. A person is inclined to blame others, not allowing the thought that he may be wrong, and that what he accuses of is inherent in himself. Thus, one woman accused others of arrogance, while she herself talked down to others. The paranoid type has many similarities with the narcissistic, but unlike the narcissist, the paranoid is suspicious of praise, compliments, convinced that there is something hidden behind the positive attitude some kind of trick. The grandiosity of the paranoid is expressed in the belief that what is happening has something to do with him. For example, a man sees his ex on the street and concludes that it was no coincidence that she passed there. Ideas of relation can be observed in psychotic paranoids. So, the woman expressed the belief that at work there was a conspiracy against her, everyone wished her harm. Thus, a person’s perception filter is triggered when he sees only what he wants to see and categorically does not want to notice the opposite. Such devotion to one’s own ideas and beliefs (individualism) contributes to persistence in defending them and the ability to rely on one’s decisions. In an unfavorable situation, a person becomes a stubborn reasoner, hearing only himself. With reactive formation, a person turns his feelings upside down: respect into contempt, love into hatred and vice versa. Yes, one man - 2000/1500.