Paranoia is the unreasonable fear of something that possibly might happen. It can occur when you take a test, or when a family member takes a trip. It occurs a lot in parents and guardians of children. Paranoia is not a bad thing. It inspires us to do our best, and to defend and protect others. It helps us to love more dearly, and to make life better. But like a lot of other emotions, it can go to far and be unreasonable. A good example of that are the European Witch Hunts.
European Witch Hunts started in the early 14th century among common folk in Switzerland and Croatia. Women were accused of starting disease, cursing and enchanting people, and being in league with the devil. No one knew about disease or bacteria. There was no explanation for strange behavior (brain damage, illness, etc.). So, they blamed it on these women.
The women were condemned by the law, and then lynched, burned, or hung. Very rarely were women saved from this fate once they were accused. Everyone was paranoid, and they watched all of the local women very carefully. It was a time of fear and unreasonable blame.
They took this matter very seriously. So seriously, in fact, the French even burned the savior of their country, Joan of Arc, once she was accused of witchcraft. This behavior went on until the 1800's, when a law was passed banning accusing people of witchcraft. Even now, countries such as Saudi Arabia and Camaroon still allow women accused of witchcraft to be condemned.
See, a few sick cattle get sick around a milk maid, and the farmer gets paranoid of witchcraft. Europe harmed them self a lot more than they helped, because they killed between 40,000 and 100,000 condemned women alone, not to mention those accused of sorcery and being possessed by devils.
People get very Paranoid today. Some children are kept locked up in the house because they "might" do something, and become socially unaccepted. War after War has started because of suspicion of the other side. Paranoia is a good thing, but it is often over-used and abused.
I think Joan of Arc was also executed for the fact that she led a revolution though, right?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I find the mind to be pretty interesting. It's so puzzling and when you go through all the details, it's quite amazing. I also find things like paranoia, schizophrenia, and disturbia (for now, I'll simpley call it addiction) to be intriguing. The movies I enjoy are the movie that mess with your head. It's actually weird how paranoid I get after watching something like "Devil." It's not near as bad as it was a while back, but I still have it. There was actually a time a few years ago (like age 8, I think) where I was paranoid about EVERYTHING. I was afraid to eat food at Chuck-O-Rama once because I was afraid that a shrapnel grenade full of spikes was put in my food. And that's just one example. Now that I look back upon it, it was quite silly of me to think like that. Another interesting thing is the poetic description that can be used. The song "Disturbia," a song I find to be about addiction, is a great example. I plan on writing something about the mind someday. It'll be pretty dang difficult, but it's gonna be good when I do write it. (A hemorrhage of the mind. What about that?)
You may be interested in those things Andrew, but I can definitely tell you that Schizophrenia is not a good thing. My grandmother on my mom's side is Schizophrenic and Bipolar. This is horrible combination. I think some of that is what influenced me into deciding to become a psychologist.
ReplyDeleteAbout Joan of Arc: She was not only burned for being a witch, it was kindof a conspiracy you know? The government and some people didn't like a girl going around doing what she did (the revolution thing) and needed to have her gotten rid of. So they fed the fear and took advantage of the paranoia to get rid of her.
Paranoia I think is not always a good thing. I think it can help sharpen your senses you know like animal instinct but paranoia is more of the bad version. Fear or as the Greeks say phobis is a synonym and also works like paranoia. Caution, is I believe, the best way to go.
Well, Joan of Arc actually left written records of her communing with God himself in her garden, and in other places. She did believe she was ordained by God to lead the revolution, and to become a leader among her people. The conspiracy in the whole matter is how the information "leaked" (by way of propaganda, probably) into the church and the citizenry.
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