ABSTRACT
The term paranoia has a long history. The term has Greek origins and roughly translated means that the mind is ‘beside itself’.The early Greeks used it to refer to almost any form of mental disturbance or bizarre thinking. Over time, the term has changed in meaning but remains synonymous with the concept of insanity.1 More recently, paranoia has acquired a shared professional and lay meaning. The popularity of the term in lay circles has led to a situation in which the term is widely used and simultaneously poorly understood.
