Paranoid/anxious thoughts?

So I’ve noticed recently that I e been having a lot of fleeting paranoid thoughts. I’ve been vacillating wildly between moods but these thoughts have seemed to remain constant, to varying degrees of intensity. For example, when I was mixed in February and under a lot of stress, I believed that my job was tracking me through the cameras and my key card to see when I arrived and left and punish me for it (even though I am allowed to leave as I please on my prep time). I also believed that if I got pulled over, the officer would peg me as high and arrest me. These were intense thoughts when I was unwell but faded as I became hypomanic.

However now I am realizing I am still having paranaoid thoughts, they just don’t bother me. Like today, I put my food down at a fast food restaurant and went to go get a fork and knife. I thought “maybe someone will poison my food” but dismissed it. Then my roll tasted bitter and I again thought it was poisoned, but didn’t care.

I’ve been looking behind me a lot, thinking someone’s following me and is about to attack me. I also feel like tonight the man I’ve been seeing is going to steal my things. I have no reason to believe this at all. He’s a very kind man, but truth is I’ve only been talking to him a month and anything’s possible.

Does anyone else have paranoid thoughts like this? They don’t really bother me because I’m able to dismiss them right away (in my current mood state anyway) but I wonder if this is just going to be my life now.

Have you discussed a med increase with your pdoc?

I'm like this. Some time it's more than just fleeing thoughts. I try not to stress about it because I know it's just a thought.

She actually just increased rexulti on Tuesday so maybe that will help. I’ve just never had this happen before for such an extended period of time.

Do you think it’s actual paranoia or just anxiety? I can’t take the Ativan, it sedated me too much and leaves me depressed the next day, so I’m not on anything for anxiety. I’m wondering if maybe I should talk to my pdoc about adding something like gabapentin? I don’t know if I want to add another med though.

I think it's normal to have such fleeting thoughts. The problem is when you can't dismiss them. I've had thoughts that my food was being poisoned and then threw my food away because of it. That's no good.

Honestly flower, what you've described sound more like paranoia than like anxiety. I'm thinking the anxiety comes from feeling paranoid.

I don't exactly have that kind of paranoia...I almost always feel that some people are, I'm not really sure, thinking about me and wishing me harm. It's very stupid and annoying to me.

I think that talking to your pdoc about the issue is a great idea. Keep us posted.

My middle son is also becoming more paranoid as they titrate him down from 15 mgs of Saphris to 5, and raise him up on lamictal. He was placed on Saphris for psychosis in November. I don't know if it is bipolar, borderline or an emerging psychotic disorder, because all have been suggested. My other son is extremely paranoid but that is going in another post!