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Effects of Stress
Mental Illness vs. Psychiatric Injury
Differences
Between Paranoia and Hypervigilance
Differences Between
Mental Illness and Psychiatric Injury
The Effects of Stress on Targets of Bullying and
Mobbing Can Result in Permanent Damage
One of the early researchers of workplace mobbing,
Prof. Heinz Leymann, said, "The mobbed employee
who has become our patient suffers from a traumatic
environment: psychiatric, social insurance office,
personnel department, managers, co-workers, labor
unions, doctors in general practice, company health
care, etc., can, if events progress unfavorably, produce
worse and worse traumata.
Thus, our patients, like raped women, find themselves
under a continuing threat. As long as the perpetrator
is free, the woman can be attacked again. As long
as the mobbed individual does not receive effective
support, he or she can be torn to pieces again at
any time.
Torn out of their
social network, the majority of
mobbing victims face the threat of early retirement,
with permanent psychological damage.
Thus, these individuals find themselves in a prolonged
stress - and in a prolonged trauma-creating situation.
Instead of a short, acute (and normal!) PTSD reaction
that can subside after several days or weeks, theirs
is constantly renewed: new traumata and new sources
of anxiety arise in a constant stream during which
time the individual experiences rights violations
that further undermine his or her self-confidence
and psychological health. The unwieldy social situation
for these individuals consists not only of severe
psychological trauma but of an extremely prolonged
stress condition that seriously threatens the individual's
socio-economic existence. Torn out of their social
network, the majority of mobbing victims face the
threat of early retirement, with permanent psychological
damage."
As the effects of stress and the relentless abuse
takes its toll bullies will be quick to point out
changes in the targets behavior.
Anxiety, stress, depression, sleep deprivation and
PTSD can overwhelm anyone, especially if they are
subjected to this treatment for long periods of time.
In some of the worst cases of mobbing this torment
has gone on for years. It is not surprising that many
of these cases end tragically in suicide or in workplace
violence and homicide.
However, long before it reaches that stage bullies
claim that their victims are mentally ill. When targets
come forward with complaints of abuse they are branded
as "paranoid" by the bullies and often by
those in authority as well.
The effects of stress caused by the bullying or mobbing
are used against the target to further victimize them
and characterize them as mentally ill. Using emotional
buzz words such as "paranoid" is designed
to cast aspersions on the mental health of the victim.
It is a way of silencing them by having whatever they
say dismissed as "paranoid" ravings. Once
bullies can convince others that the target is mentally
ill, nothing the target says is taken seriously.
The target of bullying may even wonder themselves
if they are going insane. Nothing about mobbing makes
sense.
The person who is being bullied will eventually say
something like "I think I'm being paranoid...";
however they are correctly identifying hypervigilance,
a symptom of PTSD, but using the popular but misunderstood
word paranoia. The differences between hypervigilance
and paranoia make a good starting point for identifying
the differences between mental illness and psychiatric injury.
Differences
Between Paranioa and Hypervigilance:
Paranoia |
Hypervigilance |
| paranoia is a form
of mental illness; the cause is thought to be
internal, eg a minor variation in the balance
of brain chemistry |
is a response to
an external event (violence, accident, disaster,
violation, intrusion, bullying, etc) and therefore
an injury |
| paranoia tends
to endure and to not get better of its own accord |
wears off (gets
better), albeit slowly, when the person is out
of and away from the situation which was the cause |
| the paranoiac will
not admit to feeling paranoid, as they cannot
see their paranoia |
the hypervigilant
person is acutely aware of their hypervigilance,
and will easily articulate their fear, albeit
using the incorrect but popularised word "paranoia" |
| sometimes responds
to drug treatment |
drugs are not viewed
favourably by hypervigilant people, except in
extreme circumstances, and then only briefly;
often drugs have no effect, or can make things
worse, sometimes interfering with the body's own
healing process |
| the paranoiac
often has delusions of grandeur; the delusional
aspects of paranoia feature in other forms of
mental illness, such as schizophrenia |
the hypervigilant
person often has a diminished sense of self-worth,
sometimes dramatically so |
| the paranoiac is
convinced of their self-importance |
the hypervigilant
person is often convinced of their worthlessness
and will often deny their value to others |
| paranoia is often
seen in conjunction with other symptoms of mental
illness, but not in conjunction with symptoms
of PTSD |
hypervigilance
is seen in conjunction with other symptoms of
PTSD, but not in conjunction with symptoms of
mental illness |
| the paranoiac is
convinced of their plausibility |
the hypervigilant
person is aware of how implausible their experience
sounds and often doesn't want to believe it themselves
(disbelief and denial) |
| the paranoiac feels
persecuted by a person or persons unknown (eg
"they're out to get me") |
the hypervigilant
person is hypersensitized but is often aware of
the inappropriateness of their heightened sensitivity,
and can identify the person responsible for their
psychiatric injury |
| sense of persecution |
heightened sense
of vulnerability to victimisation |
| the sense of persecution
felt by the paranoiac is a delusion, for usually
no-one is out to get them |
the hypervigilant
person's sense of threat is well-founded, for
the serial bully is out to get rid of them and
has often coerced others into assisting, eg through
mobbing; the hypervigilant person often cannot
(and refuses to) see that the serial bully is
doing everything possible to get rid of them |
| the paranoiac is
on constant alert because they know someone is
out to get them |
the hypervigilant
person is on alert in case there is danger |
| the
paranoiac is certain of their belief and their
behaviour and expects others to share that certainty |
the hypervigilant
person cannot bring themselves to believe that
the bully cannot and will not see the effect their
behaviour is having; they cling naively to the
mistaken belief that the bully will recognise
their wrongdoing and apologise |
TOP
Differences Between
Mental Illness and Psychiatric Injury:
Mental illness |
Psychiatric injury |
| the cause often
cannot be identified |
the cause is easily
identifiable and verifiable, but denied by those
who are accountable |
| the person may
be incoherent or what they say doesn't make sense |
the person is often
articulate but prevented from articulation by
being traumatised |
| the person may
appear to be obsessed |
the person is obsessive,
especially in relation to identifying the cause
of their injury and both dealing with the cause
and effecting their recovery |
| the person is oblivious
to their behaviour and the effect it has on others |
the person is
in a state of acute self-awareness and aware of
their state, but often unable to explain it |
| the depression
is a clinical or endogenous depression |
the depression
is reactive; the chemistry is different to endogenous
depression |
| there may be a
history of depression in the family |
there is very often
no history of depression in the individual or
their family |
| the person has
usually exhibited mental health problems before |
often there is
no history of mental health problems |
| may respond inappropriately
to the needs and concerns of others |
responds empathically
to the needs and concerns of others, despite their
own injury |
| displays a certitude
about themselves, their circumstances and their
actions |
is often highly
sceptical about their condition and circumstances
and is in a state of disbelief and bewilderment
which they will easily and often articulate ("I
can't believe this is happening to me" and
"Why me?" |
| may suffer a persecution
complex |
may experience
an unusually heightened sense of vulnerability
to possible victimisation (ie hypervigilance) |
| suicidal thoughts
are the result of despair, dejection and hopelessness |
suicidal thoughts
are often a logical and carefully thought-out
solution or conclusion |
| exhibits despair |
is driven by the
anger of injustice |
| often doesn't look
forward to each new day |
looks forward to
each new day as an opportunity to fight for justice |
| is often ready
to give in or admit defeat |
refuses to be beaten,
refuses to give up |
This information was compiled and
used with permission.
Special thanks to Tim Field - Bully
OnLine.
See Also:
Exercise
and Stress: Is Stress Ruining Your Health?
Hypnosis
for Stress and Anxiety: Can Hypnosis Help
You Cope?
How
to Stop Panic and Anxiety Attacks
Stress
Affect
A complete stress management guide on how stress affects
your health, wellbeing & performance. Don’t
eliminate stress – learn about it & use
its energy to create your ideal life.
Return from Effects of Stress to
Stress Management
Return to Home
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