Paranoia: A Journey Into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety

(Hardback)

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A TRULY IMPORTANT BOOK JOHN HUMPHRYS

What is paranoia What makes us mistrustful How can this be overcome
In Paranoia, Daniel Freeman, a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Oxford, shows how suspicion is rife, how conspiracy theories circulate like never before and how all too often emotion trumps evidence. This book is a shocking expose of the extreme levels of mistrust in our society.

For fans of Quiet, Why We Sleep and Its All in Your Head, this highly innovative book uses case studies and new science to examine paranoia: how it forms, how it can be linked to trauma, to sleep, to conspiracy beliefs and relationships with authority and other people and its wider, subtle effects on us as a society.

This is also a practical book. Freeman has spent thirty years steering the vanguard of clinical research. His career is unparalleled, spanning the fields transformation from being almost entirely focused on pharmaceutical responses to embracing the power of therapy and behavioural support. Leaning on his expertise, Freeman shows us how we can measure our own levels of mistrust. He explains how we can remedy things if that level is higher than wed like, because although mistrust can seem engrained, things can change for the better. Ultimately, it can be overcome.

With stories ranging from patients with the most extreme forms of mistrust to people with more everyday anxieties, this book will change the way we think about paranoia.

This is a fascinating and deeply personal story of a career spent understanding and treating extreme mistrust and anxiety. Daniel Freeman's brilliant book guides us through his groundbreaking experiments, pioneering treatments and profound insights on paranoia. This is a fascinating read for anyone who wants to understand the human mind, not least because we hear the voices of those whose lives have been consumed by this crippling condition
Professor Russell Foster FRS, University of Oxford

Reviews

Anyone whos been a hack as long as me (sixty-five years and counting) reckons we can spot paranoia when we see it. But we need Daniel Freeman to tell us how to recognise the real thing. He doesnt only write from experience. He knows how to deal with it. A truly important book

JOHN HUMPHRYS

Daniel Freemans remarkable new book offers a front row seat for his groundbreaking research and recounts a compelling, and endearingly personal, account of supporting those affected by the experience of extreme mistrust. It is a superb achievement: intimate yet expansive, and a true testament to the transformational power of empathy and understanding in the face of fear

DR ELEANOR LONGDEN, UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

An eye-opening exploration of mistrust from the leading psychologist of paranoia. Daniel Freeman provides a compelling account of paranoia, conspiracy thinking and the crisis of trust now corroding our societies. His superb new book is authoritative and illuminating

PROFESSOR KIA NOBRE FBA, YALE UNIVERSITY

This book is a roller coaster ride into the world of paranoia autobiography, history, clinical, academic, thriller, all that and more

SIR SIMON WESSELY FRS, REGIUS CHAIR OF PSYCHIATRY, KINGS COLLEGE LONDON

Daniel Freeman is a real innovator. He listens to his patients, and he finds scaleable treatments which need to be widely adopted. We can all learn from his wisdom

LORD RICHARD LAYARD, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

This book busts many assumptions about the nature of psychiatric disease and psychological distress, and their relationship to all of us. A fascinating journey through the scientific method to understand new ways of conceptualising our mental health, and techniques to improve it

PROFESSOR GUY LESCHZINER, GUYS AND ST THOMAS HOSPITALS

Author Bio

Professor Daniel Freeman is the worlds leading researcher of paranoia. He holds the Chair of Psychology at the University of Oxford and is a Professorial Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Daniel is a consultant clinical psychologist in Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator, and leads the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) research group. A Fellow of the British Academy, he presented the BBC Radio 4 series A History of Delusions.