PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND PARANOIA A PATHWAY TO PSYCHOSIS

The first book I ever took from my late father’s bookshelf was titled “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE”. Pride and Prejudice is the second novel by English author Jane Austen, published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.

Pride is the state or feeling of being proud, a becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character, self-respect, self-esteem, pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself.

When you do a good job or finish a difficult task, you feel pride. Pride can also have a negative meaning and refer to exceedingly high self-regard.

Authentic pride is associated with self-confidence and accomplishment and promotes more positive attitudes toward outgroups and stigmatized individuals.

Hubristic pride, however, correlates with arrogance and self-aggrandizement and promotes prejudice and discrimination.

Prejudice is preconceived or biased opinion that is not based on reason, logic or actual experience.

Prejudice often refers to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's perceived personal characteristics, such as social class, political affiliation, sex, gender, gender identity, beliefs, values, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, culture, complexion, beauty, height, body weight, occupation, wealth, education, sport-team affiliation, music tastes or other perceived characteristics.

The word can also refer to unfounded or pigeonholed beliefs and it may apply to any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.

Prejudice can be caused by not spending a lot of time with people who are different from you in some way, and not being open to different ideas and ways of living.

The psychological bases for prejudice include people's key values, the ways they see themselves and others, their sense of social identity, and social norms that define who is included in or excluded from social groups.

An extremely prejudiced person may eventually become paranoid. It is worse when the person at the butt of the prejudice possesses a core value or competence that cannot be obfuscated or wished away.

Deep prejudice and an inferiority complex then add up to deep-seated Paranoia.

Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.

Making false accusations and the general distrust of other people also frequently accompany paranoia.

A paranoid person might believe an incident was intentional when most people would view it as an accident or coincidence. Paranoia is a central symptom of psychosis.

The Bible in Proverbs 16:18-20 says “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.”

Courtesy suddenly disappears when Pride, Prejudice and Paranoia set in. Rudeness gets increased by exaggerated individuality.

 Some people are naturally lawless, proud and impolite. They lack moral etiquette. It could be as a result of behavioural dysfunction and other upbringing issues. An attempt to correct some of them will further trigger explosions and inflammatory eruptions.

God honours the humble but looks away from the proud. I have seen how those who have been habitually rude and stubborn rode themselves into unexpected ruin and perdition. They mismanaged interpersonal relationships and got the strings that connected them with valuable network snapped.

Character can make or mar a man's or woman’s life. Arrogant people are usually lowlife who don't know the damage their rude manners can cause them. Our look, our speech, our habits, and our personality profile are behavioural markers that will prove how impolite we can be.

Proud and prejudiced people are empty people! You could have all the degrees of this world, all the wealth and fame there can be, and still be lacking in moral rectitude.

Proverbs 11:2 says “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:5 also says “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”

According to the Noble Qur'an, arrogance and pride are sins that will be severely punished by Almighty Allah.

Al-Shahid Al-Awwal Faqih Al-Sarbidaran mentions in Qawaid the fact that pride and arrogance are Greater sins and numerous traditions testify to this. The Holy Prophet (S) says: “One who has even an iota of pride will not enter Paradise.”

Yorubas say, “Igberaga ni n siwaju iparun”.

An African adage puts it this way, “He that the gods want to destroy, they first make mad.”

PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND PARANOIA ARE THREE BEACONS ON THE PATHWAY TO PSYCHOSIS.