Paranoia?

Hi. I've got a question about paranoia. Does thinking have to be totally delusional in order to be considered paranoia? I know that people who have schizophrenia have delusion and no matter what you tell them, they won't budge in their thinking. Well, I have been having problems in the last couple of years with paranoia. And thinking back, I realized that I was having paranoid thoughts when I was a child. I always feel like I'm being spyed on by my family and the cops. When I was little I used to get dressed in the dark cause I used to think people were looking through the windows or that someone planted a camera in the vent on the ceiling. Still to this day I am always paranoid that people are spying on me. Drilling tiny holes in the walls, or in the roof, through the window, using planted cameras. I also have had a couple episodes where I suspected the police were after me. Just this week, I'm starting to obsess that the cops are tapping into my cell phone. That thought has sort of been reinforced in my mind because of this random alarm sound that interrupted one of my calls this week. Since then, I've been afraid to talk on my cell phone and try to get people to use Iming in stead.At work today, as soon as I walked in, one of the machines started sounding this loud beeping sound. At first I didn't think anything of it, but suddenly I thought, "What is that alarm was set of by my presence. Then I thought maybe it's a warning. Then, maybe it's warning the other employees of something about me, then I started thinking that everyone at work was thinking I was a sexual predator because of this...the alarm suddenly sounding as I walked in. I know it doesn't make too much sense, but that's why I came here today to post this and ask for help. I have always been suspicious of people motives and distrustful. Is this paranoia? Because I'm not totally delusional, these things could happen. That is where I'm confused. What could this mean? Any input would be awesome. Thanks. By the way I'm a 22 year old male. Who has many of the signs of OCD and OCPD. Including counting, tapping, intrusive thoughts, tracing, weird body movements, and for the OCPD, I've got the strict adherence to rules and anxiety and depression cause by all the rage I try to keep inside. I try to enforce my rules on everybody to the point that people are saying things. Family members and coworkers, who have sort of cast me out of any social circle, so it really sucks. I keep thinking that the paranoia could possibly be the start of schizophrenia since it's starting to get worse. I don't know though. This was not supposed to be such a large post, my apologies.

I just wanted to add some things I just remembered. lol I also have suspicions that my family is trying to poison me, like at dinner or what ever. I've also though my co workers were trying to kill me once at work when they positioned me in a spot with this vent right over me. I started smelling fire and started thinking that the ceiling was going to fall on top of me, which I though was their plan. I also always thought that my co workers were sabotaging me and trying to get me fired. Ok. I think that's it. Sorry about all this.

Yeah, that is classic paranoid schizophrenia.

It got so bad for me that I almost beat up one of my family members because I thought there was poison in my food.

Same goes for the "authorities" looking inside. At first they have cameras in your room? They can hear what you are doing too? Eventually it will be hi-tek machines that can read your thoughts.

Yeah, this goes on and on. Get some help and quick. Get your meds going. It's the only thing that helps me.

I actually sound sane don't I? Well, been there and been back to tell the tale.

During my break, i also believed there were cameras in my home.

I remember being nine years old and completely convinced for many years after that, that everytime my parents and/or siblings left the house for the day that they were actually going to a special building to watch me and that there were cameras in the closet, in the tv, and so on. Actually, its still kind of hard to break out of that thinking still...

Yeah you are definitely paranoid. No offense to anyone, but paranoid schizophrenia always reminds me of the song "Somebody's Watching Me".

On a more serious note, you will want to get help if you are experiencing these things. You don't want to start doing things like trying to kill someone because you are afraid of them. I know someone who tried to push his dad off a bridge because he thought his dad was Darth vader. He ran through the woods with a scissors in the middle of the night because he was afraid of his dad. We're greatful that no one got hurt.