A suspicious nature can have various causes, just like most other symptoms. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose a suspicious nature, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Paranoia | 99% | Confirm |
Atherosclerosis | 72% | Possible |
Do you tend to be suspicious of other people, or trusting?
Possible responses:
→ I'm always suspicious of people and their motives→ Often suspicious → I'm average, careful / don't know → A bit too trusting of others → Much too trusting and frequently 'used' |
The authors of one study state, "This... study suggests that high hostility levels may contribute to early subclinical atherosclerotic coronary artery disease." According to background information in the study, hostility is a personality and character trait with attitudinal (cynicism and mistrust of others), emotional (anger) and behavioral (overt and repressed aggression) components. [Journal of the American Medical Association. 2000; 283: pp.2546-51]
Symptoms of paranoid personality disorder include suspicion, concern with hidden motives and expecting to be exploited by others.