Paranoid Paranoia

[Nepal4me]

I wonder if there is a way to say "paranoid" in Thai. Not so much the medical definition but rather in the casual way we would use that word. i.e. "I'm paranoid that somebody will steal my car if I leave it in the open" or even, "I get paranoid when I smoke pot".

Anyway, just thinking about this word and my Thai teacher didn't know it so she would only be able to give me a dictionary definition which isn't what I want.

[ThaiGoon]

Off the top of my head, it's "Witok Jarit". "Witok" as in worried...and "Jarit" as in mind. That's the closest Thai term to paranoid/paranoia that I can think of.

[taxexile]

rok waat raweeng , paranoid

โรคหวาดระแวง

หวาดระแวง

(waatraweng) means fear / mistrust

[ThaiGoon]

Come to think of it, I think "Roke Witok Jarit" is actually the Thai term used for paranoid.... I think.

[taxexile]

"Roke Witok Jarit" ..... i think this is more to do with suffering from general anxiety rather than the fear and mistrust of others suffered by a paranoid person.

[meadish_sweetball]

Off the top of my head, it's "Witok Jarit". "Witok" as in worried...and "Jarit" as in mind. That's the closest Thai term to paranoid/paranoia that I can think of.

Agreed. This is what would be used in the non-medical sense, and it would be readily understood by everyone as well.

Western psychology is fairly new here, so even when you find the correct term for a condition, do not expect people to know it unless they have specifically studied psychology.

[Red Lotus]

For normal usage, not clinical usage, try "หวาดระแวง" or "หวาดกลัว."

เขาหวาดกลัวว่า จะมีใครมาฆ่าเขา = he's paranoid that someone is going to kill him.

ทุก ๆ ครังที่สูบกัญชา ผมก็รู้สึกหวาดระแวงไปหมด = Everytime I smoke pot, I get all paranoid.

Hope it helps.

[meadish_sweetball]

หวาดระแวง also works.

The medical term for paranoia according to Oxford-River Books is โรคจิตพารานอย - a loan in other words.

[ThaiGoon]

"Roke Witok Jarit" ..... i think this is more to do with suffering from general anxiety rather than the fear and mistrust of others suffered by a paranoid person.

You could be right. Also I just realized Jarit doesn't mean mind like I said earlier ...It's more like "behavior." I'm Thai and I still don't really know my own language.

And to meadish_sweetball,

[bannork]

A case dominating The Daily News lately has been the case of an owner\teacher of an Applied Physics institute whose wife and parents tried to have treated for paranoia in Sri Tanya psychiatric hospital as he had taken to wearing a bulletproof vest and carry a gun at all times.

A fourth year Chula psychology student whose influence he had fallen under opposed the family and appealed to the court for his release, after being examined by doctors who found he had over 200 times the natural amount of a certain chemical in the system and being questioned by 3 prominent psychiatrists the tribunal agreed he was not well and should stay in hospital. Throughout the reporting the paper used the termโรคหวาดระเเวง for what is classic paranoia.

In the OP's post regarding his car, isn't that just justifiable worry or at the worst neurotic โรคประสาท ?

[meadish_sweetball]

In the OP's post regarding his car, isn't that just justifiable worry or at the worst neurotic โรคประสาท ?

Agreed, none of the two English example sentences indicate actual paranoia. The usage of 'paranoid' in these English sentences is a bit sloppy but so common in everyday speech that most people would not think of correcting it.

Not sure if โรคประสาท would be the best though? I often hear it used in spoken Thai as the polite synonym for บ้า or 'mentally ill' in general, even though I guess the textbook meaning is 'neurotic'.

[withnail]

In the OP's post regarding his car, isn't that just justifiable worry or at the worst neurotic โรคประสาท ?

Agreed, none of the two English example sentences indicate actual paranoia. The usage of 'paranoid' in these English sentences is a bit sloppy but so common in everyday speech that most people would not think of correcting it.

Not sure if โรคประสาท would be the best though? I often hear it used in spoken Thai as the polite synonym for บ้า or 'mentally ill' in general, even though I guess the textbook meaning is 'neurotic'.

You're right I think when Thais say โรคประสาท that is just the closest they're going to get to being politically correct.

I explained to my teacher the other day that I felt a little uncomfortable using the word บ้า for all types of mental illness. Whilst she understood my point of view she said that anything more specific was more for the doctor's office. She did suggest บ้ามาก/น้อย though