According to a leading psychiatrist, 20th century is look like the ‘age of paranoia’. These days general public feels threatened. Paranoia is more common among them because of media and the threat of terrorism.  

Dr Daniel Freeman, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, believes, one in four people regularly suffer irrational fears of being threatened or in danger. “These days, we daren't let our children play outside; we're suspicious of strangers; security cameras are everywhere. We seem to have entered an age of paranoia. And the indications are that things may only get worse,” he claims.

Dr Freeman has developed a "virtual reality" method to diagnose paranoia. He believes that the people living in cities have increased and unfound fear than the rural communities. In cities the rates of paranoia are known to be twice than villages. Social isolation, inequality and hard competition in society are the main cause of paranoia, Freeman claims.

Dr Freeman criticized media for adopting an attitude “if it bleeds, it leads” to coverage. Impact of crime and terrorism also create an atmosphere of paranoia. Inequality of rich and poor also increase the feeling of paranoia.

“Dealing with paranoia at an individual level is relatively straightforward. But if we are really to get to the root of the problem, we need urgent action at a wider level. We need a range of policies to raise public awareness of paranoia, to train therapists and tackle the effects of potentially damaging social and economic trends,” said Dr Freeman.