delusion of persecution

is one of the most dramatic human defenses against the feeling of personal insignificance and worthlessness. He is an extra on the stage of life. But he wants to be a star, so he imagines to be surveilled since he’d only be surveilled if he were a very important person.

What the psychiatrist calls a 'delusion of persecution' is one of the most dramatic human defenses against the feel- ing of personal insignificance and worthlessness. In fact, no one cares a hoot about Jones. He is an extra on the stage of life. But he wants to be a star. He cannot become one by making a fortune on the stock market or winning a Nobel prize. So he claims that the FBI or the Communists are watching his every move, are tapping his phone, and so forth. Why would they be doing this, unless Jones were a very important person? In short, the paranoid delusion is a problem to the patient's family, employers, and friends: to the patient, it is a solution to the problem of the meaning(lessness) of his life.

delusion of persecution, n.All

delusion of persecution