> Practical Family Living

There are people on hyper-alert much of the time. To them every little thing needs examination. They seem to react to the smallest detail just slightly off balance especially in relationships as in "I saw you look at me funny, why did you do that?" We can think paranoia when this happens, but true paranoia aside; there are other things to consider. Usually this person has been under a great deal of stress for a good length of time. Most of the time for the overly alert person, the long term stress has been repeated, with intervals of non-stress of course, beginning first in childhood. I say in intervals because a good bit of mental health survives, grows, and continues for long periods of time as an adult even if you have had to be on hyper-alert as a child. These intervals of peace multiply the more there are periods of time when the need for constant attention to real or perceived danger goes away.