Is there ever an instance when a homosexual person might be paranoid?
I do understand that culturally some groups are considered oppressed
and have reasons to be suspicious and guarded that are not connected
to a mental disorder,therefore, a therapist would want to be
cautious--I would be cautious in"labeling" anyone as anything
regardless of sexual orientation, race, or gender. But in other words,
are some DSM categories simply offlimits to these groups above? Or can
these groups also experience unwarranted, unevidenced
suspiciousness and guardedness?

Is there ever an instance when:

a straight person would be paranoid?
an adulterer would be paranoid?
a Muslim at a Christian bake sale would be paranoid?

My humor aside, I would wager that all humans experience unwarranted,
unevidenced suspiciousness and guardedness for one reason or another
at some time in their lives.  It would be up to a professional to
decide, taing into account all areas of the human psyche.

carmen,

I am not a doctor, and I do not even play one on TV. However, I feel
that I can provide a comment of value to your subject.

DSM-IV does not make distinctions based on political correctness. Any
human being can suffer from any of the conditions listed in DSM-IV;
there is no such thing as "off-limits" diagnoses for certain
demographic groups of the population.

However, you are wise to be aware that sociological conditions can
mask or exaggerate what might appear to be cut-and-dried DSM-IV
diagnoses. In such cases, it is important to attempt to minimize the
"skewing" effects of such sociological conditions by being extra
careful in analyzing the patient's background, experiences, mental
state, and environment to ensure that the diagnosis is accurate.

I hope this information is of assistance to you!

aceresearcher

Hi Carmen-ga,

You're asking two distinct questions.
1 - Is there ever an instance when a homosexual person might be
paranoid?
I think the other comments make it pretty clear that the answer is
yes. Your sexual orientation does not create immunity to psychological
disorders.

2 - Or can these groups also experience unwarranted, unevidenced
suspiciousness and guardedness?
That's a different question and I think it is what may be causing your
confusion. Homosexuals don't exist in groups. They are distinct
individuals. When you try to clump people together that way you
attempt to erase individuality. Can't be done... humans are just too
complex to make good clumps.

This approach may work with some single celled organisms, for instance
a group of paramecium. Although, there may be some difficulty caused
by their lack of a brain. That's the problem with using single celled
organisms for psych experiments. No brain - no mental disorders...

Hope this helps to answer up your question.

bcguide-ga

Thanks to everyone who shared his/her comments to my question as
follows:
Journalist- Funny! Good points.

Aceresearcher-Good points too--no need to be a medical expert; I saw
no distinctions in DSM either.

Bcguide-Thanks for sharing. I do appreciate receiving responses from
people who understand the language used in the question.  Group=a
number of persons, individuals, complex individuals, simple
individuals, etc., who are gathered together--that's all I meant.  In
other words, group is used to refer to several individuals of the same
class, culture, etc.  But thank you for sharing your elementary
biology lesson.