A lot of mental illness is normality distorted and magnified to such an
extreme that it becomes abnormality. Paranoia’s like that. Most people
are familiar with the word, and think they can identify with it, but
unbridled, runaway paranoia is far from normality and beyond the
experience of most.

One of my earliest and most powerful paranoid delusions was that a team
of assassins were out to kill me. During the Cold War the American space
program trained a body of elite men to become astronauts. They were
chosen for their physical and intellectual superiority and were
considered the cream of American youth. In psychometric tests, some of
them were considered to be ideologically unsound and not suitable for
the space program itself, so it was decided to cryogenically freeze them
until such time as psychological programming became effective. Years
later, a covert branch of the CIA known as The Department Of Society
awoke them and conditioned their minds so they would have a fanatical
devotion to the state and would carry out any orders given without
question. Their hearts and vital organs were replaced with synthetic
units powered by tiny but powerful atomic batteries with almost
perpetual life. The Department also used supernatural forces in their
work, and a seer they employed had predicted that in my 60s I would
write a book which would capture the imagination of the world and bring
about an end to global capitalism. They decided I had to be destroyed,
and they programmed 6 of their units to track me down and kill me.

I knew I couldn’t trust anyone, and I was constantly on the lookout
for any sign of danger. I knew that they wouldn’t do anything as obvious
as gunning me down in the street, and would employ more devious means
such as sabotaging my car or electrocuting me in the bath. I was driving
around a lot at that time to escape the voices, and I would often check
my car for bombs or severed brake pipes before starting the engine. I’d
get nervous if I thought a car was following me, and what should have
been a short journey could turn into miles of travelling to avoid being
pursued. I started to avoid people, as the voices had told me that they
would kill my family and friends if I tried to get help, and the
authorities were all in on it. I’d often find myself in a strange town,
miles from home, trying to stay one step ahead of the hunters. When I
was briefly at home, I was terrified that they’d come for me, and I
hardly slept. 

About this time, I’d been seeking medical help for the depression which
had become unbearable and I was given medication which I’d been taking
for a while. I didn’t tell the doctor much about the other symptoms - I
didn’t trust anyone enough for that. I can’t remember what the meds
were, but after time they began to have a calming effect. The paranoia
slowly faded and the delusion gradually dissolved. Realisation
eventually dawned that I was safe. For now.