Could I have Paranoia Schizophrenia?

Paranoia, Schizophrenia, or Anxiety issues?

• So, I'v been told a lot "You must have a lot of fears." But you know, that's not really true. The fears I do have however, tend to fairly sever. Laugh if you must, ghosts are my worst fear, dead things in general, followed by slugs, and then being in a car crash (I have been in many since I was born 17 years ago however). What has been bothering me, has bothered me most of my life, but only twice has it gotten horribly bad. I haven't heard my name falsely be called since I was a little kid, until last year. I was taking a test in a silent class, and then heard my name whispered in my ear, but no one really had spoken it. During that winter, my mind started playing tricks on me, mind and eyes more or less working together on this. Since then I haven't heard my name called until recently, but the mind tricks/eye tricks have been worsening. What exactly have I falsely been seeing? For example, nonehuman "things" sitting in the shadows on my parents bed, I mistook a small trashcan today as some cloaked unhuman midget (no other way I can describe it) staring at me. I always am worrying about someday turning around knowing nothing is there, only to see my imagination ideas of horror, standing there, and that I had finally gone insane. Now to be clear, I hate horror shows/movies/anything involving that. Mainly I can't stand death, gore, afterlife involving shows/movies/etc, and avoid such things like the plague. It's not like I have recently started watching these things either, yet my constant mistaking of things for horrible creatures that I would hope, stay hidden away forever, etc, seems to be getting worse. Stress? I'm not under much, two people I knew but was not close too, died within the past four months both by car wrecks. I have always fought with my parents so that is no different either. Am finally losing it? A new thing has started to happen though, recently I'v been seeing things move, mainly walls just appear to either wiggle, or have some kind of in and out breathing motion. Occasionally I will stand up and the ground seems to have gone five miles below my feet, as if I stretched in height. I just want it all too stop. In this a cause of some anxiety? Or, something? I have considered slight paranoia, or slight schizophrenia... But do such things worsen over time? Don't most involve people, and not figments of my imagination?

• Answer:

  Yes, you could be developing schizophrenia or some other problems. Please go to a doctor or therapist and get properly diagnosed. Talk to your parents or a school counselor about this and ask for help and evaluation. If you are developing schizophrenia it's much better to catch it early.