Sudden extreme paranoia?

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This is going to make me sound really weird, but here goes:

Sometimes, I get these sudden paranoia attacks in front of people, and I feel that the other people are going to try to kill me right then and there, usually in the most violent way possible. It doesn't matter who the people are. I could be standing in front of my mother and suddenly feel that she is going to pull out a kitchen knife and stab me to death, like she has suddenly turned into a stranger with the most evil intentions. It's like I'm looking at a person who looks the same, but isn't my mother at all.

When this is happening, I know that I am being totally irrational, but I can't help these intense feeling of fear and paranoia. Before it happens, what I feel is almost physical, like a change in the weather before a thunderstorm or a curtain falling over everything and changing the feeling in the room from safe to dangerous. I usually just leave the scene as quickly as possible. It takes a few minutes for me to get over these feelings. Afterwards, I don't dwell on them, nor I believe that anyone is actually out to get me. These are not long-term paranoid delusions, and paranoia is the farthest thing from my mind in most situations. I tend to be too naive and trusting rather than too cynical and paranoid.

Has anyone experienced these paranoia attacks before? Are they some kind of panic attack or reaction to sensory overload? I don't really feel much physical distress, mostly an intense fear of the "evil" people.

i have sudden bursts of paranoia yup

the other day i had a moment where i actually entertained the thought that wp and half it's members had been made-up as part of some lengthly, elaborate plan to do something mean to me.
then i realised how nuts i sounded and made a mental note not to tell anyone i had thought such things...er

Paranoia is like tabasco sauce. You need it, but only a dash on the right food.