Trusting people does not mean being a mug. Trust means not considering people to be deceitful and dangerous in advance. Don't be paranoid. A certain Ivan is afraid that his relatives will betray him. So he watches them carefully. Every day, some part of him assesses the level of danger. Therefore, Ivan is wary of the words and actions of other people, and therefore of his own. Implying a possible betrayal, he is in no hurry to open up and share. Ivan is on his own. Is it easy to build close relationships with such a person? Is it possible to prove to him that you are not a giraffe and are not planning anything? No. Any action will be interpreted crookedly. Beliefs always justify themselves. Ivan will find something to pester those around him about in order to understand for sure that he has been betrayed and prefer proud loneliness. Most likely, Ivan has no experience of close, warm relationships. And a lot of experience of rejection. Therefore, Ivan is busy playing the script. He receives only those emotions that he is used to receiving. What should he do? Realize that he is paranoid) And communicate with others taking this knowledge into account. There are exercises for working through childhood experiences. They will also help. What should those who are close to Ivan do? Silently accept suspicious looks? Wait until he finally goes crazy? Or resist attacks? The best thing we can do in any situation is to take care of ourselves. Your well-being and development. If Ivan is lying, then take it for granted, but do not agree to the terms of the game. Make it clear to Ivan that his reality is very strange and has nothing to do with reality. Do not be afraid of Ivan and do not be angry with him. Giving him feedback: “I feel like something bad is happening now.” You don't have to be a robot. You can lose your temper and speak out. The main thing here is not to get drawn into the triangle - Victim, Executioner, Savior. And you can only avoid getting drawn into it if you have self-reliance. “Everything is fine with me. I love Ivan and I’m ready to support him. If Ivan wants to solve his problem and starts moving in this direction. If not, then I won’t make this decision for him.” Only an adult-adult relationship can outgrow into something more than acting out childhood scenarios.