Personality Disorders

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

What Is A Personality Disorder?

A Personality Disorder is as it sounds; a problem with a persons personality. These problems are deeply ingrained into the person and tend to result in the person being unable to change.

Sufferers are often seen by other people as 'weired' or 'strange', and can make other people very nervous around them. They come across as thinking, feeling, or behaving in a way that is very different from how most people do.

Often there seems to be a lot of upset and distress either in the person themselves or in those people around them, or both.

When deciding if someone has a personality disorder, the doctor or expert usually thinks it is very important to interview the people who know the person well. This is not just because the person may be a very good liar, but is because one of the characteristic traits of most types of sufferers, is the amount of chaos and distress that they cause around them.

The Types Of Personality Disorder

There are quite a few types of personality disorder, they are wide-ranging and are listed below:

PARANOID We've probably all heared of the word paranoid. It means that a person is overly worried or suspicious of other people. People with a Paranoid Peronality Disorder tend to think that other people are deliberately putting them down or are out to get them. They react really badly when they have setbacks in their lives and often bear grudges, or believe in conspiracies against them that are clearly not backed up in fact.

DISSOCIAL (ANTISOCIAL) These people don't have any regard or compassion for other people. They seem to have no idea of responsibility or the proper way to behave. Their behaviour is usually very antisocial and they tend to get very frustrated and very angry quickly. They can and do set up relationships with other people but they cannot keep them going, and they do not seem able to feel guilt or learn from any punishment (from the law or otherwise) that they might receive.

SCHIZOID People with a Schizoid Personality Disorder do not seem to care about relationships with other people. They are unable to feel or to show the normal range of emotions that most of us are able to. They come across as emotionally flat or cold, and do not express feelings of warmth or even anger directly. They prefer to do things on their own, although very few, if any, of the things that they do give them pleasure. Sometimes they tend to be in their 'own world' often daydreaming and fantasising rather than living in the real world.

HISTRIONIC If a person is consistantly over-emotional and constantly seeking to be the centre of attention, then they may have a Histrionic Personality Disorder. They come across as alway putting on an act, in other words, being a bit of a drama queen. They are usually shallow, massively over-concerned with how attractive they look, and need excitement all the time. This excitement can be both good or bad. The person may lurch from crisis to crisis in order to get the attention they crave.

EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE These people are very impulsive (do things without thinking about the consequences first) and seem to change emotions at a drop of a hat. There are two major types:
(i)Impusive Type
These people are hugely impulsive and often become violent in response to any criticism that they think is directed at them.

(ii)Borderline Type
This is an increasingly common type of Personality Disorder. Sufferers often speak of feeling empty, and have very unstable relationships. They are impulsive, sometimes becoming engaged in things like shoplifting and casual sex. Their image of themselves can be wrong, and the things that they want for themselves may seem very strange or unrealistic.

ANANKASTIC (OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE) These people are perfectionists and not fexible at all in their attitudes. They may be overly concerned with rules and regulations and insistant on other people doing things the same way as they would. However, they tend to put off making decisions and may get thoughts or feelings that are upsetting to them and seem to them to come out of nowhere.

ANXIOUS (AVOIDANT) These people feel really uncomfortable in social situations (for example being in a group of people). They fear being thought of badly by others, and may well believe that they are useless with other people, or in some way, inferior to them. As a result of these beliefs and feelings, they tend to avoid activities and social gatherings, often being overly concerned that they will be criticised or rejected.

DEPENDENT These people tend to be very passive and act as if other people are much better or more intelligent or skillful than them. They let other people make important decisions for them and are unwilling to ask for anything from other people other than that they are around them. They really hate being alone because they feel helpless, and have great difficulty starting things.

PARANOID	We've probably all heared of the word paranoid. It means that a person is overly worried or suspicious of other people. People with a Paranoid Peronality Disorder tend to think that other people are deliberately putting them down or are out to get them. They react really badly when they have setbacks in their lives and often bear grudges, or believe in conspiracies against them that are clearly not backed up in fact.
DISSOCIAL (ANTISOCIAL)	These people don't have any regard or compassion for other people. They seem to have no idea of responsibility or the proper way to behave. Their behaviour is usually very antisocial and they tend to get very frustrated and very angry quickly. They can and do set up relationships with other people but they cannot keep them going, and they do not seem able to feel guilt or learn from any punishment (from the law or otherwise) that they might receive.
SCHIZOID	People with a Schizoid Personality Disorder do not seem to care about relationships with other people. They are unable to feel or to show the normal range of emotions that most of us are able to. They come across as emotionally flat or cold, and do not express feelings of warmth or even anger directly. They prefer to do things on their own, although very few, if any, of the things that they do give them pleasure. Sometimes they tend to be in their 'own world' often daydreaming and fantasising rather than living in the real world.
HISTRIONIC	If a person is consistantly over-emotional and constantly seeking to be the centre of attention, then they may have a Histrionic Personality Disorder. They come across as alway putting on an act, in other words, being a bit of a drama queen. They are usually shallow, massively over-concerned with how attractive they look, and need excitement all the time. This excitement can be both good or bad. The person may lurch from crisis to crisis in order to get the attention they crave.
EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE	These people are very impulsive (do things without thinking about the consequences first) and seem to change emotions at a drop of a hat. There are two major types: (i)*Impusive Type* These people are hugely impulsive and often become violent in response to any criticism that they think is directed at them. (ii)*Borderline Type* This is an increasingly common type of Personality Disorder. Sufferers often speak of feeling empty, and have very unstable relationships. They are impulsive, sometimes becoming engaged in things like shoplifting and casual sex. Their image of themselves can be wrong, and the things that they want for themselves may seem very strange or unrealistic.
ANANKASTIC (OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE)	These people are perfectionists and not fexible at all in their attitudes. They may be overly concerned with rules and regulations and insistant on other people doing things the same way as they would. However, they tend to put off making decisions and may get thoughts or feelings that are upsetting to them and seem to them to come out of nowhere.
ANXIOUS (AVOIDANT)	These people feel really uncomfortable in social situations (for example being in a group of people). They fear being thought of badly by others, and may well believe that they are useless with other people, or in some way, inferior to them. As a result of these beliefs and feelings, they tend to avoid activities and social gatherings, often being overly concerned that they will be criticised or rejected.
DEPENDENT	These people tend to be very passive and act as if other people are much better or more intelligent or skillful than them. They let other people make important decisions for them and are unwilling to ask for anything from other people other than that they are around them. They really hate being alone because they feel helpless, and have great difficulty starting things.

When Does It Start?

Personality Disorders tend to appear during late childhood or early adolescence (usually late teens or early twenties). Once established they continue well into adulthood and frequently for the rest of the persons life. Anyone under the age of 17 is highly unlikely to given a diagnosis of Personality Disorder.

What Causes It?

Personality Disorders can be caused by things like head injury or epilepsy. However, it is more common that it is not really known why some people develop personality disorders. There are a number of theories around, although none of them really (according to us) seem to adequately explain what happens. One factor that is consistently important though, is that it has been around since the person has been an adolescent (teenager/young adult).

What Treatments Work?

It is VERY UNLIKELY that someone will be cured of a personality disorder. However, there have been claims that long term psychodynamic therapy or psychoanalysis have worked. Other forms of therapy such as group therapy, general support and supervision, and therapeutic communities have been said to be helpful.

However, personality disorders are notoriously difficult to treat, and often end up being 'managed' in hospitals, prisons, or by health/social services in the community.

It is also important to note that personality disorders do not exist on their own, a sufferer may well have additional mental health problems (e.g. depression) which can be more open to treatment.

We are creating a SimplePsych Factsheet on Personality Disorders which goes into more detail while still using easy to understand English. If you would be interested in this service please let us know by emailing us Click Here

However, please note we will make a small charge for the Factsheet.

Thank you.

* RECOMMENDED BOOKS *

If you are interested in going into even more depth, the following book(s), sold by Amazon.co.uk, are recommended by us. Each is followed by a rating for ease of reading (1-3).

1=Simple and Easy to comprehend.
2=More Complex but still a good read.
3=Very Complex, only for professionals/those studying to degree level.

I Hate You - Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality (Kreisman & Strauss)

RATING SCORE = 2 An excellent book.

Stop Walking On Eggshells; Coping When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder (Mason & Kreger)

RATING SCORE = 1 An empowering book for family and friends.

Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (Black & Larson)

RATING SCORE = 2 Possibly draws a few too many conclusions, but nonetheless a very good read, linking Antisocial Personality Disorder with Childhood Conduct Disorder.

Amongst Ourselves: A Self-Help Guide To Living With Dissociative Identity Disorder (Alderman & Marshall)

RATING SCORE = 2 As it suggests this book is for those people who have Dissociative Personality Disorder. However, it provides a very interesting insight for the rest of us.

Becoming One: A Story Of Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder (Olson)

RATING SCORE = 1 The Author, being a sufferer, gives a fascinating account of her life and struggles, from her childhood onwards.

To return to the mainpage click here

OR Click Back on your Browser to return to the Previous Page.