WHAT IS A PERSONALITY DISORDER?
A personality disorder is a mental health illness that includes long-term, unsettling patterns relating to thinking, behavior and mood. These patterns cause problems and changes in functioning for an individual.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS?
There are several types of personality disorders and they have their own particular symptoms and signs that we will discuss in detail below.
But, in general, personality disorders involve issues with:
Self-identity and a self of oneself
People with a personality disorder typically have a distorted image of themselves – perceiving themselves may depend on the situation or the people they’re surrounded with. Their self-esteem or self-confidence may be unrealistically low or high.
Relationships with others
Individuals with personality disorders have difficulty developing close or stable relationships with others due to their problematic beliefs and behaviors.
Additionally, they may find it hard to manage their existing relationships as they may show signs of disrespect, and apathy, experience emotional detachment or have overly attachment to a person.
TYPES OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), there are 10 different types of personality disorders.
Paranoid Personality Disorder
This causes paranoia in an individual. People with paranoid personality disorder often feel as if others are trying to harm, threaten or degrade them.
Schizoid Personality Disorder
This type is highlighted by a constant pattern of detachment and apathy in interpersonal relationships. People with schizoid personality disorder have a partial display of emotions when interacting with other people.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
People with this condition demonstrate a steady pattern of extreme discomfort and an inadequate need for close relationships. This type of disorder may cause problems in an individual’s relationships – having inaccurate views of reality, misconceptions and unusual behaviors.
Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
One of the most commonly diagnosed personality disorders, people with ASPD tend to not follow the socially accepted rules and norms. They may even cause emotional or physical harm to others and break the law. Additionally, they may refuse accountability for their actions and behaviors while showing indifference to the negative consequences of their actions.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
People with BPD have a hard time regulating their emotions, leading to frequent mood swings, low self-esteem, impulsive behaviors and trouble managing relationships.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
This type of personality disorder involves having unstable, extreme emotions; their self-esteem is subjected to the approval of others and with low self-worth. Such people have a strong need to be noticed by others and may even exhibit dramatic or unusual behaviors to get other people’s attention.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
This condition includes an unwarranted need for admiration and praise from others. People with narcissistic personality disorder have a lack of self-esteem and patterns of perceived superiority. They have little or no empathy for others.
Avoidant Personality Disorder
People with this disorder have long-lasting feelings of worthlessness. Such individuals have thoughts of being negatively judged by others. They are inclined towards having little to no social interactions due to the extreme fear of being rejected.
Dependent Personality Disorder
This condition includes submissiveness – being dependent and a constant need for reassurance and care. This type of personality disorder often involves an individual becoming overly attached to another person while showing clinging behaviors – excessively trying to please the other person and having a fear of separation.
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
This type of personality disorder includes symptoms of constant and extreme need for perfectionism, control and tidiness. These things eventually delay tasks and may affect relationships with others.
People with OCPD are unaware of their behaviors. Note that this is different from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
WHAT CAUSES PERSONALITY DISORDERS?
According to doctors and researchers, there has been no definite cause for personality disorder and it is classified as one of the most difficult to understand mental disorders. However, a few factors have been linked to the development of personality disorders. These include: