VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: lek. Tomasz Nęcki

Personality disorders are not easy to diagnose - incl. because the criteria for recognizing individual personality disorders are so complex that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the norm in behavior from deviation from it. In many cases, it is also difficult to determine exactly which personality disorder is present in a particular patient.

Divisionspersonality disordersthere are at least a few - below is one of the available classifications:

Personality disorders - paranoid personality

Patients with this personality disorder are overly suspicious and believe that other people are trying to hurt them. For this reason, they are secretive and are reluctant to tell others about themselves. They may notice the insult in behavior and words that were not meant to convey the message at all.

Additionally, people with paranoid personality disorder tend to be reluctant to forgive.

It can be difficult to live with a paranoid person, because often suspicions of infidelity - usually unfounded - are directed towards the partner.

Personality disorders - schizoid personality

People with a schizoid personality tend to be individualists. Contacts with other people do not give them satisfaction, therefore patients with schizoid personality disorder do not enter into long-lasting relationships. They are also hardly interested in issues related to sexuality.

People with this problem usually prefer to perform various activities on their own, therefore they rather choose occupations where group work is not required.

Personality disorders - avoidant personality

As the name suggests, in avoidant personality disorders, patients avoid activities.

They do not undertake more demanding tasks, they may also limit interpersonal contacts. The basis for such conduct is low self-esteem and fear of criticism.

Personality disorders - dependent personality disorder

Dependent patients may be described by others as dependent. They have problems expressing their own opinions, and it is difficult for them to make independent decisions. They expect continuous support from others andcare, and these needs are so great that to satisfy them, patients are ready to perform even unpleasant activities.

The reason for this behavior in patients with dependent personality disorder is the fear that without the help of other people they will not be able to cope in life on their own.

Personality disorders - borderline personality

It is not only the patients with borderline personality disorder who have a harder time living - the problems associated with this disorder are also felt by the patient's immediate surroundings. In the case of this category, the most vivid expression will be "from love to hate".

This type of personality disorder is associated with the fact that patients easily transition from one emotional state to another - they can express love for someone in an instant, and in a moment to mention how much they hate the same person.

The mood of these patients is often irritable (referred to as dysphoric). In the course of personality disorders of the Borderline type, impulsive behavior is noticeable, such as risky sexual activity, gambling or substance abuse.

Personality Disorder - Anankastic Personality

A person with an anacastic personality disorder may not be liked by their supervisors. Such patients are sometimes described as excessively rigid - everything has to be done in a certain order and with excessive attention to detail.

In the course of personality disorders of the anankastic type, perfectionism can lead to the fact that, yes - the task will be performed extremely accurately, but the main goal will be blurred.

In order to only perform specific tasks or activities, people struggling with the problem of this category may choose not to rest or socialize.

Personality disorders - dissocial (anti-social) personality

People who deny the existence of laws and rules - this is how you could describe people with a dissocial personality disorder. These patients repeatedly break the law, commit forbidden acts, and can be aggressive. Their behavior can be described as at least impulsive, additionally they often abuse various psychoactive substances (alcohol or drugs).

Another feature of dissocial personality is that patients lose a sense of moderation, and their behavior does not cause any reflections on their own behavior, ultimately inconsistent with the prevailing social norms.

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Personality disorders - histrionic personality

With thispersonality disorder involves a constant need to be the center of attention. Patients often behave inappropriately in relation to generally accepted rules, their behavior can be extremely seductive or characterized by sexual overtones.

In the case of histrionic personality disorders, attention may be drawn to excessive theatricality in behavior and perceiving interpersonal contacts excessively intimately (for these patients the relationships with others seem much closer and intimate than they really are).

Causes of personality disorders

  1. One of the criteria taken into account when diagnosing a personality disorder is the age at which the patient first developed symptoms of the disorder. In general, the onset of personality problems usually occurs during adolescence and early adolescence.
  2. The occurrence of personality disorders may be influenced by various family problems (e.g. lack of a parent, incorrect relationships between parents, growing up in conditions of social pathology), but also by experiencing abuse.
  3. In the development of the described group of problems, the relationship between the child and parents is also important - the experience of personality disorders may be influenced by e.g. excessive, constant parental control or emotional coldness flowing from the caregivers.
  4. An aspect that still remains unclear is the biological determinants of personality disorders. The hypothesis about abnormalities in the neurotransmitter systems was based on the fact that in some personality disorders the improvement of the patients' condition is possible thanks to the implementation of pharmacotherapy (e.g. antidepressants in bordeline disorders).
  5. The effects of substance abuse are also taken into account as factors related to the development of problems with personality functioning.

Treatment of personality disorders

Psychotherapy is the basis of treatment of personality disorders. Depending on its type and the needs of a given patient, its duration varies - sometimes treatment takes up to several months. Both individual and group psychotherapy as well as family therapy are used. Sometimes the so-called social skills training.

Pharmacotherapy is sometimes used in patients with personality disorders, however, one fact should be clearly emphasized here: there are no drugs to treat this group of disorders.

Pharmacological preparations only play a supporting role and they are implemented after careful assessment of the patient - if there are other problems (e.g. depression related to depression), helpfulthe patient may be advised to take antidepressants.

The possible use of drugs also depends on the type of personality disorder in the patient - for example, in the case of borderline personality disorder, some patients achieve favorable effects thanks to the implementation of mood stabilizers (normalizing mood) or antidepressants.

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Methods of treating personality disordersAbout the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

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Category:

Psychiatry